Context

The Belgian Climate Centre is a federal scientific structure inaugurated in November 2022 and administratively linked to the Royal Meteorological Institute (RMI). The Climate Centre’s mission is to maximise the impact of scientific research on climate mitigation and adaptation. The Centre has three main objectives: (1) to strengthen and strategically coordinate scientific research from the Federal Scientific Institutions, universities and research centres; (2) to facilitate the transfer of knwoledge from scientists to public and private decisions makers; (3) to guide future research programmes to effectively answer the needs of decision makers in addressing the climate crisis.

As part of these goals, the effective management, analysis, and sharing of climate-related data and projections, both among researchers and with decision makers, is crucial. The Climate Centre is therefore looking to reinforce its current team with an experienced data professional who combines strong technical skills with good strategic thinking and communication competencies. The job offers an opportunity to contribute to the data management strategy of the Climate Centre in its start up phase.

Job description

As senior data scientist, you will:

• Develop and lead the strategy of the Climate Centre regarding data management, analysis, and sharing;
• Facilitate the accessibility and usability of existing and newly-developed climate-related data and information, through either existing data portals or new web applications;
• Assess data user needs and analyse existing data sets to determine appropriate formats and tools;
• Collaborate closely with (data) scientists from partner research institutes including the RMI;
• Contribute to the overall strategy and operational needs of the Climate Centre.

Required skills and expertise

To be considered for this position, candidates must possess at least:

-        A master diploma, either obtained in the Benelux or with a proof of equivalence of diploma obtained in Flanders (NARIC) or in Wallonia (CFWB), and

-        Four years of post-master experience in a domain closely linked to the function responsibilities (e.g. through a PhD).

In addition, the ideal candidate should be able to demonstrate:

• Strong technical skills of software and tools for analyses and of programming languages (e.g. Bash, R, Python, SQL) needed to process various scientific data formats (e.g., NetCDF);
• Strong analytical skills to analyse and process large datasets in order to generate efficient and actionable outcomes and information by means of visuals such as graphs, charts, maps;
• Good knowledge of how data is obtained through measurements and/or modeling and of statistical analyses methods;
• Good communication skills to communicate internally and externally with non-technical audiences about the data sets used, the analysis and visualization methods, and the strategic recommendations for data management;
• The ability and enthusiasm to alternate between strategic planning and more hands-on data manipulation tasks;
• A good understanding of the causes and consequences of anthropogenic climate change and its challenges;
• Fluency in English and either French or Dutch;
• Strong project management skills;
• Excellent interpersonal and relationship skills;
• Innovative and creative thinking;
• A strategic, solution-oriented mindset.

Our offer

• The opportunity to contribute to the development of the Belgian Climate Centre as a new federal structure with strong ambitions in terms of innovation and impact.
• A strong, motivated, and diverse team of colleagues.
• A full-time or 4/5 contract at the level SW2 (Scientific Assistant) of the Belgian federal scientific career.
• Reimbursement of local public transport.
• Options for flexible schedules and partial teleworking.

Contact

To apply for this position, please send a motivation letter and curriculum vitae by email to job-cc@climatecentre.be by 3 December 2023 including the job title in the email subject. The interviews will take place between 11 and 13 December 2023.

Complementary information about the content of the position can be requested to the Climate Services Lead of the Climate Centre, Dr. Rozemien De Troch (rozemien.detroch@climatecentre.be).

For information about the work conditions, please contact the Head of Human Resources of RMI, Mrs. Cindy Overloop (humanres@meteo.be).