Senior Officer, Environment Team in Cardiff

The role involves working at a fast pace, often to tight deadlines, and effectively prioritising workload to deliver more for the environment. As an officer within the Newport, Caerphilly and Blaenau Gwent Environment Team, you will report to the Environment Team Leader and play a key role in work planning at Place level. Environment Team activities are central to delivering the Sustainable Management of our Natural Resources in Wales and tackling the Climate and Nature Emergencies.

We are seeking a Senior Officer with water quality expertise and experience to work on incident management to help deliver effective regulation to improve the water environment. You will be the technical lead and mentor on water regulation issues within the team and be capable of dealing with incidents, contentious issues, queries, and complaints. As part of NRW's role as a Category 1 responder under the Civil Contingencies Act, the post holder will respond safely, timely, and efficiently to environmental incidents and undertake appropriate investigation and enforcement work. You will be required to support the attendance of out-of-office hours incidents.

As an organisation, we support flexible working. You will be contracted to the Natural Resources Wales (NRW) office at the above location, and a suitable hybrid working pattern will be agreed upon appointment. Driving is essential to this role, and you must hold a full and current UK driving licence.

What you will do:

• Represent NRW in discussions with partner organisations.
• Act as technical mentor and advisor to team members.
• Assist Team Leader in the planning and delivery of compliance programme and enforcement.
• Collect evidence for enforcement purposes, in accordance with defined procedures.
• Determine and implement the most appropriate intervention option where non-compliance is identified.
• Co-ordinate the technical development of team members.
• Identify opportunities for new Management Agreements and Partnership Projects to deliver NRW priorities at place.
• Support a resilient and competent NRW Incident Management Service that follows NRW process.
• Undertake health and safety duties and responsibilities appropriate to the post.
• Be committed to Natural Resources Wales Equal Opportunities and Diversity Policy.
• Be committed to your own development through the effective use of your personal development plan (known as Sgwrs).
• Participate in incident response activities.
• Perform any other reasonable duties requested commensurate with the grade of this role.

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:

• Experience of project development and management.
• Overall understanding of the sustainable management of natural resources, with focused expertise in a distinct area of the Environment Team remit.
• Ability to communicate effectively with stakeholders and the public, explaining issues and gaining support by influencing.
• Good knowledge and experience of regulatory and enforcement processes.
• Hold a current full UK valid licence to drive NRW fleet vehicles (cars and vans).

Welsh Language level requirements:

Essential: Level A2 - Elementary level Welsh language levels. Please note that if you do not meet the Welsh language level requirements for this role, your application will not be shortlisted.

Additional Information:

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. This role meets the criteria for sponsorship under the Skilled Worker visa route. Natural Resources Wales welcomes applications from non-UK citizens who are eligible to apply under this route, subject to confirmation by the Home Office.

Please note that while we may be able to support the Certificate of Sponsorship required for a visa application, the organisation does not cover the cost of the visa itself, including any associated fees for dependants. The applicant must still meet the UK Skilled Worker Visa Eligibility and Requirement.

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.

We are 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 ensure 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.