People Leader - Operational Technology in Exeter

We’re looking for an exceptional People Leader to help us make a difference to our planet. As our People Leader, 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, but we would also consider applicants wishing to work a minimum of 33 hours per week and we will also try our best to consider those intending to work a job share. Our people are at the heart of what we do and we’ll do our best to agree a working pattern that works for everyone. We are looking to appoint three positions – two for a permanent post and one as a 12-month temporary appointment which has the potential 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 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

Your world of expertise: You will effectively lead and manage members of the Technology directorate, empowering and enabling them to develop in their role and future career through their personal development. Line manage approximately 15 to 20 technologists, ensuring they are engaged, motivated and inspired as they progress on their journey with the Met Office. Help identify skills gaps and opportunities across the team, and feed into strategic training needs and workforce planning with the leadership team. Ensure the team are aligned to all corporate standards and people management processes. Lead recruitment activities within the team.

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 and 2024 lists, as well as their ’54 Best Workplaces for Women’ 2023 list.

As our People Leader, your total reward package will be up to £60,268 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:

• Show that you are a Force for Good by providing evidence of an engaging leadership style and the necessary leadership techniques required to develop a high functioning, highly engaged team.
• Evidence of being an Expert by Nature by demonstrating your experience of leading a team aligning with corporate and people standards.
• Show you Live and Breathe It with evidence of utilising tools and techniques to better evidence staff recruitment, staff performance and identifying development opportunities.
• Show that you are Better Together with evidence of motivating and developing effective and well-functioning teams.
• Show that you Keep Evolving with evidence of your willingness to actively engage and contribute towards the development of new capabilities and ways of working.

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. We recommend candidates use the CARL method (Context, Action, Result and Learning) for presenting evidence of experience and skills. Closing date 23/11/2025 at 23:59 with first stage interviews commencing from 01/12/2025. 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 Disability Confident Scheme. To be invited to interview/assessment under this scheme, your application must meet the essential criteria for the role.

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 - please refer to GOV.UK for information. 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, 2 of these years must be immediately preceding the point of your application. You will need to achieve full security clearance within your first 6 months with us.