Hydroclimate Scientist

Salary - £38,939 to £41,321 
Hybrid Working  
Based at Wallingford, Oxfordshire 
Permanent, full-time 

We will be reviewing applications upon receipt. We reserve the right to close this advert if we find the right candidate, so we encourage you to apply early. 

Are you a dedicated scientist eager to advance our understanding of hydroclimatic extremes across past, present, and future climates? Are you motivated by the opportunity to contribute to high-impact science and become a recognised expert within UKCEH and the wider national and international research community? 

In this role, you will contribute to a portfolio of national and international science initiatives, including the Co-Centre for Climate + Biodiversity + Water and CANARI projects and related flagship National Capability projects such as the UK Hydrological Outlook and our International Programme. You will be working on developing future projections of hydrological extremes using large ensembles, including advancing understanding of the associated variability and uncertainty. You will also contribute to the co-development and delivery of products and tools that enable water managers to assess the impacts of climate change on water systems and support efforts to enhance resilience against future extreme hazards. This is a rewarding opportunity to see our research translated into applied tools which have a positive impact on our society. 

You’ll join a multidisciplinary team of hydrologists, climate scientists, and data scientists, collaborating across diverse areas of research and professional development. Your role includes leading tasks within concurrent research projects, initiating and organising work independently as well as working within a team. You’ll also help communicate the value of your science and UKCEH’s work both internally and externally, supporting knowledge exchange and stakeholder engagement. 

Your main responsibilities will include:   

• Investigating historical trends, drivers of variability, and characteristics of droughts, and assessing their current and future impacts across the UK and wider European region. 

• Developing and analysing hydroclimate datasets, including large ensemble future hydrological projections, while ensuring good data management practices of large datasets. 

• Developing and testing novel approaches to quantifying and attributing risk, including ‘storylines’ approaches, UNSEEN and other emerging techniques. 

• Contributing to significant outputs each year (e.g., peer refereed publications or reports, scientific models and methods, published datasets etc.) and leading where necessary. 

• Collaborating with internal UKCEH researchers, and external partners and engaging with key stakeholders, including water companies, government agencies and a wide range of water managers 

Your additional responsibilities may include: 

• Mentoring junior staff and/or students in your team or beyond (e.g., on projects) supporting their personal development. 

• Contributing towards funding proposals (or leading the writing for key elements of proposals) where appropriate. 

• Participating in the production and delivery of operational services within the National Hydrological Monitoring Programme and the UK Hydrological Outlook. 

• Contributing regularly to events s and outreach activities of UKCEH, professional societies/networks relevant to your science, including international scientific networks. 

Some essential skills we are looking for: 

• Either a PhD in scientific discipline or a Master’s with relevant experience, and a Second-Class Honours degree or higher in earth/environmental sciences, geography, physical sciences or statistics/mathematics. 

• Proven numeracy skills or statistical analysis in hydrology and/or meteorology/climatology. 

• Experience of programming (preferably Python and/or R). 

• Good organisational and time management skills, with an ability to work independently and to deadlines. 

• Collaborative and inclusive teamwork, with the ability to develop effective relationships across the organisation and with a variety of external national and international project partners. 

• Experience in communicating activities and outcomes to a range of audiences, specialist and non-specialist alike, using appropriate media. 

 

Desirable, but not essential, skills/experience:   

• Experience with analysing and managing large hydroclimate datasets (e.g., multi-dimensional NetCDF files, timeseries data, shapefiles). 

• Experience working with any type of hydrological models (e.g., catchment models, spatially distributed or physically-based models). 

• Knowledge and experience in the use of one or various of the following would be an advantage: Linux OS, GIS system, HPC and/or Machine Learning techniques. 

• Experience in contributing to funding proposals and successfully attracting funding would be advantageous. 
   

Working at UKCEH is rewarding. Our science makes a real difference and enables people and the environment to prosper. We are the custodians of a wealth of environmental data, collected by UKCEH and its predecessors over the course of more than 60 years.    

As a valued member of our team, you’ll get:   

• 27 days annual leave, rising to 29 days after five years    

• 10% employer pension contribution   

• Enhanced maternity and paternity leave    

• 24 hour, 365-day access to support with physical, mental, social, health or financial issues plus access to our trained Welfare Officers   

• Flexible working opportunities   

And much more...   

Please note: Unfortunately, we are unable to offer visa sponsorship for this role. However, this position may qualify for endorsement to support a Global Talent Visa application. Additionally, if you are considering pursuing self-sponsorship, please indicate this in your application so we can take it into account during the recruitment process.  

If we’ve just described you, we’d love to meet. Apply now.