The UKs Met Office has announced that Rob Varley has stepped down from his role as chief executive with immediate effect. Nick Jobling, current deputy chief executive and chief financial officer, will operate as interim chief executive pending a permanent appointment. In December 2017, Varley was elected first vice president of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), where he supports David Grimes, WMO president and assistant deputy minister for Environment and Climate Change, Canada. Varley is also a member of the WMO executive councils working group on strategic and operational planning, as well as working groups on disaster risk reduction and gender mainstreaming.