Communications Officer

Your role 

ECMWF has an exciting opportunity for a Communications Officer (B5) based at our office in Bonn, Germany. In the framework of ECMWF’s contribution to the Destination Earth (DestinE) initiative of the European Commission, your role will be instrumental in highlighting ECMWF’s role in DestinE, which aims to build a digital replica or twin of the planet to better understand the impact of a changing climate. As a Communications Officer you will join the DestinE Communications Team, which comprises a Communications Manager, Science and Content Writer and Senior   Communications Officer. The role holds a range of responsibilities, including event coordination, news and content gathering as well as digital and social content  creation and posting.  A focus for this role will be highlighting the use, development and benefits of artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) in DestinE. You will have an opportunity to collaborate with  machine learning experts and outstanding scientists across ECMWF, in particular those also contributing to DestinE and the ML  version of our Integrated Forecasting System. You will also collaborate with our DestinE partners at the European Space Agency (ESA) and EUMETSAT. 

About ECMWF 

The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) is a world-leader in weather and environmental forecasting. As an international organisation we serve our members and the wider community with global weather predictions and data that is critical for understanding and solving the climate crisis. We function as a 24/7 research and operational centre with a focus on medium and long-range predictions, holding one of the largest meteorological data archives in the world. The success of our activities builds on the talent of our scientists and experts, strong partnerships with 35 Member and Co-operating States and the international community, some of the most powerful supercomputers in the world, and the use of innovative technologies and machine learning across our operations. ECMWF is a multi-site organisation, with a main office in Reading, UK, a data centre/supercomputer in Bologna, Italy, and a large presence in Bonn, Germany. ECMWF has also developed a strong partnership with the European Union and has been entrusted with the implementation and operation of the Destination Earth Initiative and the Climate Change and Atmosphere Monitoring Services of the Copernicus Programme. Other areas of work include High Performance Computing and the development of digital tools that enable ECMWF to extend provision of data and products covering weather, climate, air quality, fire and flood prediction and monitoring.

See   for more info about what we do. 

The Destination Earth (DestinE) initiative

ECMWF is one of the three entities entrusted to implement the DestinE initiative of the European Commission, alongside with ESA and EUMETSAT as partners. DestinE aims to deploy several highly accurate thematic digital replicas of the Earth, called Digital Twins. The Digital Twins will help monitor and predict environmental change and human impact, in order to develop and test scenarios that would support sustainable development and corresponding European policies for the Green Deal.  ECMWF is responsible for the delivery of these digital twins and of the Digital Twin engine, the software infrastructure needed to power them of some of Europe’s largest supercomputers, those of the European HPC Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC).  

The second phase of DestinE covers the period June 2024 – May 2026, and future phases are foreseen (subject to funding). Phase 2 will focus on early operations with consolidation, maintenance, and continuous evolution of the DestinE system components developed in the first phase. There will also be an enhanced focus on ML activities, including the deployment of workflows of components of a ML model for the Earth system, optimisation of the Digital Twin Engine to enable efficient model training and simulations, and other activities. One key element of the ML activities in phase 2 includes training. This shall build on recent ML training initiatives at ECMWF, including the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on ML for Weather and Climate (see ). 

For more information on DestinE, see  and

Your responsibilities 

• Promote machine learning and artificial intelligence within the DestinE initiative.
• Gather up to date information from specialists at ECMWF and create engaging posts for social media  channels.  
• Coordinate Destination Earth events on behalf of ECMWF including pre-event administration and planning, liaising with suppliers and contractors, hands-on event operations, logistics and reporting outcomes  for in-person, virtual and hybrid formats. 
• Act as a point of contact   for communication for ECMWF DestinE contractors 
• Edit and update the CMS system (Wordpress) of the ECMWF DestinE microsite and track analytical information for reporting
• Support communications editorial activities by taking minutes of meetings, action tracking and updating the communications workflow grid.
• Respond to and coordinate queries from colleagues, external partners and international audiences.  

What we're looking for

• Broad generalist communications knowledge and skills related to, for example, events, photo editing, digital, social
• Excellent attention to detail to align and create communications that are consistent with corporate branding, communication guidelines and existing materials
• Self-motivated with a positive and professional approach to work and collaboration with a desire to grow and develop skills and knowledge 
• Dedication and enthusiasm to work as part of an international team 
• Ability to work efficiently and complete diverse tasks within deadlines and a high degree of autonomy
• Very good written and oral skills (English)

Education and Experience

• Higher standard of education (EQF Level 6) or equivalent level of experience.
• Experience of working in a communication function or in a communications team within a scientific organisation, international organisation or similar setting. Relevant experience would include online publishing including social media and support to conferences. Ideally you will have a background in communication and demonstrate interest or experience in communicating science.

Skills and knowledge

• Interest in science and technology, with the ability to interpret and convey information for broad scientific and non-specialist audiences. 
• Broad, generalist communications knowledge and skills for multi-channels, including social, digital and events.
• Excellent organisational and planning skills, with the ability to collaborate with colleagues and stakeholders for a wide range of activities from administration to events to digital external communications support.
• A good knowledge and understanding of editing CMS platforms, SEO techniques and analytics reporting.  
• Up to date knowledge and applicable skills on the current trends in social media communications channels.
• Excellent time management and prioritisation skills, along with attention to detail and a completer/finisher mindset. 
• Experience using Adobe creative cloud design tools (InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop) and editing suite (Premier Pro, Audition) is desirable. Also experience in or demonstrated knowledge of equivalent tools with willingness to learn Adobe can be considered.
• Fluency in spoken and written English is a requirement. 
• Strong working knowledge, spoken and written, of German is also a requirement.

Other information 

Grade remuneration:  The successful candidates will be recruited at the B5 grade, according to the scales of the Co-ordinated Organisations. The position is assigned to the employment category STF-PS  as defined in the ECMWF Staff Regulations. Full details of salary scales and allowances available on the ECMWF website at . 

Starting date:  As soon as possible

Candidates are expected to relocate to the duty station. As a multi-site organisation, ECMWF has adopted a hybrid organisation model which allows flexibility to staff to mix office working and teleworking, including away from the duty station (within the area of our member states and co-operating states).

A written test and interviews by videoconference (MS Team) are expected to take place shortly after the closing date. 

Who can apply 

Applicants are invited to complete the online application form by clicking on the apply button below. 

At ECMWF, we consider an inclusive environment as key for our success. We are dedicated to ensuring a workplace that embraces diversity and provides equal opportunities for all, without distinction as to race, gender, age, marital status, social status, disability, sexual orientation, religion, personality, ethnicity and culture. We value the benefits derived from a diverse workforce and are committed to having staff that reflect the diversity of the countries that are part of our community, in an environment that nurtures equality and inclusion. 

Applications are invited from nationals from ECMWF Member States and Co-operating States: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Morocco, the Netherlands, Norway, North Macedonia, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye and the United Kingdom. 

In these exceptional times, we also welcome applications from Ukrainian nationals for this vacancy.  

Applications from nationals from other countries may be considered in exceptional cases.