CONSULTANCY - Enhancements of ClimWeb & digital communication tools in Central Africa - SSA-2026-TCU-DPPD-13

Background

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is supporting Central Africa in improving the exchange of information and data through open-source tools such as ClimWeb, WIS2Box and the Automated Data Loader. This support has helped Hydrological Services (NMHSs) across Africa to publish forecasts, warnings, climate, and hydrometeorological information. 

Two Regional centres under demonstration in Central Africa, the RSMC Yaoundé and RCC Doula (both in Cameroun) have requested digital transformation support to improve the communication of their information and increase country support.

ClimWeb will be upgraded to include new functionalities tailored to the needs of RSCM and RCC’s specialists (improving analysis of products, synergies with existing sources of information, among others). This support will also allow us to increase the interoperability between products delivered by two centres. 

This consultancy provides technical contributions to upgrade ClimWeb functionalities to better addresses Regional center needs and country support.

Duties and Responsibilities

The consultant will lead the design and development of core ClimWeb components, geospatial back-end infrastructure, and AI-powered features, and will provide technical support on selected components developed by the broader team. 

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is supporting Central Africa through the CREWS initiative to improve exchange of observation data through open-source tools such as ClimWeb. 

• Product Ingestion Plugin for ClimWeb  

  Suppport the design and development of a catalogue-style plugin enabling content managers to ingest products (maps, data, climate change information) into ClimWeb without technical expertise. 

• GeoRiva Geospatial Back-End Development  

  Support the development of GeoRiva – a Django/Wagtail geospatial back-end for automated ingestion, processing, isualization, and analysis of gridded raster data via standards-compliant APIs. Critical infrastructure for ClimWeb product serving and MapRoom functionalities. 

• Technical Advisory Support to RSMCs and RCCs  

  Provide development support to RSMCs and RCCs on standard data formats and publication services, covering RSMC Barcelona Dust, La Réunion, Nairobi, Yaoundé, Dakar, ECCAS, ICPAC, and ACMAD. 

• Bulletin Generation Module (Bulletin Studio)  

  Lead the development of an automated bulletin generation module (Bulletin Studio). To be initiated once data ingestion workflows are fully operational. 

• MapViewer and Geo-Manager Technology Upgrade  

  Upgrade the MapViewer to support WMTS, WFS, Zarr, and Parquet formats; enable impact-based risk analysis (population at risk, key infrastructure); and integrate AI-based geospatial multi-sectoral analysis. 

• AI Functionalities Integration into ClimWeb

  Integrate AI features into ClimWeb, including a user support chatbot, AI-assisted content generation in text editors and the CAP Composer, automated key messages by hazard type and severity, threshold-based notifications, and social-media-ready PDF summaries. 

• National MapViewer Customisation and Dataset Updates 

  Customise national MapViewers to include RSMC and RCC products, as well as socio-economic and multi-sectoral datasets (population, vulnerability, buildings, key infrastructure).

Deliverables

1. Versioned functional plugin, ensuring sustainability of future iterations.  
2. Functional Bulletin Studio module with semi-automated bulletin generation, including the possibility of co-producing Bulletins.
3. GitHub repository with documented code 
4. User guide and technical documentation
5. Upgraded MapViewer supporting WMTS, WFS, Zarr, and Parquet formats 

Required Skills and Experience

Education: 

• Advanced degree in computer science, software engineering, ICT, or a closely related discipline. 
• Additional training or certification in geospatial data engineering, data science, or AI/ML is an asset

Experience:

• Strong expertise in Django and Wagtail web framework development. 
• Solid experience in geospatial back-end development (PostGIS, tile servers, GeoServer, pg_tileserv, or equivalent). 
• Experience developing standards-compliant data APIs (WMTS, WFS, OGC) and modular plugin architectures. 
• Demonstrated experience integrating AI/ML features into web applications (chatbots, automated text generation, geospatial analysis). 
• Familiarity with ClimWeb, GeoManager, or similar CMS platforms for meteorological/climate information. 
• Understanding of meteorological and climate data formats and products (raster data, gridded model outputs, climate datasets). 
• Experience with web-GIS frameworks (Leaflet, Mapbox GL, OpenLayers) an asset. 
• Understanding of impact-based forecasting workflows and CAP (Common Alerting Protocol) an asset. 
• Proficiency with version control (Git) and collaborative software development workflows. 
• Experience with Linux-based server deployments. 

Languages: Excellent knowledge of English (both oral and written). Knowledge of French would be an advantage.

(Note: the official languages of the Organization are Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.)

Salary and Allowances: Pay band D

Duration: 92 working days over a period of 6 months

Contact: Marta Baraibar mbaraibar@wmo.int

Applications:

Applications should be made online through the WMO e-recruitment system.

Do not send your application via multiple routes. WMO no longer accepts applications via post or email. Only applicants for whom WMO has a further interest will be contacted. Shortlisted candidates may be required to sit a written test and/or an interview.

Statements:

WMO is committed to achieving diversity and a balanced workforce. Applications are welcome from qualified women and men, including those with disabilities. The statutory retirement age is 65. Pursuant to WMO Standing Instructions, the minimum age to be eligible for consideration for vacant positions is 18, and the maximum age must enable the candidate to serve for at least the term of the contract before reaching mandatory age of separation.

Sexual harassment, exploitation, and abuse of authority

WMO does not tolerate harassment, sexual harassment, exploitation, discrimination and abuse of authority. All selected candidates, therefore, undergo relevant checks and are expected to adhere to the respective standards and principles.

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