Graduate Foundation Operational Meteorologist

Graduate Foundation Operational Meteorologist

Kickstart your meteorology career with a global leader in weather, climate science and services!

This role offers pathways to qualification as an Operational Meteorologist, combining meaningful ‘hands-on’ experience with training and development. You will work in a team with the largest customers of our weather services nationwide, making a real-life impact on our armed forces, airports, and the safety of the public.

Our opportunity is full time, 37 hours per week, starting in August 2025, and you will be deployed to various UK Met Office sites.

We’re offering you

• Comprehensive and world-leading training with a variety of development pathways; your route will be determined by your previous meteorological experience and performance during recruitment selection days. You can typically expect to be qualified within 18 to 24 months.
• A supportive and collaborative team environment with an opportunity to shape your own development, supported by dedicated People Leaders and experienced Meteorologists.
• A rewarding and diverse career in meteorology, customer service delivery, or business analysis, with broader routes into climate and scientific research.
• Varied work designed to help you gain a broad understanding of our business and customers, including time at your primary location and other sites across the UK. There is also potential for overseas secondments at our defence locations.

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 a force for 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 of decision-making.
• We’re better together – understanding partnerships and inclusivity make us greater.
• We keep evolving – pushing boundaries to make tomorrow better for our customers.

What You’ll Do

Your role will be dependent on the pathway you take. Based on your experience and the needs of our business when you join, you may focus more on some of the following areas than others, or you may proceed directly to study for your qualifications. Either way, you will build the experience and skills to deliver across these areas after you qualify.

• Weather Observations & Analysis : Real-time analysis of the local weather and environmental conditions, conveying technical data to your team, contributing to the production of products for a range of customers.
• Production of Forecast: Using predictive model data to build weather forecasts, delivering a range of products that allow customers to make safety-critical decisions.
• Customer Engagement : Actively partner with defence, aviation, or media customers, responding to queries and engaging with the Met Office team if required. Build and maintain working relationships through the provision of meteorological advice and develop an understanding of how this adds value to our customers.
• Business Support : Contribute to day-to-day office operations. Maintain local knowledge management, such as updating guidance and communicating changes to the wider team.
• Network: Make an impact on the wider network by collaborating with colleagues across the organisation, sharing knowledge and building strong working relationships.
• Project Work: Contribute to business-critical Met Office wide projects such as key change initiatives, events, software testbeds, or the creation of educational materials.
• Self-Development: Create and be responsible for a personal development plan, ensuring that you understand the wider organisation, our products and services, and keep learning throughout your career.

Essential Criteria, Skills and Experience:

• A degree in meteorology, a physical science, mathematics or engineering (at 2:2 or higher) or experience as an Operational Meteorologist.
• A genuine interest in weather, our customers, or service delivery, and the drive to use that interest to work as part of a team.
• Excellent communication skills and fluency in both spoken and written English.
• Ability to problem-solve and make decisions, at times independently and under pressure.
• Resilient, self-motivated, curious, and team-oriented.
• An adaptable mindset with a positive approach to change.
• A full UK driving licence is highly desirable and sometimes essential depending on location.

Am I eligible to apply?

In addition to the criteria listed above, you must also be eligible by meeting the following:

• You hold A-level mathematics or physics or the direct equivalent qualification or experience.
• You are willing to work shifts including ‘unsocial’ hours and to be willing to relocate within the UK.

Why join us

Our work is life-changing, often lifesaving, 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 and 2024 lists.

As our Foundation Operational Meteorologist, your total reward package will be up to £38,280 annually, which includes:

• £26,954 base pay
• An outstanding Civil Service pension, with an average employer contribution of 28.97%
• £4,200 as an Unsocial Hours Shift Allowance if applicable to the working pattern at your location.
• Annual Leave starting at 27.5 days (plus Bank Holidays) rising to 32.5 days after 5 years.

How we can help

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. If offered an interview, be aware there may be a selection exercise which could include a presentation, written test, or a scenario-based activity.

We understand 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. We require Security clearance, for which you need to have resided in the UK for at least 3 of the last 5 years to be eligible.

About the Met Office

Would you like to help us to make a difference to our planet by delivering extraordinary impact and benefit to people’s lives across the globe?

The Met Office is the UK’s national meteorological service. We are the experts in weather and climate forecasting, and we skilfully predict the weather for today, tomorrow, next week, and next season while looking further ahead at how the climate may change over the coming decades.

How to apply

If you share our values, we’d love to hear from you! Click apply to begin your application. Please complete your career history and provide evidence against each of the essential criteria in the supporting statement questionnaire.

Closing date: 09/03/2025 at 23:59. Please note we often receive a high volume of applications, but we will contact everyone who applies once the closing date has passed.

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