National Capability Integrated Plan Delivery Lead
1 day ago
Exeter
Location: Exeter HQ Met Office Reference number: 1444 Contract: Fixed Term Contract - Full time We’re looking for an exceptional National Capability Integrated Plan Delivery Lead to help us make a difference to our planet. As our National Capability Integrated Plan Delivery Lead, the job may be suitable for hybrid working, which is where an employee works part of the week in the office and part of the week from home.This is a voluntary, non-contractual arrangement and the location advertised will be your contractual place of work. Our opportunity is full time, 37 hours per week.Our people are at the heart of what we do and we’ll do our best toagreea working pattern that works for everyone. Whilst this is a temporary position for two years, there is potential for it to develop into a permanent position. World changing work From science to technology, from meteorology to management, and from planning to communication, our expertise helps us stand out as the authority on weather accuracy and climate prediction. We help individuals, industries and government to make better decisions to stay safe and thrive. This is the Met Office. This is who we are. • We’re aforcefor good - focusing on our environmental and social impact, • We’re experts by nature - always learning and developing to do things better, • We live and breathe it - putting our purpose at the heart ofdecision-making, • We’re bettertogether-understandingpartnerships and inclusivity make us greater, • We keep evolving - pushing boundaries to make tomorrow better for our customers Your world of expertise The Met Office's National Capability domain brings together the observations, science, technology, and computing expertise that underpin our world-leading weather and climate services. It plays a vital role in supporting the Met Office’s mission by strengthening how we connect research, development and operations. We are entering a period of significant transformation. Over the next four years, we will modernise our forecasting and climate modelling capabilities, embed new technologies including AI, and maximise the value of major investments in supercomputing. Alongside this, we will shape our long-term modelling strategy through to 2032 and define the future computing capabilities needed to support the next generation of environmental prediction. As a senior leader, you will play a pivotal role in driving this transformation. You will provide strategic leadership across a complex portfolio of change, ensuring programmes are aligned, technical dependencies are effectively managed, and the benefits of investment are fully realised. Working with senior stakeholders from across the Met Office, you will help shape the future of weather and climate science, and services, while leading the organisational change needed to create a modern, agile and future-ready National Capability. Reporting to the Director of Research and Development, you will work closely with senior colleagues across National Capability, our Products and Services and Enabling Domains to ensure future modelling capabilities, research priorities and delivery plans meet both organisational objectives and customer needs. • Provide technical leadership for the delivery of National Capability's elements of the Met Office Integrated Plan, ensuring programmes are coordinated effectively to maximise the benefits of supercomputing investment and deliver the Met Office's long-term strategic ambitions., • Lead the transformation of ways of working across National Capability, driving the adoption of agile approaches to enable more rapid update cycles for Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP)., • Lead the analysis, coordination and development of modelling plans to optimise the use of Met Office supercomputing out to 2032, delivering future operational and research outcomes., • Lead the analysis, coordination and development of future supercomputing requirements for National Capability, ensuring scientific needs are captured and inform future business cases., • Support the delivery of National Capability's strategic objectives and wider programme of work by acting as a visible and influential member of the Senior Leadership Team, championing organisational values, and mentoring and coaching colleagues to build capability across the domain. Our work is life-changing, often life-saving and always life-enhancing.The Met Office is Great Place to Work UK certified. We are also featured on their ‘Best Workplaces in Tech’ 2023, 2024 and 2025 lists, as well as their ’54 Best Workplaces for Women’ 2023 list. As our National Capability Integrated Plan Delivery Lead, your total reward package will be up to £103,591 annually, which includes: • An outstanding Civil Service pension, with an average employer contribution of 28.97%, • Annual Leave starting at 27.5 days (plus Bank Holidays) rising to 32.5 days (plus Bank Holidays) after 5 years and option to buy or sell up to 5 days per year of annual leave Essential Criteria, skills and experience: • Significant experience and understanding of the environmental prediction value chain, from observations and modelling through to operational service delivery, including Numerical Weather Prediction and physics-based and machine learning weather and climate modelling approaches (Expert by Nature)., • Proven ability to lead large-scale technical and organisational transformation, delivering change through effective leadership, collaboration and influence., • Ability to communicate complex scientific and technical concepts clearly and credibly to senior executive and board-level audiences., • Demonstrable experience of engaging and influencing senior stakeholders, building consensus and enabling evidence-based decision-making across complex environments (Better Together)., • Proven track record of successfully delivering large-scale programmes, transformation initiatives or strategic change., • Strong analytical and strategic thinking skills, with the ability to balance long‑term vision, organisational priorities and delivery outcomes (Keep Evolving). We encourage you to apply if you believe you meet our essential criteria, but we’re also keen to discover if you have: • Knowledge and/or experience of Lean, DevOps and Agile principles. Closing date 30/09/2026 at 23:59 with interviews scheduled for 12/10/2026. You will hear from us once the closing date has passed. Using AI in your application We welcome applications that use AI tools for support in drafting or refining, as long as they accurately reflect your own skills and experience. All hiring decisions at the Met Office are made by people, not AI. For more details, visit our approach to recruitment . How we can help If you