ARCC climate scientist

Background

Tetra Tech ARD (www.tetratechard.com) has an immediate opening for a Climate Scientist at our Arlington, Virginia office. This individual will support the implementation of the Washington D.C.-based PLACE IQC Task Order, and further - the African and Latin American Resilience to Climate Change (ARCC) Program. The ARCC Program supports the Economic Growth objective within the USAID Foreign Assistance Framework by promoting adaptation to climate change, and integration of adaptation into other economic investments, in order to safeguard and motivate sustainable, climate-resilient growth. More specifically, ARCC is a three-year program designed to provide technical, analytical, and project assistance, as well as capacity building, to promote adaptation to climate change to improve the ability of vulnerable populations to respond to climate challenges and safeguard economic growth in Africa and Latin America/Caribbean. The Climate Scientist will be a member of the ARCC team and work under the general supervision of the Chief of Party.

Responsibilities

• Leads ARCC research efforts related to historical climate analysis, spatial distribution of annual and seasonal averages for primary variables (i.e. rainfall and temperature) and characterization of intra-seasonal features (e.g., onset and length of rainy season, statistics of rainy events and dry spells, inter-annual variability, annual and seasonal averages, etc.), as well as derived variables such solar radiation and evapotranspiration.
• Conducts research on current climate conditions, providing future climate projections under different emission scenarios and develops uncertainty ranges around future climate projections.
• Develops statistically downscaled projections for multiple variables (e.g. minimum and maximum temperature, rainfall, derived solar radiation and derived evapotranspiration).
• Manages statistical downscaling, regional modeling using context appropriate methods (PRECIS, CORDEX, etc.) at the national and/or regional level in countries located in Africa and/or Latin America and the Caribbean.
• Conducts data rescue, verification, data gap filling and dataset merging for national and global datasets.
• Analyzes current climate vulnerability and climate impacts on livelihoods (e.g. Agriculturalists, Fishers, Pastoralists) and sectors (e.g., agriculture, forests, water, fisheries, etc.)
• Contributes to vulnerability assessments and other ARCC research activities as assigned, (e.g. crop modeling, crop suitability mapping, value chain analysis, etc.) ensuring close coordination with other technical specialists;
• Liaises with national government offices including meteorological services, NGOs, universities and other institutions focused on climate data collection and modeling.
• Coordinates with ARCC project staff to develop research instruments to analyze public perceptions of climate change variability in comparison to historical climate trends.
• Provides planning, data and managerial support for additional crop modeling, and value chain analyses activities.
• Lead or contribute to additional long- and short-term activities according to USAID requests.
• Other duties as assigned by the DCOP/COP.

Qualifications

• Ph.D. in climate science or a related field, with substantial understanding of predictive modeling, including global circulation modeling and downscaling techniques to national, regional, municipal and community levels.
• Five years of work experience in applying predictive models to decision making, including development of projections for climate scenarios.
• Five years of experience working on interdisciplinary teams;
• Demonstrated experience in sub-Saharan Africa and/or Latin America and the Caribbean.
• Demonstrated knowledge of the latest developments in advancing best practices in climate change adaptation and evidence-based decision making.
• Demonstrated experience in collaborating across sectors and working on multi-disciplinary teams.
• Proficiency in French, Spanish and/or Portuguese desired.
• Previous experience working with USAID required.
• Willingness to travel internationally for work.
• U.S. citizenship or a valid U.S. work permit is mandatory for this position.

In addition to a collaborative and family-friendly work environment, Tetra Tech ARD values diverse, energetic, and enthusiastic team players who are committed to high levels of performance and who are dedicated to providing superior services at all levels of the firm.