Climate and Marine Modelling Assistant

INTERGOVERNMENTAL AUTHORITY ON DEVELOPMENT (IGAD) 
VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT

Position Title:                     Climate and Marine Modelling Assistant

Reference:                            IGAD-CMMA

Issuing Office:                    IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Centre (ICPAC)

Duty Station:                       Nairobi

Applications Deadline:     11th November 2026

Expected Start Date:         Immediate

1.    Background

The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), through its specialised centre on climate (ICPAC), supports Member States in strengthening climate information, prediction, early warning, disaster risk management, and climate-resilient development across the Greater Horn of Africa. The increasing impacts of climate variability and change on terrestrial, coastal and marine systems have created a growing need for reliable climate and marine information to support decision-making. The development of climate and marine modelling capabilities is particularly important for sectors such as fisheries, maritime transport, coastal infrastructure, disaster risk reduction, agriculture, water resources and the broader Blue Economy.

The ICPAC is seeking to recruit a Climate and Marine Modelling Assistant to provide technical support in the processing, analysis, visualization and quality control of climate and marine datasets and model outputs. The position will support the development of operational climate and marine information products and contribute to modelling, forecasting, research and data-analysis activities.

The position is intended for an early-career professional with strong quantitative skills and an interest in developing practical expertise in climate and marine modelling.

2.    Objective of the Position

The Climate and Marine Modelling Assistant will provide technical support to climate and marine modelling activities, including data processing, model-output analysis, forecast verification, visualization, automation and preparation of information products for climate services, early warning and marine applications.

2.1 Key Roles and Responsibilities

The Climate and Marine Modelling Assistant will undertake the following tasks: 

Climate and Marine Modelling

• Support processing and analysis of climate, weather, ocean and wave model outputs.
• Assist in the preparation of climate and marine forecast products, analyse parameters such as rainfall, temperature, wind, sea surface temperature, waves, currents, sea level and other relevant variables and support monitoring and analysis of climate and marine extremes and hazards.

Data Processing and Analysis

• Download, process, quality-control and organize climate and marine datasets, work with scientific and geospatial data formats such as NetCDF, GRIB and GeoTIFF, support integration of model outputs with satellite and in-situ observations and extract and analyse data for specific geographic areas, countries and marine zones.

Programming and Automation

• Develop and maintain basic scripts and workflows for data processing and analysis.
• Use Python, R, MATLAB or equivalent tools for scientific data analysis.
• Support automation of routine modelling and forecast-product generation.

Model Verification and Visualization

• Support comparison of model outputs with observations, assist with forecast verification and preparation of performance statistics and Prepare maps, graphs, time-series and other visualizations for technical and operational use.

Climate Services and Early Warning

• Support monitoring of climate and marine conditions for early warning, contribute to preparation of routine and event-based climate and marine information products and provide technical inputs to climate outlooks, marine forecasts and Blue Economy information services.

Research and Technical Support

• Support research and analysis related to climate variability, climate change, marine hazards and forecasting, contribute to technical reports, presentations, publications and project activities and undertake other related duties assigned by the supervisor.

Key Deliverables

• Processed and quality-controlled climate and marine datasets, Climate and marine forecast maps and analytical products, Model verification and performance-analysis outputs, Automated data-processing and analysis scripts, Climate and marine monitoring products, technical reports, presentations and analytical notes and Inputs to early warning and climate/marine information services.

3.    Key Educational Qualifications and Professional Experience

3.1 Academic Qualification

• Master’s degree in meteorology, Atmospheric Sciences, Oceanography, Marine Science, Climate Science, Environmental Science, Physics, Mathematics, Geospatial Science, Computer Science or a related field.
• Relevant postgraduate qualification will be an added advantage.

3.2 Professional work experience

• The candidate should demonstrate at least four (4) years professional experience related to, climate, meteorological, marine, environmental or geospatial data analysis.
• Experience in one or more of the following areas is mandatory:
• Climate or marine modelling;
• Numerical weather prediction;
• Ocean or wave modelling;
• Climate data analysis;
• Earth Observation and remote sensing;
• GIS and geospatial analysis;
• Climate forecasting and early warning;
• Scientific programming and data science; and
• High-performance or cloud computing.
• Experience in working with scientific or environmental datasets and demonstrate the ability to handle large datasets and undertake basic statistical analysis.
• The candidate should demonstrate:
• Knowledge of climate and/or marine science;
• Familiarity with Python, R, MATLAB or similar programming languages/tools;
• Familiarity with scientific data formats such as NetCDF, GRIB, GeoTIFF or similar formats;
• Basic GIS and data-visualization skills;
• Ability to work with large datasets and conduct statistical analysis; and
• Familiarity with modelling systems and datasets such as WRF, SWAN, WAVEWATCH III, ROMS, ECMWF products, reanalysis datasets or similar systems will be considered an advantage

3.3 Essential Skills and Competencies Required

• Strong analytical and quantitative skills;
• Attention to detail and commitment to data quality;
• Strong problem-solving and logical-thinking skills;
• Ability to quickly learn new technologies and scientific methods;
• Good written and oral communication skills;
• Ability to work effectively within a multidisciplinary team;
• Ability to manage multiple tasks and meet deadlines; and

3.4 Language requirements

Excellent command of English, both written and spoken, is required. Working knowledge of French is considered an added advantage.

1. Remuneration

In accordance with IGAD salary scale and applicable policies, taking into account the candidate’s and qualifications and relevant experience.

1. Duration of Assignment

The appointment shall be for an initial period of one year, renewable subject to the availability of funds and satisfactory performance, with the first three months constituting a probationary period

1. How to Apply

Interested candidates should send their applications in PDF format accompanied by a cover letter, curriculum vitae, copies of academic credentials, copy of professional certification, copy of passport’s biometric page / national identity card and three reference persons including one from the last employer.

Applications should be submitted via email to the addresses: [email protected] with the subject line: ‘IGAD-CMMA’.

The deadline for submission of applications is 11 November 2026 at 11:59 PM, Djibouti time (GMT+3). Applications submitted after this deadline will not be considered.

Due to anticipated large number of applications, only successful candidates who meet the required experience and qualifications for this position will be contacted.

IGAD is an equal opportunity employer. Qualified female candidates are highly encouraged to apply.