World Meteorological Organization

The Services Commission (SERCOM) welcomes experts from various fields to help advance meteorological, hydrological, climate and related environmental services worldwide. 

SERCOM areas of activity cover the services for agriculture, aviation, climate, disaster risk reduction and early warning, hydrology, marine, renewable energy, health, and urban services. For an overview of all the areas and the various bodies under SERCOM (Standing Committees, Study Group, and others), please refer to the SERCOM organigram. 

SERCOM experts play a crucial role, contributing to delivering the subsidiary bodies’ mandate. The time commitment of an expert typically ranges from 5 to 30 days per year. Becoming a SERCOM expert involves a structured and rigorous nomination and approval process to ensure the highest standards of expertise and balanced representation. Below you can check the information which includes the various procedural steps.

Nomination Process

1. Eligibility
   1. Experts must be nominated by the Permanent Representative to the WMO (PR - usually the head of the National Meteorological Service or National Meteorological and Hydrological Service, the latter where both fall under the same head)) of the country where they work or by an authorized agency approver (i.e. someone delegated by the PR);
   2. Nominations are open to professionals from public, private, and academic sectors, as well as international organizations (in this case, endorsement has to come from the International Organization’s management, and not from the PR of where the IO is located).
      
      
2. Registration in the Expert Network
   1. Nominated experts must be registered by PRs or Agency Approvers in the WMO Community Platform and in the Expert Network (EN). This includes submitting a CV and adding competencies and availability details of the nominated expert.
       
3. Selection and approval
   1. The Chairs of SERCOM Standing Committees and Study Group, in collaboration with the WMO Secretariat, identify suitable candidates from the Expert Network;
   2. The selection process emphasizes gender, geographical, and technical diversity and level of expertise;
   3. The final approval is granted by the SERCOM Management Group and the president of SERCOM.
      
      
4. Notification
   1. Selected experts receive an official notification outlining their roles, responsibilities, and expected time commitment.
      
      

How to express interest:

Professionals interested in becoming SERCOM experts can take the following steps:

• Contact the Permanent Representative to WMO (or Hydrological Adviser for experts in hydrology) of the country where they work to express their interest (for International Organizations, see point 1.2 above);
• If applicable, liaise with their organization’s agency approver to initiate the nomination process.

For more information on the nomination in the WMO Community Platform, please contact the WMO Secretariat at community@wmo.int.