Ocean Science Programme Manager

Published 14 of January

At The Ocean Race we want to do all we can to support and protect our seas. An important element of this is using our unique race - which goes through some of the most remote parts of the planet - to gather valuable information about the state of the ocean.

This isn’t something that we can do alone, we rely on our amazing teams, who embrace our science programme and play a key role in helping to improve understanding about our marine world and the threats it faces.

We launched our innovative science programme during the 2017-18 edition of our round-the-world sailing race. As the seven boats travelled through some of the most remote parts of our ocean they measured a range of variables to help provide insights on weather, climate change and microplastics.

For our next race in 2022-23 our ambition is to expand this powerful collaboration between science and our racing teams. We will equip boats with specialised equipment so that a fleet of sampling boats will capture direct measurements from parts of the ocean rarely accessible for scientific research.

We are recruiting for an enthusiastic and energetic Science Programme Manager to take on board this amazing project. The ideal candidate will need to be a marine scientist with strong communication skills and commercial knowledge.

The Science Programme Manager will join us asap in a full- time position based in Alicante, Spain. The contract will finish at the end of July 2023.

Main Responsibilities:

Programme Development and Management

  • Oversee the integration of any scientific equipment fitted on the boats participating in the Race, taking into consideration the ideal compromise between the events performance requirements and the correct functioning of the scientific equipment;
  • Oversee the development and implementation of other data collection possibilities such as meteorological data, buoy deployment, and science displays and/or attractions to be placed in host cities during the Race or other The Ocean Race events;
  • Liaise and coordinate with race/event departments and external agencies and collaborators to maximise the value and application of data collected;
  • Outside of the race period, search commercial opportunities for the scientific equipment including possible buyers or leases for the use of such equipment and present any offers it may receive to The Ocean Race.
  • Identify and explore options to collaborate with research partners, and establish partnerships with scientific group and/or institutions;
  • Examine potential funding sources and prepare funding proposals;
  • Analyse and advise on budget allocation of the programme;
  • Coordinate the development of a Scientific Advisory Panel (“SAP”) with input from the Sustainability department by conducting research to identify potential members for the SAP, coordinate any meetings that may be needed for its correct functioning and ensure communication between its prospective members;
  • Manage and continue building an up to date list of contacts for The Ocean Race to be used for the Programme and commercial purposes;
  • Coordinate organisation of science workshops with the aim of creating a science consortium and SAP and draw attention from key experts in the field;

Technical

  • Work alongside The Ocean Race internal team on external data destinations and potentially external private sector partners to develop the protocol and best practice for streaming data from the OceanPack and meteorological telemetry data in real-time (or close to real-time). Manage data including quality checks, upload and basic comparisons with other research results, publications and previous edition’s data. Experience in: Python for data processing; ingestion of data to global databases; working with telemetry data from research vessels or vessels of opportunity in real-time / for forecasting.
  • Work alongside The Ocean Race internal team and potentially external partners to optimise data collection opportunities for meteorological data and physical ocean measurements e.g. wave height, sea state, humidity, and align with above for efficient data processing and integration into external databases.
  • Work with boat designers, building teams, The Ocean Race internal teams, sailing teams and research partners to optimise science equipment for the boats participating in the Race (Boat Class VO 65 and IMOCA 60’s) and work to resolve any potential issue. This will include coordination, management and performance of field and bench tests to evaluate equipment and the provision of feedback and recommendations based on the recorded performance and feedback, to optimise sampling opportunities (aiming for ideal 24/7 measurements). The main technical aspects to be considered for are:
    • Size;
    • Dimensions;
    • Weight;
    • Power consumption;
    • Power supply (including supply from renewable power sources)
    • GPS connection;
    • On-board calibration tests;
    • Workload for sailors;
    • Quality check of the data;
    • Verification and upload to relevant global databases.
  • Work alongside The Ocean Race internal team and external partners to visualise ‘science data’ and integrate it into a dashboard / race tracker for the purpose of communicating data, raising awareness and educating about ocean health / global warming
  • Coordinate equipment installation, maintenance, calibration and verification as required on boats for use during or outside of race periods (including potential requirement to travel prior to and during Race periods). This will involve working alongside The Ocean Race internal team, equipment suppliers and sailing teams.
  • Work alongside The Ocean Race internal team and the ocean observing community to evaluate and address requirements for data collection from voluntary platforms within national EEZs (Exclusive Economic Zone);
  • Coordinate with ocean observing agencies and existing GOOS networks to facilitate buoy deployments from boats during pre-Race training and during the 2022-23 Race;
  • Work alongside The Ocean Race internal team and equipment suppliers to develop and deliver training to sailors in the use, relevance and basic maintenance of science equipment and provide ongoing support to ensure optimal data collection (to teams and shore teams / OR shore staff).

Communication

  • Prepare science communication articles based on, or inspired from, the Programme with the aim to publish them in relevant scientific publications in collaboration with research partners;
  • Prepare presentations of the Programme for conferences and speeches;
  • Prepare documents related to the scientific program such as progress reports, conference abstracts, presentations, meeting notes, concept documents and any other supporting documents help to communicate about and promote the Programme;
  • Organise and coordinate onsite outreach initiatives at the Host Cities for the next race including potential for science engagement as part of guest hospitality events;
  • Develop a bespoke activation temporarily named as the “Citizen Science” for Host Cities during the Race;
  • Identify and attract Host City organisations that may add value to the Citizen Science activation project and are in line with the Race image and policies;
  • Identify and coordinate further outreach opportunities with the Learning programme;
  • Work closely with the Sustainability Communications Manager to coordinate communication with research partners and consortium members across the various strands of research; with regards to the development and implementation of the Science Programme as well as communicating any information and research partners regarding timelines, targets and release of data;
  • Lead on data visualisation, including coordinating the development of assets that present the data in an engaging way to multiple audiences, in collaboration with The Ocean Race departments, to showcase the Programme activities and data and engage the public, sailors, race teams, and The Ocean Race stakeholders on ocean literacy topics; and
  • Organisation and coordination of industry-led Innovation Workshops. Identification of stakeholders, definition of the agenda, coordination of the event and follow-up plans.

Minimum requirements

  • Marine scientific background;
  • 3-5 years of similar experience;
  • Communications skills;
  • Experienced in creating reports;
  • Interest in sustainability projects;
  • Be a team player and comply with the values of The Ocean Race: Trust, Excellence & Care;
  • EU national or valid EU resident card; and
  • Candidates that are based in Alicante or would be able to move to Alicante will be prioritized.

--> Only CVs in English are accepted.