Senior Marine Ecologist

Team / Directorate: Renewable Energy Advice Team / Evidence, Policy & Permitting

Starting salary: £41,132 rising to £44,988 per annum through annual increments being paid each year (pro rata for part time applicants)

Contract type: Permanent

Work pattern: Full time, 37 hours per week (Part time, annualised hours, compressed hours or term time working considered - discussions at interview stage welcome)

Post number: 203910

The role

Are you a marine ecologist with specialist knowledge of benthic habitats and a passion for supporting sustainable offshore development? We're looking for a skilled professional to lead on the provision of expert advice for marine and offshore renewable energy projects in Wales.

As a Specialist Advisor for Benthic Ecology, you'll provide high-level technical advice on benthic ecology to support Natural Resources Wales' (NRW) role in assessing and guiding marine developments. Your input will help shape Government policy, inform strategic plans and guidance, and influence the sustainable delivery of offshore renewable energy.

You'll play a key role in NRW's Marine Programme, working collaboratively with internal teams across directorates and contributing to our Offshore Renewable Energy Programme. You'll also engage externally with the Welsh Government, other Statutory Nature Conservation Bodies, industry stakeholders and environmental consultants to ensure benthic ecology is fully considered in decision-making.

Key responsibilities include:

• Providing specialist advice on marine benthic ecology for offshore renewable energy and other marine developments.
• Supporting strategic decisions on marine planning, licensing, and conservation.
• Contributing technical expertise to NRW's Marine and Offshore Renewable Energy Programmes.
• Building strong working relationships with internal teams and external partners across government and industry.
• Shaping the development of national strategies, plans, and guidance relating to the marine environment.

This is a fantastic opportunity to apply your scientific expertise to nationally important work and help safeguard marine ecosystems while supporting Wales' transition to renewable energy.

Interviews will be confirmed at a later date. Successful external applicants will be subject to a satisfactory Disclosure and Barring Service Check (DBS) check. We aim to make offers of appointment within 4 to 8 weeks of the closing date.

What you will do

• Prepare technical assessments, drawing on a range of complex information and data in relation to marine benthic ecology.
• Provide specialist technical advice internally to directly inform NRW's external casework responses, and also internal casework determination where NRW is the regulator, (for example, marine licenses).
• Internal advice will also directly inform NRW's marine and coastal management functions.
• Provide specialist technical advice externally to (a) developers and regulators at a local, regional and national level, (b) regional and national stakeholder fora and (c) expert witness role at inquiries as appropriate.
• Lead development of relevant casework guidance.
• Develop procedures, tools and guidance and lead the delivery of new ways of working.
• Inform the development of NRW, Welsh Government and other Partners policy, statutory advice and guidance documents.
• Liaise with external stakeholders such as sector representatives, Welsh Government, partners, JNCC and other Environment Bodies in the UK to ensure the timely and effective delivery of project, policy or strategy obligations.
• Advise on evidence gaps and project manage agreed evidence projects, in line with the agreed evidence programme.
• Contribute to task and finish groups, commissioned through the Business Boards, to prepare defined products as required.
• Undertake health and safety duties and responsibilities appropriate to the post.
• Be committed to Natural Resources Wales Equal Opportunities and Diversity Policy, together with an understanding of how it operates within the responsibilities of the post.
• Be committed to your own development through the effective use of your personal development plan (known as Sgwrs).
• Any other reasonable duties requested commensurate with the grade of this role.
• Required to take part in incident response activities.

Your qualifications, experience, knowledge and skills

In your application and interview you will be asked to demonstrate the following skills and experience using the STAR method.

Knowledge of:

• Welsh, UK and EU legislation related to marine and coastal ecosystems and assigned sector(s);
• Welsh, UK Government policy drivers in marine and coastal ecosystems and assigned sector(s) and the issues and opportunities in Wales.

Experience of:

• Technical analysis and interpreting a range of environmental information and data;
• Analysing large data sets.
• Specialist technical knowledge related to marine benthic ecology.
• Working with/in Welsh Government, statutory nature conservation bodies, eNGOs, public bodies and marine sector representative bodies.
• Good project management, work planning and prioritisation skills.

Welsh language level requirements

Essential: Level A1 - Entry level (able to use and understand simple, basic phrases and greetings, no conversational Welsh). Please note if you do not meet the A1 requirement i.e., ability to understand basic phrases and ability to pronounce Welsh names correctly, then NRW offers a variety of learning options and staff support to help you meet these minimal requirements during the course of your employment with us.

Benefits

This role will offer a range of benefits, including:

• Civil Service Pension Scheme offering employer contributions of 28.97% (successful internal staff will remain in their current pension scheme).
• 28 days annual leave, rising to 33 days.
• Generous leave entitlements for all your life needs.
• Commitment to professional development.
• Health and wellbeing benefits and support.
• Weekly wellbeing hour to use as you choose.

See full details for all the employee benefits you will receive.

If you think you have what it takes to do this role, but don't necessarily meet every single point on the job description, please still get in touch and we will be happy to discuss the role with you in more detail.

We're passionate about creating a diverse workforce and positively encourage applications from under-represented communities. We embrace equality of opportunity irrespective of disability, neurodivergence, ethnic origin, colour, nationality, gender expression and gender identity, marital status, sexual orientation, culture, or religion. We put the principles of human rights, equality, fairness, dignity and respect at the heart of our values.

We are committed to equal opportunities and we guarantee interviews for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

We want to attract and retain talented and highly skilled staff, so we make sure that our pay scales remain competitive. We advertise the full pay scale on our job descriptions. Appointed candidates start at the first point of the pay scale and annual increments are paid each year.

We want our staff to grow professionally and personally. From leadership development to access to further and higher education courses, our staff have opportunities to expand their knowledge on a variety of topics, stay current in their field and continue to learn as their career progresses.

We are a Bilingual organisation which complies with the Welsh Language Standards. Welsh language skills are considered an asset to NRW, and we encourage and support staff to learn, develop and use their Welsh language skills.