Communications Officer

Position description

Job reference: VN26-31
Salary and Grade: Grade B6, €92,979 NET annual basic salary + other benefits
Deadline for applications: 12/04/2026
Department: Office of the Director-General
Contract type: STF-PS
Contract Duration: Approx. 2 years - up to 31 May 2028

Your role

ECMWF is seeking an experienced Communications Officer to support the ECMWF Communication Section to develop high-quality communications outputs including Destination Earth activities, which ECMWF is implementing together with partners across Europe. The role will focus on overseeing the production of audio-visual materials and delivering hands-on digital storytelling, including long-form features and explanatory content that translate complex scientific topics into engaging narratives for both expert and non-expert audiences.

The Communications Officer will be part of the Communications Section, working closely with the DestinE and Digital Campaigns Communication Manager as well as communications and scientific colleagues across ECMWF and partner organisations. The position offers a broad range of responsibilities, including stakeholder engagement, content creation, and support for events and outreach activities.

About ECMWF

The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) is a world leader in Numerical Weather Predictions providing high-quality data for weather forecasts and environmental monitoring. As an intergovernmental organisation, we collaborate internationally to serve our members and the wider community with global weather predictions, data and training activities that are critical to contribute to safe and thriving societies.

The success of our activities depends on the funding and partnerships of the 35 Member and Co-operating States who provide the support and direction of our work. Our talented staff together with the international scientific community, and our powerful supercomputing capabilities, are the core of a 24/7 research and operational centre with a focus on medium and long-range predictions. We also hold one of the largest meteorological data archives in the world.

Our vision: The strength of a common goal
Our mission: Deliver global numerical weather predictions focusing on the medium-range and monitoring of the Earth system to and with our Member States

ECMWF is a multi-site organisation, with its headquarters in Reading, UK, a data centre in Bologna, Italy, and a large presence in Bonn, Germany, as a central location for our EU-related activities. ECMWF is internationally recognised as the voice of expertise in numerical weather predictions for forecasts and climate science - www.ecmwf.int.

About ECMWF and Destination Earth

ECMWF is one of the entities entrusted with implementing the European Commission's DestinE initiative, alongside ESA and EUMETSAT, and works closely with over 100 partner institutions across Europe. DestinE delivers high-resolution, configurable digital twins of the Earth system that simulate past, present and plausible future environmental conditions and enable “what-if” scenario exploration.

ECMWF is responsible for the delivery of these digital twins and of the Digital Twin engine, the software infrastructure needed to power the digital twins on the European HPC Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC) and ECMWF’s supercomputers and to handle and enable access to their data via the DestinE infrastructure, as well as for a range of Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML) activities. These include developments towards an ML Earth system model and a range of AI solutions that increase system interactivity and usability of digital twin data.

The third phase of DestinE (June 2026 – June 2028) marks the transition of the Climate Change Adaptation and Weather-induced Extremes Digital Twins, together with the Digital Twin Engine, into sustained operations. During this phase, the focus will be on consolidating, operating, and further evolving these key elements, as well as on maturing the AI Earth-system model components and AI-based solutions developed in phase 2.

Your responsibilities

• Develop and implement communications concepts and plans, for delivering on Destination Earth communications objectives, in collaboration with the DestinE and Digital Campaigns Communication Manager;
• Develop engaging and regular content for use on digital and social channels;
• Actively contribute to activities foreseen in the editorial calendars for Destination Earth and ECMWF;
• Develop audio-visual, graphical and written content with support from contractors as required to support digital storytelling and educational campaigns, by translating complex scientific topics into engaging narratives for both expert and non-expert audiences;
• Maximise content for events and engagement with key stakeholders as well as support coordination of content including impactful visuals for presentations;
• Work and liaise with colleagues, external partners and international audiences.

What we are looking for

• Confident communicator able to work with international experts, understand their work and needs, and translate complex scientific/technical material into easy-to-understand messages;
• Strong written skills, with the ability to write informative, engaging content, as well as in-depth briefings for contractors;
• Excellent interpersonal skills, with the ability to work collaboratively with colleagues and stakeholders;
• Self-motivated with a positive and professional approach to work and collaboration;
• Excellent attention to detail to create communications that are consistent with branding and and guidelines;
• Dedication and enthusiasm to work in a team;
• Ability to work efficiently and complete diverse tasks within deadlines and limited supervision.

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• EQF Level 4 or equivalent experience;
• Experience working in a communication function within a news organisation, PR agency, scientific organisation, international organisation or similar setting;
• Ability to understand the essence of complex international scientific research and translate it into inspiring content that will capture scientific and non-specialists' attention;
• Able to interpret and convey technical messages for broad audiences using the full communications mix;
• Experience in developing creative audio-visual content for communication channels, including GIFs and longer form content;
• A good knowledge and understanding of current trends in all communications channels, particularly digital media/social media with demonstrable experience of creative storytelling;
• Strong PowerPoint skills including graphic design and lay outing;
• Excellent organisational and planning skills, with the ability to liaise with stakeholders and coordinate agencies for a wide range of activities including events. As part of this, independent time management and prioritisation skills, and attention to detail are crucial;
• Fluency in English is essential as candidates will be required to work effectively in English and interviews will be conducted in English.

Desirable criteria

• The ideal candidate will have a background in communication and demonstrate interest and/or experience in communicating science. They will preferably have worked as part of a communications team or in a communications function;
• Experience using Adobe creative cloud design tools (InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop) and editing suite (Premier Pro, Audition) or similar are an advantage;
• Experience working in an international, multidisciplinary and multi-lingual environment;
• Fluency in French, German or Italian would be an advantage.

If you feel that you have the relevant profile and motivation to join us but don't meet precisely all of the skills above, we still encourage you to apply!

Other information

Grade remuneration: The successful candidates will be recruited according to the scales of the Co-ordinated Organisations. Full details of salary scales and allowances available on the ECMWF website at www.ecmwf.int/en/about/jobs.

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).

Interviews will take place by videoconference (MS Teams) starting from w/c 27 April.

Successful applicants and members of their family forming part of their households will be exempt from immigration restrictions.

Application instructions

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