At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead remote sensing projects to restore and protect Wales' peatlands using innovative technologies.
- Company: Join Natural Resources Wales, a leader in environmental conservation and sustainability.
- Benefits: Enjoy a competitive salary, generous leave, and a commitment to your professional development.
- Other info: Flexible working options and a supportive environment for personal and professional growth.
- Why this job: Make a real impact on climate resilience and biodiversity while working with cutting-edge data.
- Qualifications: Degree or equivalent experience in remote sensing, with strong analytical and communication skills.
The predicted salary is between 58100 - 80000 £ per year.
The role involves playing a key part in shaping how Wales applies remote sensing and modelling to restore and protect its peatlands. Natural Resources Wales is seeking a Specialist Advisor in Modelling and Remote Sensing to support the delivery of the National Peatland Action Programme (NPAP). This unique opportunity includes leading the development, commissioning, and interpretation of evidence derived from satellite, aerial, and numerical modelling sources.
As the professional lead for remote sensing within NPAP, you will ensure that complex data is translated into clear, actionable insights that inform restoration delivery, reporting, and future planning. You will provide specialist expertise and strategic advice on remote sensing and numerical modelling, supporting the programme's objectives. Your responsibilities will include commissioning and managing technical projects, working with remotely sensed data to produce high-quality evidence that underpins decision-making.
A key part of your work will involve processing, analysing, and interpreting complex satellite and aerial imagery using tools such as GIS and R, ensuring outputs are robust, reliable, and fit for purpose. You will promote and embed remote sensing approaches across the organisation, ensuring that appropriate digital and ICT capabilities are in place to support this work.
Collaboration will be central to your success, as you engage with colleagues across NRW, Welsh Government, and UK-wide partners to help shape and influence remote sensing programmes at both national and UK levels. Communicating complex technical information clearly will also be essential, as you will translate detailed findings into accessible reports, presentations, and guidance.
You will keep up to date with emerging technologies, innovations, and best practices in remote sensing and modelling, helping to ensure that Wales remains at the forefront of evidence-led peatland restoration. Peatlands are vital for carbon storage, biodiversity, and climate resilience. By joining us, you will play a key role in ensuring Wales makes the best possible use of technology and evidence to restore and protect these important habitats for the future.
As an organisation, we support flexible working. You will be contracted to the NRW office at the above location, and a suitable hybrid working pattern will be agreed upon appointment. Any regular face-to-face meetings or training will be planned in advance.
About Us: The Peatland Data Support Team consists of data scientists that draw on spatial and statistical analytical tools to develop products to inform, implement, and report on NRW's National Peatlands Action Programme. This role is one of three Specialist Advisors who support the team leader and mentor junior staff to deliver workflows and data products that inform planning of peatland restoration activities across Wales and report on the progress and outcomes of the National Peatland Action Programme.
What you will do:
- Provide specialist expertise and advice on remote sensing to the NPAP.
- Commission, lead, manage, and undertake projects to deliver evidence products for NPAP derived from remotely sensed data.
- Work across the organisation to promote, develop, and implement remote sensing solutions for NPAP.
- Interact with and influence a range of partner organisations working on complex and strategic remote sensing programmes and projects at Wales and UK levels.
- Keep up to date with developments in numerical modelling and remote sensing methods.
- Undertake health and safety duties and responsibilities appropriate to the post.
- Be committed to Natural Resources Wales Equal Opportunities and Diversity Policy.
- Participate in incident response activities.
- Perform any other reasonable duties requested commensurate with the grade of this role.
Your qualifications, experience, knowledge and skills:
You will have a recognised qualification, degree or equivalent experience with specialist/technical knowledge in a range of subjects, preferably with experience of applications of remote sensing to peatlands. You will have practical experience of processing, analysing, and interpreting satellite, aerial imagery, lidar, and/or drone data in software such as ENVI, eCognition, SNAP, ArcPro, FME, R, or other specialist packages.
You will have experience of managing technical projects to deadlines and managing the full life-cycle of data, with substantial experience across a range of roles relevant to this peatland remote sensing role. You will be a confident communicator with the ability to extract key information and present this in a clear and concise manner to a range of audiences in both written and oral forms.
Welsh Language level requirements:
Essential: Level A1 - Entry level. If you do not meet the A1 requirement, 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%.
- 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 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.
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.
