SOUTH AFRICAN WEATHER SERVICE (SAWS) VACANCIES

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The South African Weather Service (SAWS) is therefore seeking to appoint an efficient and enthusiastic person to undertake the role of: 
 
SENIOR SCIENTIST: MARINE
Salary total package: Negotiable 
Centre: Marine Research Unit, Cape Town 
(Ref. WS05/062024) 
 
Job Summary: 
The South African Weather Service seeks to appoint a Senior Scientist: Marine who will be involved in a range of modelling activities relevant to ocean and coastal environments, including marine observations in the METAREA VII. A Senior Scientist is primarily responsible for research in the field of marine science, product development to support operational marine forecasting services and functions, continuous enhancement and maintenance of marine weather forecasting systems, development and improvement of marine standard operating procedures, and ensuring compliance with marine related national and international standards. The Senior Scientist is also responsible for relationship-building at the national, regional and to some degree, international level. 
 
Key Performance Areas: 
The candidate will be required to: 

• Actively initiate and lead or participate in Marine Research Unit programmes, projects or activities related to commercial services and public good at national and international scale. 
• Develop new products, methodologies and/or processes to improve service delivery to clients. 
• Manage the maintenance and enhancement of Marine web-portal hosting marine products and services. 
• Develop and nurture external collaboration with relevant national and international institutions in line with strategic directions of SAWS. 
• Represent SAWS where appropriate and serve on national or international scientific panels/committees or specialist groups in an expert capacity. 
• Carry out all administrative functions attached to the post including the supervision of subordinates and scientific mentoring and development of junior scientists. 
• Continue self-development and stay current regarding new developments in the fields of ocean and atmospheric sciences. 
• Design custom marine related products according to client’s specifications. 
• Provide marine consulting/advisory services to clients. 
• Responsible for the analysis, interpretation, and publication of model results. 
• Continuous enhancements and maintenance of marine products and weather forecasting systems. 
• Assist forecasting department in monitoring and issuing of marine-related weather hazard warnings ahead of significant weather systems. 
• Actively participate in the assessment of societal risks associated with coastal hazards. 
• Assist the Regional Training Centre in the providing training to forecasters on marine related sciences in support of SAWS early warning systems. 
• Make contributions towards WMO Marine related documents and ensure ongoing compliance within the Unit. 
• Conduct and take a lead in marine related research programmes and projects. 
• Assist in the development and implementation of operational coupled atmosphere-ocean-land models for simulating coastal hazards and their impacts. 
• Develop and maintain appropriate standard operating procedures for the SAWS marine model setup and operations. 
• Assist with implementation and requirements of the SAWS TQM System. 
• Supervise and mentor junior scientists. 
• Liaise with clients within the marine sector to ascertain requirements. 
• Identify commercial opportunities ti increase SAWS revenue streams. 
• Collaborate with other SAWS departments to monitor, improve and fully leverage observation and forecasting systems. 
• Promote the awareness of marine SAWS products and services to relevant stakeholders. 
• Perform regular inspections to ensure all work done is according to documented requirements. 
• Ensure that the work environment complies with legislative requirements in relation to Occupational Health and Safety. 
• Participate in research and takeover voyages. 

 
Required Minimum Education/Training: 
• MSc in Earth and Environmental Sciences related field. 
 
Required Minimum Work Experience: 
• 5 years of experience in marine and/or atmospheric science. 
• At least 3 peer reviewed publications in marine and/or atmospheric sciences. 
 
Technical and Behavioural Competencies Required 

• Proficiency in high-level programming languages such as MATLAB with experience in UNIX/Linux environments and scripting languages such as bash and Python. 
• Experience running numerical models, and desire to learn more about coastal ocean modelling. 
• Experience in project management. 
• Ability to work in a team. 
• Analytical thinking 
• Creative thinking 
• Emotional intelligence 
• Innovation leading to implementation. 
• Excellent communication skills (written and verbal).

Please Note: 
Register as user on our website using this link: https://www.weathersa.co.za/home/vacancies to apply for the above position and upload your (Comprehensive CV with certified copies of qualifications). 
 
Enquiries for the above-mentioned positions must be directed to: Ms Thembisa Bixa, at Tel. (012) 367 6208 and at Thembisa.Bixa@weathersa.co.za  
 
Closing Date: 28 June 2024 
 
Preference will be given to People living with disabilities in line with SAWS EE targets. This is an EE position and preference will be given to females, Africans, Indians and Coloureds (AIC). Correspondence will be limited to short listed candidates only. Candidates who have not been contacted within 3 months after the closing date of this advertisement, please accept that your application was unsuccessful. The South African Weather Service is an equal opportunity employer. 
 
Record Reference: HCM-ADVERT- WS04/072024