Executive Director - Human Centered 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 job manages multiple related teams of managers and professional staff responsible for leadership within a Center and serves as a liaison to academic departments, professional organizations, and administrative units of the University. Has overall responsibility for the management, operations, financial, outreach, and programming for the center.

The Executive 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 Executive 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 hundreds of millions of 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 the Development Innovation Lab 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.

Responsibilities

• Developing and executing a strategic plan.
• Overseeing overall management across workstreams led by faculty leads.
• This position will supervise the Director of Human-Centered Weather Forecasts, the Director of Policy, and various Research & Policy Managers.
• Technical project management; reporting; and managing related teams.
• Coordinate with internal and external researchers working on projects related to validating, generating, and disseminating improved forecasts in LMICs.
• Drive conversations and negotiations with stakeholders to plan, design, and execute collaborations.
• Establish strong working relationships with and represent the initiative in meetings with high-level policymakers, funders, nonprofit leaders, and business executives on the global stage.
• Spearhead 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.
• Provides leadership for a Center with Senior Management and serves as a liaison to academic departments, professional organizations, and administrative units of the university.
• Manages related teams. Establishes department priorities, may be responsible for the management of the center budget, allocates resources and executes strategic plans.
• Perform 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 economics, public policy, sustainable development, climate science, agrometeorology, or related field.

Experience:

• Prior experience supervising teams working in higher education, international organizations or similar.
• Experience leading grant proposals or otherwise raising resources. Significant fundraising experience, with a history of securing substantial funding for large-scale programs, would be ideal.

Preferred Competencies

• 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.
• 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.

Preferred Competencies

• Track record engaging with senior counterparts in foundations and the private sector.
• 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

• Candidates must be willing to travel extensively (likely around 30 - 50%) and flexibly as needed, including international travel.
• Candidates must be eager to travel to meet with potential donors, governments, and other partners and must be willing to flexibly adjust travel and work schedules to meet the project needs.

Application Documents

• Resume/CV (required)
• Cover Letter (required)
• Professional reference contact information (3) (required)
• Work sample (required)

Job Family

Administration & Management

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

$165,000.00 - $201,000.00

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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