Assistant State Meteorologist - 31001639

State of Florida

12d • $55,164 • Onsite

About The Position

The Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) plans for and responds to both natural and man-made disasters. These range from floods and hurricanes to incidents involving hazardous materials or nuclear power. FDEM is the liaison between federal, state, and local agencies. FDEM prepares and implements a statewide Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan, routinely conducts extensive exercises to test state and county emergency response capabilities, provides technical assistance to local governments as they prepare emergency plans and procedures, as well as conducts emergency operations trainings for state and local government agencies.

FDEM serves as the lead agency for the State Emergency Response Team (SERT), whose primary goal is the coordination of the state’s efforts during disaster response and recovery. This coordination is conducted within the State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) in Tallahassee. Additionally, FDEM manages the State Watch Office; the 24-hour a day operation tasked with providing situational awareness to stakeholders statewide. After a disaster, FDEM conducts damage assessment surveys and advises the Governor of the State of Florida on whether to declare an emergency and seek federal relief funds. It is against this backdrop that FDEM strives to demonstrate its mission of, “Coordinate, collaborate, and communicate with our community stakeholders for a resilient Florida”, along with our vision of “Leading the Profession in building prepared and resilient communities”.

Position Overview and Responsibilities:

This position serves as an Assistant State Meteorologist within the Meteorological Support Unit of the Operations Section. This is a highly technical, science-based position that gathers, interprets, and disseminates critical weather-related scientific data, reports, and briefings, often in an operational mode. During activations of the SERT, the Assistant State Meteorologist coordinates with local, state, and federal agencies to provide meteorological data through development, analysis, interpretation, and distribution of weather-related data to accomplish operational and logistical objectives.

In response to emergency events, FDEM employees may be required to work irregular hours, work extended periods (including nights, weekends, and holidays), to be on-call with other members of the Meteorological Support Unit, requiring the ability to answer phone calls and respond to incidents as directed beyond scheduled working hours, work at locations other than their official headquarters, and to perform duties in addition to those outlined in the employee’s position description. Employees must be able to deploy to emergency sites with limited advance notice.

Requirements

• Knowledge of the terminology and principles of meteorology and the ability to provide technical meteorological support to agency managers and staff.
• Skill at meteorological data analysis from National Weather Service providers, including but not limited to, National Weather Service offices, National Hurricane Center, and the Storm Prediction Center.
• Knowledge of weather related threats that impact Florida and an ability to analyze meteorological data to determine their relative threat on a daily basis.
• Ability to research, prepare, and present reports, briefings, and technical programmatic information regarding meteorological data and forecasts to government officials, often with little to no notice.
• Ability to synthesize technical meteorological data and communicate effectively with others, particularly for a non-meteorological audience, both verbally and in writing.
• Ability to work in an operational mode to provide critical weather related data to other state/local government entities, including working nontraditional hours during weather events.
• Ability to coordinate multiple projects, tasks, and/or priorities, many of which with competing deadlines.
• A bachelor’s degree or master’s degree in Meteorology, Atmospheric Science, or related Earth Science field from an accredited university or college.
• Experience using Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, Word, Outlook), and the ability to learn and navigate FDEM enterprise business systems.

Responsibilities

• Perform daily analysis of meteorological data to determine weather-related threats to the State of Florida utilizing various federal, state, and private sector meteorological sources.
• Prepare both routine and requested meteorological products, often with little to no notice, and disseminate to agency partners in a timely and accurate manner.
• Routinely use computer software to generate and produce various statewide graphics to better supplement written products of weather-related hazards.
• Responsible for staffing the State Meteorology Desk in the Florida State Watch Office assisting with collecting information and compiling data analytics on incidents across the state.
• Assist SERT during times of activation by preparing weather forecasts to aid in operational decision-making as well as providing knowledge of any hazards that may impede response or recovery activities.
• Assist in the development, analysis, and interpretation of natural hazards information sources to allow meteorological and natural hazards information to be used for emergency planning applications, including exercises and training.
• Prepare reports and contribute to the development of public education and information on natural hazards and weather-related events and assist in public outreach events and publications.
• Participate in workshops, conferences, trainings, and other related meetings as assigned.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level