Project Manager in Wales

The role Natural Resources Wales (NRW) is seeking a confident, organised, and proactive Project Manager to lead the delivery of key initiatives across the organisation. This is a pivotal role where you will take ownership of assigned projects - managing delivery from initial planning through to implementation, with a strong focus on budget control, effective governance, and alignment with organisational priorities.

Working at the centre of a diverse programme of work, you will collaborate closely with internal teams and external delivery partners to ensure all aspects of each project are well-coordinated, efficiently delivered, and fully compliant with NRW's standards and procedures. The role involves applying recognised project management methodologies, selecting appropriate delivery approaches - whether through internal teams, contractor support, or full procurement - and maintaining accurate financial and project documentation. You will also identify risks and issues early, work with cross-functional teams to develop effective mitigation plans, and provide timely, clear reporting through NRW's established governance frameworks.

This is a flexible and varied role, offering the opportunity to contribute across a wide range of organisational initiatives. You may be assigned to different projects over time, giving you the chance to work across multiple areas and gain exposure to a broad spectrum of work that supports the sustainable management of Wales's natural resources.

If you're ready to lead meaningful change and thrive in a dynamic, collaborative environment - this role is for you. As an organisation we support flexible working. You will be contracted to the nearest NRW office to your home and a suitable hybrid working pattern will be agreed on appointment. Any regular face-to-face meetings or training will be planned in advance.

To make an informal enquiry about this role, please contact Nigel Thomas. Interviews will take place via Microsoft Teams. Successful applicants will be subject to a satisfactory Disclosure and Barring Service Check (DBS) check. Appointments are normally made within 4 to 8 weeks of the closing date.

• Develop and maintain a detailed implementation plan to support the operational delivery of projects approved under individual Programmes within NRW, aligning activities with agile delivery methods and sprint cycles where appropriate.
• Support agile governance and assurance processes, including the preparation of documentation and evidence for internal reviews and service assessments.
• Coordinate delivery activity across multidisciplinary teams, ensuring alignment with product roadmaps, backlogs, and iterative delivery goals.
• Work closely with product, delivery, and user research teams to ensure project outputs are shaped by user needs and are informed by research, evidence, and feedback.
• You will be involved with third party negotiations and contract management.
• Be the principal point of contact for each sub-project and where required work with other partners to share information and work together to deliver climate, nature and pollution targeted outcomes.
• You will have delegated budgetary responsibilities and will be responsible for financial tracking and reporting project progression.
• Contribute to the delivery of the team's business plan, the directorate delivery plan and NRW's corporate plan.
• Ensure that continuous improvement methods are applied to work areas.
• Develop, review and improve technical documentation, to enable consistent and appropriate understanding and application by staff in the business that enables effective service provision.
• 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 and through the effective use of your personal development plan (known as Sgwrs).
• Any other reasonable duties requested commensurate with the grade of this role.

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

• A recognised professional/technical qualification or equivalent relevant experience in project management.
• Project management experience must include budget management, management of staff, work programming and successful delivery of Agile projects.
• Strong understanding of Agile delivery methods (Scrum, Kanban, or scaled agile frameworks) and experience applying them in a digital, user-centred environment.
• Proven experience managing digital projects or programmes, ideally within the public sector or a similarly regulated and multi-stakeholder environment.
• Experience coordinating multidisciplinary teams, including developers, designers, user researchers, product managers, and delivery managers.
• Working knowledge of GDS service design and Digital Service Standards for Wales, including Discovery, Alpha, Beta, and Live phases.
• Demonstrative experience of innovation and drive to achieve targets.
• Good team working and communication skills.

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 level 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.

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.

We’re passionate about creating a diverse workforce and positively encourage applications from under-represented communities. We embrace equality of opportunity irrespective of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.

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.

Unless otherwise stated in the 'Role' section of this advert, Natural Resources Wales is unable to offer visa sponsorship for this position. Although we hold a Skilled Worker visa sponsorship licence, it applies only to specific roles that meet both the eligibility criteria and salary requirements set out by the UK Government under the Skilled Worker visa route.

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.

You are welcome to apply for any vacancy in Welsh or English and any application submitted will be treated equally. Applications are welcome from individuals who work part time, as part of a job share or who work full time.