Description of Position

							                                         Job Description


Position:                    Team Leader: Ecosystem Modeller


Duration:                    Specified purpose for a maximum duration of 3 years


Service Group:               Ocean Science Services (OSS)


Grade:                       Team Leader (TL)


Location:                    Rinville, Oranmore, Co. Galway


Brief Description of the Marine Institute

The Marine Institute is a non-commercial semi-state body, which was formally established by
statute (Marine Institute act, 1991) in October 1992.

Under the Act the Marine Institute was given the responsibility:

“To undertake to co-ordinate, to promote and to assist in marine research and development and to
provide such services related to marine research and development, that in the opinion of the
Institute will promote economic development and create employment and protect the marine
environment”.

The Institute works in conjunction with the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, other
Government Departments, semi-state agencies and various national and international marine
based bodies.

Ocean Science Services (OSS)

The Ocean Science Services group at the Marine Institute have responsibility for the following
areas:

      Research vessel operations (Celtic Voyager and Celtic Explorer).
      Oceanographic Services (in-situ oceanographic infrastructure, ocean data centre and
       ocean modelling).
      Advanced Mapping Services (Irish National Seabed Survey).

OSS underpins work of several Marine Institute Service Groups namely Marine Environment
(MEFS), Fisheries (FSS) and Aquaculture Catchment Management (ACMS).




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The Working Environment

The place of work will be such as may be designated from time to time by the Marine Institute. The
team leader will be required to work at the Marine Institute’s Galway Headquarters. The team
leader will be given as much notice of the change of place of work as is reasonably practicable.
On occasions the team leader will also be required to work at sea on research and commercial
vessels. The team leader may also be required to travel within Ireland and abroad to meetings and
to take part in surveys from time to time.

When absent from home and place of work on duty, you will be paid appropriate travelling
expenses and subsistence allowances. Before any motor travel is undertaken for business
purposes you will be required to carry an indemnity clause in your certificate of insurance for
business use.

ARCOPOL (http://www.arcopol.eu )

ARCOPOL brings together a consortium of partners involved in Atlantic coastal pollution
protection. ARCOPOL aims to improve prevention, response and mitigation capabilities against oil,
HNS (hazardous & noxious substances) and inert spills, and to establish the basis for a
sustainable Atlantic network of experts supported by adequate information, data exchange and
management tools.

EASYCO (http://www.project-easy.info )

EASYCO brings together partners from 5 countries in the Atlantic Area with the aim of sharing and
building upon their operational modelling capabilities to forecast hydrodynamics and
biogeochemistry at the regional scale down to the local scale (e.g. Bantry Bay). Its specific
objectives are:

    Integrating operational forecasts of currents, waves and meteorology over the whole
     Atlantic Area,
    Integrating biogeochemical models developed in the Atlantic Area for producing operational
     biogeochemical forecasts over the whole area,
    Setting up fisheries management models based on the biogeochemical data and on the
     fishing effort,
    Setting up a filter feeders model able to relate growth, carrying capacity, primary production
     and circulation models,
    Setting up a users-community grouping institutions needing information on currents and
     biological properties for their daily activities, with special emphasis on SME’s.

The project is designed to be innovative, building on the knowledge developed by partners in
former research projects. The products of the project should have a wide applicability, but
especially for navigation, accidental marine pollution, fisheries, aquaculture, coastal management
and tourism.

Description of Position

The Team Leader will work as part of the Oceanographic Services Team and will liase closely with
staff from a range of service areas across the Marine Institute. The overall aim of this position is to
develop the Marine Institute’s capability in ecosystem modelling to service a range of existing
European modelling projects and to lay the foundations and take the initial steps in building a

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climate modelling capability at the Institute. The Team Leader will input into a range of EU projects
including ARCOPOL and EASYCO and others. The Team Leader will also represent the Marine
Institute in interactions with other government agencies and departments to develop modelling
products and services.

Principal Tasks

The following principal tasks of the Team Leader (Ecosystems) relate to ocean modelling:
The modeller will carry out the following tasks:

      Building on work already completed, implement the Fennel bio-geochemical model in
       ROMS (Regional Ocean Model System) in our NE Atlantic model system to run pre-
       operationally to simulate primary and secondary production. This to include tuning and
       validating the model with any available observational data.
      Tune and validate the Fennel bio-geochemical model that will be part of our high resolution
       ROMS model in Bantry Bay. The team leader is expected to guide the Fieldwork
       programme proposed for model validation.
      Lead implementation of the newly developed shellfish growth model code in the Bantry Bay
       model. Lead validation of the code with measured data. The Marine Institute is the lead
       partner for the shellfish model activity in the EASYCO project so the successful applicant
       will be expected to coordinate the activity of our partners in this area.
      Integration into model of geochemical fluxes through the sea surface, including oxygen and
       carbon dioxide, based on the latest current air-sea interaction research. The modeller will
       work closely with the air-sea interaction team in the National University of Ireland, Galway.
      Downscaling global models of future scenario of CO2 emissions to regional models of the
       North East Atlantic, with an emphasis on ecosystem model outputs of direct relevance to
       fisheries and aquaculture.
      Develop bespoke modelling products and outputs for Marine Institute and other users as
       required.

