Climatologist
Contract, part-time · Drought and rainfall outlooks, Colombia
Position type
Independent contractor, part-time
Hours
15-20 hours per week
Term
Ongoing, no fixed end date
Location
Remote.
Reports to
Meteorology Operations Lead
About the role
We provide climate and flood early-warning services to financial service providers (FSPs) in Colombia, including banks, microfinance institutions, insurers, and agricultural lenders. Their portfolios and customers are exposed to drought, excess rainfall, and flooding.
We are looking for a part-time contract climatologist to produce our customer-facing drought and rainfall outlooks for these partners. The role combines seasonal and sub-seasonal climate analysis with the writing and graphics work needed to turn that analysis into products a non-technical reader can act on. Outlooks are published on a monthly and seasonal cycle, with additional updates when conditions change materially. You will be working closely with the product team to explore how to surface this information type effectively to our clients.
Responsibilities
- Produce monthly and seasonal drought and rainfall outlooks covering Colombia, at regional and municipal level as appropriate.
- Issue interim updates when conditions warrant, such as a developing El Niño or La Niña, an anomalously wet or dry rainy season, or an emerging hydrological drought.
- Monitor ENSO conditions and forecasts, and other drivers relevant to Colombian rainfall, including the MJO, the Caribbean low-level jet, Atlantic and Pacific sea surface temperature patterns, and seasonal ITCZ migration.
- Analyze satellite precipitation data (IMERG, CHIRPS), reanalysis products, dynamical and statistical seasonal forecast systems, and drought indices such as SPI and SPEI.
- Assess the reliability of forecast and observational products over Colombian terrain, and state limitations clearly in published outlooks.
- Review and incorporate IDEAM guidance and other national and regional sources, and reconcile differences with our own analysis.
- Translate probabilistic forecast information into clear statements about likely impacts on planting and harvest timing, water availability, crop stress, flood exposure, and household disruption.
- Produce the maps, anomaly plots, and risk graphics that accompany each outlook.
- Adapt content and language for different audiences, including FSP management, field-based loan and agronomy staff, and rural end users receiving alerts by SMS or messaging app.
- Use AI tools to draft, revise, and localize outlook text and to generate and refine graphics, and review all AI-assisted output for scientific accuracy before publication.
- Contribute to reusable templates, prompts, and workflows that improve the consistency and turnaround of outlook production.
- Review our municipal-level flood and drought thresholds and alert logic, and recommend revisions where the evidence supports it.
- Verify published outlooks against observed conditions, document performance including misses, and apply findings to future outlooks.
Required qualifications
- BS or MS in climatology, meteorology, atmospheric science, hydrology, physical geography, or a related field.
- Demonstrated experience in seasonal and sub-seasonal forecasting, including probabilistic forecast interpretation, verification, and communication of uncertainty.
- Working knowledge of ENSO dynamics and other coupled ocean–atmosphere modes, and of how they affect rainfall and streamflow at sub-national scale.
- Practical knowledge across the factors that determine climate hazard and its consequences, including:
- atmospheric dynamics, including convection, moisture transport, and orographic effects
- hydrology, including catchment response, antecedent soil moisture, runoff generation, and river and reservoir regulation
- geology, including soil properties, infiltration, landslide and debris-flow susceptibility, and floodplain behavior
- local geography, including terrain effects in mountainous regions and the distinct climate regimes of coastal, interior, and lowland areas
- infrastructure and social vulnerability, including drainage and flood defenses, water supply and irrigation, road access, and settlement in flood-exposed areas
- Ability to produce clear, publication-quality maps and figures. Work samples required.
- Experience using AI tools in a professional writing or graphics workflow.
- Strong technological knowledge.
- Fluent English.
- Able to work independently against a fixed publication schedule.
Preferred qualifications
- Experience communicating natural hazard risk to non-specialist audiences, such as farmers, community groups, government or humanitarian agencies, commercial clients, or the general public.
- Professional working proficiency in Spanish. Some partner-facing material is published in Spanish, and a Spanish speaker would be able to author or review it directly.
- Experience working in Colombia or tropical Latin America.
- Experience with agricultural climate services, index insurance, or climate risk analysis for financial institutions.
- Familiarity with impact-based forecasting and early-warning frameworks.
Working arrangements
Outlook publication dates are set in advance on a monthly and seasonal cycle. Hours are flexible except for some recurring meetings.
How to apply
Please send CV via email to . As part of the interview process you will be expected to perform exercises involving outlook development. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled.
Pay: $25.00 - $35.00 per hour
Work Location: Remote
