Woodland Programme Advisor

Team / Directorate: Woodland Programme / Evidence, Policy & Permitting
Starting salary: £36,246 rising to £39,942 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)
Interview Date: 22 September 2025
Post number: 202735 (For office use only: ENV, GRJ, GGL)
The role
As an Advisor within the Woodland Programme Team, you will play a key role in delivering a high-quality, efficient verification service that supports the Welsh Government\’s woodland creation and restoration grant schemes.
Your work will involve preparing timely, field- and forest-based technical assessments and providing expert advice to landowners and their agents. These assessments will be essential in ensuring that proposals for new woodland and the restoration of existing woodland meet the required standards and deliver long-term environmental and land management benefits.
You will work closely with colleagues across NRW, including those in Evidence, Policy and Permitting, and Operations, as well as with external partners and stakeholders. Your input will help shape a more sustainable future for Wales\’ landscapes, ensuring that woodland expansion is grounded in sound science and good practice.
If you\’re passionate about woodland management, environmental stewardship, and delivering practical impact on the ground, this role offers a meaningful opportunity to support climate and nature goals across Wales.
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.
Interviews will take place through 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.
About us
The Woodland Programme Team provides a verification service to Welsh Government; ensuring that applications to their Woodland Creation and Woodland Restoration schemes are compliant with the UK Forestry Standard and the scheme rules. The team sits in the Sustainable Land and Nature Group within the Evidence, Policy and Permitting Directorate. We are a Wales-wide team with staff based across the various Natural Resources Wales offices.
What you will do

• Prepare technical assessments, drawing on a range of information and data sources.
• Support the preparation of material to inform the development of NRW, WG and other Partners policy, statutory advice and guidance documents; Prepare the development of procedures, tools and guidance and lead the delivery of new ways of working.
• Provide regular accurate information to managers on progress, to adapt and ensure delivery of work to time and cost.
• Liaise with relevant NRW staff regarding interactions between teams to ensure the timely and effective delivery of project, policy or strategy obligations.
• Project manage small evidence projects, in line with the agreed evidence programme.
• Support engagement with sectors, partners, WG, Confor and other Environment bodies in Wales and the UK; and be a primary point of contact for customer queries.
• Contribute to task and finish groups, commissioned through the Business Boards, to prepare defined products as required.
  Collaborate with the Team Leader to develop and deliver an agreed Personal Development Plan.
• 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.

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 .

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.
Please keep reading
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.
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 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.

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