Met Office to appoint chief marketer following relaunch
The Met Office is looking for a marketing chief to head its commercial division following its relaunch as a “global environmental advice centre”.
The post of marketing director was created following the appointment of former sales and marketing director Gareth John to the new position of director of corporate business.
The organisation has moved away from its traditional role as a weather forecaster by launching a range of commercial products to help businesses and the public sector plan for future changes to the weather and the environment.
A website providing historical and forecast data was launched last November along with a mobile phone weather service which allows people to receive the latest forecasts using WAP technology.
The new marketing director will head a team of ten people in the Bracknell-based commercial division, and will report directly to the managing director, Stephen Lawrenson.
The Met Office recently launched a Web-based system which enables retailers to estimate the effect of the weather on sales of various products.
The system is currently being tested by Safeway and will be rolled out nationally later this year.
“We have gone beyond weather forecasting and are now branching out into other areas of natural environment-related products, helping businesses with their plans,” says a Met Office spokesman.
