Environmental Assessment Officer

Closing date: 10 February 2023 | Salary: £32,876 -£36,229 (Grade 5) | Location: Rivers House, St Mellons

Contract type: Permanent

Work pattern: 37 hours per week.

Post number: 201009

As an organisation we support flexible working. This role allows hybrid working (a mix of home and office working) and a working pattern suitable for you can be discussed on appointment if you are successful.

You will be contracted to the NRW location stated in this advert, of which you will be required to attend for regular meetings, training and for one-to-one meetings with your manager. These will be planned in advance.

Job description

The Programme Manager role is varied, interesting, and fast-paced. As a key member of the Environmental Assessment and Advice team, you will be responsible for the day to day running of several monitoring programmes including water quality, electro-fishing, ecology, bathing waters, groundwaters and EQSD. You will proactively monitor their progress, resolve issues, and initiate appropriate corrective action.

You will be lead contact for the Data Collection Officers (DCOs), scheduling their work and ensuring it is completed on time. Communication with DCOs will be key to coordinating the work and ensuring programmes are completed to time, and to the required standards

You will liaise with other departments to ensure the monitoring programmes are accurate and run smoothly

You will be part of an all-Wales EAAT virtual group helping to write procedures resolve problems and develop ways of working

You will work closely with the lab ensuring the DCO are following correct procedures and ensuring any updates are relayed to them.

You will have a good understanding of H&S issues within the team

You will have excellent knowledge of Excel and experience in using various spreadsheets and data bases. (Starlims, Kiqwim, GIS)

You will contribute to the development an ongoing implementation of the NRW Quality Management System (QMS), relating to the above monitoring programmes.

Responsibilities

You will:

Undertake ad hoc and routine system administration, data quality assurance, analysis and reporting.
Provide specialist, monitoring technical advice and guidance to internal and external customers, from a range of sources; helping ensure that decisions are based on sound technical judgement, in line with current legislation and best practice. Produce technical reports analysing and interpreting national and local datasets for operational work, public enquiries, court appeals etc.
Help ensure that NRW’s monitoring data is collected and stored to the quality standards prescribed by European and UK legislation and by NRW policy.
Assist Senior EAO and TL in planning, scheduling and tracking the annual survey and monitoring programmes, with regards to sampling activities.
Advise on specialist non-routine monitoring/survey work and the analysis of data including input on delivery of operational measures.
Contribute to delivery of survey and monitoring programmes.
Guide, advise and support internal and external customers, ensuring decisions are made on sound technical data and information.
Help resolve local issues by providing scientific and technical advice/interpretation of monitoring data.
Assist in the development, implementation of new monitoring and reporting methods, including collaboration with partner organisations at a local level.
Respond to requests for information relating to monitoring data, within specified deadlines.
Maintain and procure specialist sampling equipment.
Required to take part in incident response activities

Qualifications, experience and knowledge

You will have:

Experience of analysing samples, field-based monitoring/surveillance, interpreting and reporting on environmental data and practical knowledge of a wide range of monitoring activities and methodologies.
Expertise in terrestrial ecology, freshwater ecology, water quality fisheries or earth science.
Excellent report writing skills and knowledge of relevant legislation.
Experience of monitoring data management systems, as well as practical understanding of technical monitoring solutions and practices.
Good analytical skills including statistics, and knowledge of data handling including GIS.
An excellent communicator with good organisational skills.
Ability to undertake fieldwork in sometimes physically demanding environments.

Welsh language requirements:

Essential Level 1 – able to pronounce Welsh and use basic phrases

Please note if you do not meet the level 1 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.

Competencies

Please note - Applications to this role will be assessed based on the following competencies, both at shortlisting and interview. Please give examples of how you demonstrate these competencies when completing your application form.

Essential Knowledge and Skills	Expertise gained in a defined area or function, enabling the post holder to provide advice and guidance to others. Demonstrates a sound understanding and appreciation of the work of the wider function. Has good literacy, numeracy and communication skills including well developed customer facing skills. Experience of supervising others is desirable.
Evaluation of Information	Demonstrates the ability to understand information, procedure manuals, statutory codes and legislation and interpret and apply the requirements to undertake their role. Able to analyse and process non-routine technical information, containing a degree of complexity.
Decision Making and Autonomy Requirements	Ability to decide how best to achieve results, requiring some degree of judgment and creativity and the need to alter priorities where there are conflicting demands. Able to solve problems and make decisions of a technical nature; primarily around their own area of work but will also cross over with the work of others. Problems and decisions may contain a degree of complexity and require the need to apply different techniques or methods. Ability to undertake research to determine how best to resolve issues. Able to provide guidance to less experienced members, to resolve problems.
Impact	The work undertaken is generally within a discrete area, so will primarily affect the direct environment, but may also extend across other subject and work areas. Aspects of the work may also have the potential, if carried out incorrectly, to impact on third parties and a wider area.
Communication and Relationships with Others	Demonstrates the ability to interact and communicate with people around their area of expertise, across a range of functions within NRW and external parties, adapting their approach and style appropriately. Well established inter-personal and communication skills with the ability to develop and sustain good working relationships, which may involve a degree of influencing.

Benefits of working for us

This role will offer a range of benefits, including:

agile and flexible working (role dependent)
Civil Service Pension Scheme offering employer contributions of 26.6% to 30.3%
28 days annual leave, rising to 33 days
generous leave entitlements for all your life needs
health and wellbeing benefits and support
weekly well-being hour to use at your choice

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

How to apply

Please send a completed Application form to Applications@naturalresourceswales.gov.uk using the post number as the email reference

Before completing your application, please read our Guidance on completing a job application form

Application closing date 10 February 2023

Interviews will take place through Microsoft Teams.

If you have any queries about the role, please contact Susan Phillips at Susan.phillips@cyfoethnaturiolcymru.gov.uk

Natural Resources Wales embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunity. We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition.

We welcome and encourage applications from groups currently underrepresented, including women, black and ethnic minority groups and people with a disability. We have a guaranteed interview scheme for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

We put the principles of human rights, equality, fairness, dignity and respect at the heart of our values.

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