Global near real-time flood modeling initiative: Hydrometeorological rainfall expert

Background
To assist worldwide during water related crises, the Dutch government has mandated the Dutch Risk Reduction and Surge Support (DRRS) programme with the responsibility to assist foreign governments and international organizations with expertise on water. Over the last 10 years innovative approaches have been found, and many partnerships have been built. A recent remote technical support initiative has been applied, amongst others, to Ukraine, Libya and Botswana, leading to the idea of further focusing on near real-time iterative flood modelling. The team is constantly being developed in order to function optimally in the dynamic environment of emergency management.

Currently we are building up our capacity to be able to directly deploy near real-time flood modeling tools with a team of experts. We are expecting requests from the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) system for flood related disasters world wide in which we are envisioning to be able share flood modeling results right before disaster, or in the first days after first impact.

The core team during a deployment will consist of two hydrologist with the necessary support to run the relevant models. Depending on the context, a coastal expert or dam expert is to be added to that configuration. 

Good to understand is that this will be a request based initiative. This means that it is unclear when and how often deployments will be. A deployment will typically take place in a timeframe of 2-7 days, in which you will be expected to make yourself available directly, for 2-6 hours per day. This can be outside of office hours if a request comes in at that time. This is all depending on the context and the needs as expressed by the requesting entity.
A rough indication is that this require 5-20 days of effort, spreak out over the entire of 2026.

General requirements (applicable for all for all NRM team members): 

• Able to rapidly assess situations and data and provide conceptual and practical solutions;
• Experience in and knowledge of international (water) crisis context;
• Ability to be a relevant sparring partner for the local officials and to provide feedback on the existing plans and ideas, as well as provide input for suitable alternatives;
• Excellent presentation and reporting skills in English;
• Willing to work outside of office hours;
• Be available all days of the week to respond to questions by phone/text or refer to a colleague with similar skill set in case of absence;
• Good communication skills in English.

Hydrometeorological (rainfall) expert:

• Have insight and experience in working with  available precipitation data sets and tools, including ‘nowcasting’ products and associated ongoing innovations.
• Experience with blending near-real-time satellite data and with ground-based measurements;
• Focus on (precipitation) data for extreme events;
• Able to very quickly integrate environmental datasets, clean them, and get them ready to be used on the modelling solutions applied;
• Strong experience with GIS packages, APIs;
• Experience working with/for European, and ideally Asian, African and Caribbean regions;

If you do not meet these requirements, we would kindly ask you not to apply.

Please refer to the Terms of Reference (below) for more information on this position.

Candidates' CVs will be evaluated based on qualifications sent through based on the order in which they have been submitted.

If you are interested in the position, please respond as soon as possible, but at the latest before Fridat 6th of March via drrs@rvo.nl. Please send your CV, a short motivation and discuss your availability in your message.

We strongly encourage a diverse set of candidates to apply, as we are committed to fostering gender diversity and inclusion in DRRS. Moreover, we stimulate national experts to become part of our database and to apply for vacancies. Please visit our website and become part of our network.

At RVO we are fully committed to creating a safe and respectful work environment. We have a zero-tolerance policy towards any form of sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment (PSEAH). All deployees/experts must adhere to the Code of Conduct, which outlines ethical standards and behaviors expected within our organization. Successful candidates will be required to uphold these principles and participate in mandatory PSEAH and CoC training as part of their onboarding process.