Senior Director, Weather Forecasts

Department

SSD Development Economics Center: Staff and Temporary Employees

About the Department

The Development Innovation Lab at the University of Chicago uses the tools of economics to develop innovations with the potential to benefit millions of people in low- and middle-income countries. It was founded and is led by Nobel laureate Michael Kremer.

Job Summary

The Senior Director will be administratively based at the Development Innovation Lab (DIL) at the University of Chicago. This role will lead the UChicago Human-Centered Forecasts initiative. The Senior Director will work closely with the faculty leads to build and grow this new initiative that has the potential to transform access to a vital climate adaptation tool in low- and middle-income countries.

The Human-Centered Weather Forecasts initiative is a new interdisciplinary UChicago initiative that aims to transform access to high-quality weather forecasts in low- and middle-income countries, e.g., by leveraging advances in AI. It is co-led by Amir Jina (Harris School of Public Policy), Michael Kremer (Kenneth C. Griffin Department of Economics and Harris School of Public Policy), and Pedram Hassanzadeh (Department of Geophysical Sciences and Committee on Computational and Applied Mathematics), and works closely with the UChicago Climate and Energy Institute and its faculty director Michael Greenstone.

High-quality weather forecasts help vulnerable populations adapt to increased weather uncertainty and extremes. Innovations, especially in AI, are driving a second revolution in weather forecasting. However, the benefits are yet to be realized in low- and middle-income countries. This initiative aims to bridge this gap, and will cover the following workstreams:

1. Produce AI-based forecasts tailored to the specific adaptation needs of farmers and individuals exposed to extreme heat.
2. Work with implementers to disseminate forecasts to 100 million people in low- and middle-income countries.
3. Conduct rigorous testing (such as A/B tests) to optimize dissemination and generate lessons to further scale these advances.
4. Strengthen global forecasting systems, including through benchmarking and validation

The Human-Centered Weather Forecasts initiative will build on the progress made by the Innovation Commission for Climate Change, Food Security, and Agriculture (whose Secretariat is based at UChicago). For example, in 2024, the Commission collaborated with the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare in India to disseminate high-quality weather forecasts to 9 million farmers under an existing Memorandum of Understanding; plans are now underway to expand to scale nationally in 2025. The Commission also planned AIM for Scale, a recently announced $26 million joint initiative led by the UAE and the Gates Foundation, which will focus on mobilizing efforts to disseminate high-quality weather forecasts in low- and middle-income countries in 2024 and 2025.

The Human-Centered Weather Forecasts initiative will also build on the progress made by the AI for Climate (AICE) Initiative at UChicago. For example, AICE has developed a partnership with the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence to design a training curriculum for government officials to learn about state-of-the-art AI forecasting methods, and conduct research to advance these methods for forecasts in low- and middle-income countries.

This role manages a team of managers and professional staff responsible for scientific research projects and research facilities. Ensures compliance of research activities with institutional, state, and federal regulatory policies, procedures, directives, and mandates. Manages the production of articles, reports, and manuscripts, and presents research findings at meetings and/ or conferences.

We encourage you to apply if you believe you have the skills to make a meaningful contribution to our work, even if you don't meet every qualification listed below.

Responsibilities

• Spearheads efforts to secure $20-$50 million in funding to establish a long-term program that will influence global weather forecasting practice and scale access to high-quality weather forecasts to millions of people in low- and middle-income countries.
• Builds and oversees a growing organization. This entails developing and executing a strategic plan, overseeing overall management across workstreams led by faculty leads; technical project management; reporting; and managing related teams. May also be responsible for the management of the budget.
• Leads conversations and negotiations with stakeholders to plan, design, and execute collaborations. Establishes strong working relationships with, and represents the initiative in meetings with high-level policymakers, funders, nonprofit leaders, and business executives on the global stage.
• Develops long-range plans for research projects and oversees the development of research projects. Ensures research projects progress according to plan.
• Manages, investigates, modifies and applies new procedures, techniques or applications of technology. Oversees the establishment of goals and operating procedures, practices, and guidelines. Develops research in area of expertise. Writes articles, reports and manuscripts. Presents research findings at meetings and/or conference.
• Performs other related work as needed.

Minimum Qualifications

Education:

Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.

Work Experience:

Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 7+ years of work experience in a related job discipline.

Certifications:

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Preferred Qualifications

Education:

• Master's degree in sustainable development, climate science, agrometeorology, economics, public policy, or related field.
• PhD in sustainable development, climate science, agrometeorology, economics, public policy, or related field.

Experience:

• Knowledge and skills developed through 10+ years of work experience in a related field.
• Proven track record of working with multiple stakeholders, particularly senior counterparts at governments in low- and middle-income countries, multilaterals, and large international organizations, to build successful policies and processes.
• Familiarity with weather forecasting techniques and/or agrometeorology, enabling the candidate to engage meaningfully with scientific experts as well as communicate technical concepts to non-specialist audiences.

Preferred Competencies

• Demonstrated leadership and management skills, including working across teams and efficiently managing the time of senior principals.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English.
• Prior experience supervising teams working in higher education, international organizations or similar.
• Track record engaging with senior counterparts in foundations and the private sector.
• Leading grant proposals or otherwise raising resources. Significant fundraising experience, with a history of securing substantial funding for large-scale programs, would be ideal.
• Familiarity with development economics, particularly causal research, enabling the candidate to engage deeply on work to optimize the dissemination of weather forecasts.
• Familiarity with the latest developments using AI techniques in climate science or meteorology.

Working Conditions

• Extensive domestic and international travel, around 50% of the time, with flexibly as needed.
• Candidates eager to travel to meet with potential donors, governments, and other partners and flexible in adjusting travel and work schedules to meet the project needs.

Application Documents

• Resume/CV (required)
• Cover Letter (required)
• References Contact Information (3)(required)
• Work Sample (required)

Job Family

Research

Role Impact

People Manager

Scheduled Weekly Hours

37.5

Drug Test Required

No

Health Screen Required

No

Motor Vehicle Record Inquiry Required

No

Pay Rate Type

Salary

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FLSA Status

Exempt

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Pay Range

$136,253.00 - $176,327.00

The included pay rate or range represents the University’s good faith estimate of the possible compensation offer for this role at the time of posting.

Benefits Eligible

Yes

The University of Chicago offers a wide range of benefits programs and resources for eligible employees, including health, retirement, and paid time off. Information about the benefit offerings can be found in the Benefits Guidebook.

Posting Statement

The University of Chicago is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or expression, national or ethnic origin, shared ancestry, age, status as an individual with a disability, military or veteran status, genetic information, or other protected classes under the law. For additional information please see the University's Notice of Nondiscrimination.

 

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