The Team Leader will guide an emerging team of modellers addressing a range of pre-operational
modelling applications. Specifically, the Team Leader will:

      Integrate existing Marine Institute data sets and assess their use in model validation.
      Develop model validation systems and methods to ensure robust assessment of model
       outputs.
      Perform analyses of data sets as required.
      Have responsibility for quality assurance strategy for these datasets.
      Supervise the STO (Ocean Modelling).
      Develop a follow on strategy for climate modelling at the Marine Institute.
      Make recommendations on future modelling strategy at the Marine Institute.
      Any other duties appropriate to the position and grade as assigned from time to time.

Reporting Structure

The Team Lead will report to the Section Manager (Oceanographic Services).




Contacts

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Internal:
      Director OSS
      Modelling team of Ocean Science Services.
      Section Managers / Team Leaders / STO’s of all MI service Groups (weekly to monthly).
      Wider Marine Institute personnel (as required).
      MI Climate Change Implementation Group.

External:
    External research groups both in Ireland and overseas.
    State agencies and Government Departments (eg. DAFF, DoEHLG, DoT, DCENR,
       Teagasc, BIM, EPA) as required.

Training

Although it is anticipated that the successful candidate will have experience in many of the relevant
areas, training will be provided as required in conjunction with the Institute’s Performance
Management and Development System.


Requirements:

Essential:
    Degree in Physical Oceanography or related discipline with sound numerical background.
    Minimum of 3 years experience in hands-on oceanographic environment (commercial or
      research).
    Experience in running or maintaining numerical hydrodynamic and biogeochemical models.
    Proven track record in programming in Fortran.
    Competence in a Linux environment.
    Proven track record in using scripting languages Matlab or Python.
    Previous seagoing experience and sufficiently fit for ENG II medical.
    Experience in Scientific and Technical report writing.
    Publication record in oceanography.
    Higher level of experience in the use of Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access and
      statistical packages.
    Proven ability to manage people, projects and budgets.
    Effective communication skills, both written and verbal.
    Ability to demonstrate strong interpersonal skills.
    Industrious, decisive, have a proven ability to use his/her own initiative while at the same
      time working well as a team player.
    Full, clean driving licence.


Desirable:

      PhD in ocean modelling, oceanography or related discipline.



Special Personal Attributes required for the Job

      Effective communication skills, both written and verbal at all levels.
      Ability to demonstrate strong interpersonal skills.
                                                                                Page 4 of 5
        Industrious, decisive, have a proven ability to use his/her own initiative while at the same
         time working well as a team player.
        Ability to use his/her own initiative while also managing a team and working well as part of
         a team.
        Experience of working as part of a scientific team.
        Experience in supervising and collaborating with members of a technical team.


Salary

Remuneration is in accordance with the Marine Institute Team Leader contributory salary scale of
as approved by the Department of Finance with a starting salary of €58,765 per annum, pro rated
with time worked. While this temporary position does not include membership of the Marine
Institute pension Schemes, the salary has been adjusted to include an amount to be used for
pension purposes. The Marine Institute has an established PRSA scheme.

Annual Leave

Annual leave entitlement for a Team Leader is 26 working days per annum pro-rated to reflect time
worked. Annual leave entitlements are exclusive of Public Holidays.


Duration of Contract

The contract will be issued on a specified purpose basis for up to a maximum duration of three
years, subject to funding with a 12 month probationary period.


How to Apply

A CV and letter of application should be posted to Human Resources, Marine Institute, Rinville,
Oranmore, Galway or sent via email to recruitment@marine.ie. Applicants will be short-listed on
the basis of the information contained in their letter of application and CV. Please ensure that
applications for this opportunity use the reference MI-OSS/ TL - Modeller - Feb 2010.

The closing date for all applications is Thursday 4th March at 4pm. Late applications will not
be accepted. It is the responsibility of candidates to ensure that their application is received on
time. Interviews will be held during week commencing 15th March 2010. It is the responsibility of
applicants to make themselves available for interview on the allotted date.
.




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