have any questions or would like to discuss this opportunity further, please contact us at careers@metoffice.gov.uk . If you’re considering applying and need support to do so, please get in touch. You can request adjustments either within your application or by contacting us.Should you be offered an interview, please be aware there may be a selection exercise which could include a presentation, written test or a scenario-based activity. You can select in your application to be considered under the DisabilityConfidentScheme. To be invited to interview/assessment under this scheme, your application must meet the essential criteria for the role. Weunderstand that great minds don’t always think alike and as an equal opportunities employer we welcome applications from those with all protected characteristics. We recruit on merit, fairness, and open competition in line with the Civil Service Code. We can only accept applications from those eligible to live and work in the UK - please refer to GOV.UK for information.We require Security clearance without caveats and/or restrictions for this role, for which you need to have resided in the UK for at least 3 of the last 5 years to be eligible, 2 of these years must be immediately preceding the point of your application. Our rewards and benefits are as varied as our customers and our people, depending on your role, and which part of the business you join. The one thing they have in common is that they’re designed to recognise your contribution to our success. Starting at 27.5 days and rising to 32.5 days after five years of service (both figures exclude bank holidays). As well as the flexibility to buy or sell annual leave annually. You’ll automatically qualify to join our alpha pension scheme, part of the Civil Service Pension arrangements. The scheme is recognised as one of the most generous occupational pensions. Whether you wish to utilise our excellent family-friendly schemes, be paid up to 3 days for volunteering with your chosen organisation, have the reassurance of a generous sickness pay scheme or be part of an organisation that is happy to pro‑actively talk about flexible working the Met Office wants you to have a great work and lifestyle balance. We have bases all over the UK and some roles allow for you to work abroad so there is the option to travel for work also, we have established amazing hybrid working practices across all of our offices and have enhanced technology to enable office and home‑based meetings. We work with employees to agree on a suitable working pattern that works for us both and have various working patterns in place. The world around us is constantly changing. New technologies, shifting climate patterns, artificial intelligence. These factors and more shape the need for us to develop our skills and knowledge as a business and as individuals. Our investment in learning and development is testament to this and we have partnered with external bodies in each profession to help shape the way we develop the incredible talent right across the Met Office. We help everyone to understand their strengths and opportunities and tailor learning programmes that match their career. For us, this is world‑leading learning and development. Coming from an academic background I wanted to be able to develop new research approaches, but I also wanted a change toward being more impact‑focused, where the science I produced would be both useful and used right away. My work is supporting customers to better understand the impact of climate change on their business, with the added benefit of gaining experience on a wide range of projects - there is always something new to learn! Emily Wallace Science Fellow, Weather and Climate Extremes and Impacts Team The Weather and Climate Extremes and Impacts Team was formed in response to multiple extreme events in the UK. Our customers are dealing with the impacts of severe weather and are more routinely asking questions that blur the lines between what would have traditionally been thought of separately as weather services and climate services. The work we do is critical in our changing world as we bring together teams to provide seamless services to help people stay safe. Senior Scientific Software Engineer There is a great variety of work here, sometimes I can be applying new science to one of our models, improving some of our internal tools, reviewing code, helping someone get the most out of their development plan, or attending a talk to learn new skills. Sometimes I work with older code cleaning it up, so it works better and is more future‑proof. It’s always satisfying to see other people working with my improved code. Managing Scientific Consultant I have been at the Met Office since graduating and have been able to work my way from a foundation scientist to a manager. I enjoy working with customers on the application of science, helping them operate more safely and efficiently and enabling them to be more resilient to the weather both now and in the future. I get to see how the work of the team is directly having impact and benefit to industry and society. Anna Whitford Scientific Consultant Coming from an academic background I wanted to be able to develop new research approaches, but I also wanted a change toward being more impact‑focused, where the science I produced would be both useful and used right away. My work is supporting customers to better understand the impact of climate change on their business, with the added benefit of gaining experience on a wide range of projects - there is always something new to learn! Some roles may require you to attend an assessment day. Any job‑specific assessments will be outlined in the job advert and more details will be provided at the interview stage. If you are successful following the interview, the hiring manager will contact you to offer the role. The Resourcing Team will then follow up with an offer letter and start your onboarding. Before we can confirm a start date, we will first need to complete security clearance and reference checks. These usually take between eight to ten weeks to complete. We'll also discuss any workplace adjustments that you may need. So they are in place on your first day. On your first day your new manager will introduce you to the team and you’ll start our online corporate induction. You’ll also be asked to update your details in our People Hub system including bank details ready for your first pay day. For those living outside of the UK, there are some roles where we can sponsor Skilled Worker visas. However, you will need to pass security clearance which requires you to have resided in the UK for at least 3 of the last 5 years and 2 of these years must be immediately preceding the point of your application. #J-18808-Ljbffr