Lead Specialist – Industry and Waste Regulation

Closing date: 29 January 2023 | Salary: £41,150-£46,147 (Grade 7) | Location: Flexible in South-East Wales

Contract type: Permanent

Work pattern: Full time, 37 hours per week.

Post number: 201129

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 nearest NRW office to your home, 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 regulation of industry in South-East Wales covers a diverse range of sectors and a multitude of complex and interesting sites.

In addition to regulating under the Environmental Permitting Regulations (EPR) the team is also responsible for delivery under the Radioactive Substances Regulations (RSR).

An exciting opportunity presents itself in the form of a permanent Lead Specialist within the South-East Industry Regulation team. The post holder will have experience of regulating complex sites, utilising the full range of regulatory tools (including enforcement responses) while applying our Regulatory Principles. Problem solving and dealing with contentious issues/sites, advising on options and collaborative working will be important aspects of the role.

Mentoring and coaching skills are essential to support colleagues and the successful candidate will work with other specialists to answer technical queries, develop training and development resources and improve consistency across Wales.

Responsibilities

Your responsibilities include:

Act as the NRW expert national technical lead for specific sectors or technical issues.
Act as technical mentor and advisor to team members.
Participate in the development of team work plans and deliver any agreed actions to contribute to business planning and delivery.
Work with Operators to develop medium-term regulatory strategies for the installations, including engagement with senior managers and executives within companies, to deliver multiple benefits.
Routinely lead our response to large or contentious cases/issues and act as an account manager for key stakeholders.
Contribute to sector working and cross-agency sector groups as required to aid adoption of consistent regulatory approaches and the dissemination of good practices to the benefit of the environment. Where appropriate act as NRW lead for specific technical sectors.
Be required to participate in technical/ strategic groups or represent NRW on external forums e.g. UK regulators’ sector groups. These types of groups will agree sector specific regulatory strategy at a Wales, UK or European level.
Develop cross-directorate working relationships thereby contributing towards development of any relevant WG industry related policies.
Work with the Permitting Team to assist the ongoing permit review process in response to BREF updates and publication of BAT Conclusions.
Interact with other regulatory specialists in NRW to promote consistent regulatory practices.
Support EPP advisors at operational level.
Assess compliance at installations, COMAH sites, waste sites and sites handling radioactive substances.
Respond to incidents and complaints.
Contribute to a positive health, safety and well-being culture.
Required to take part in incident response activities

Qualifications, experience and knowledge

Knowledge and experience of the following:

Professional membership.
Experience of working across a wide range of relevant industrial sectors.
Coaching and mentoring skills.
Experience of managing contentious issues and community liaison and public engagement activities.
Good understanding of commercial business processes and pressures.
Ability to communicate effectively with regulated business and the public, explaining complex issues and gaining support by influencing.
Extensive knowledge and experience of regulatory and enforcement processes and incident management.

Welsh language requirements:

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

Desirable Level 3 – able to pronounce Welsh in some work situations

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	Ability to undertake complex high level practical or technical tasks requiring advanced specialist knowledge in the subject matter. Post holders will have high level knowledge with a personal and professional credibility, acting as a national, NRW and larger sector expert. The post holder may act as an expert witness in a public enquiry. Post holders will provide technical advice to decision makers that impact nationally, which may not be defined in existing policy or guidance. The post holder will provide objective advice to others on specialist issues based on in-depth knowledge and experience. The post holder will keep up to date on advances and changes within their technical/ specialist fields and interpret and apply updated knowledge as appropriate. The post holder will have substantial and relevant experience working within the field, from a number of different organisations or different roles within a single organisation. Mentoring skills are required at this level.
Evaluation of Information	Ability to interpret the function’s operational delivery plans and understand their context in the wider NRW policy strategy. Ability to analyse and interpret a wide range of often highly complex information, extracting key points and communicating this to individuals at all levels.
Decision Making and Autonomy Requirements	Responsible for the successful delivery of projects, addressing challenging issues within their own programme of work with little supervision. The post holder is able to decide how best to achieve these, guided by expected results. They may need to alter priorities as a result of conflicting demands. Objectives and targets etc will be reviewed on an intermediate basis. Able to make independent decisions at an operational management level, with input from line management and peers. They will have an understanding of NRW policy and their potential implications for the business. Decisions made may lead to changes in established procedure/practice within the post-holder’s area of work. Consequence of making wrong decisions will have an adverse effect on the organisation in relation to its external stakeholders such as partner organisations, lenders, service users etc. Decisions may concern a broad range of matters and the outcomes may not always be immediately clear or apparent. Problems encountered may relate to other parts of the organisation and could be variable and diverse. The impact of decisions is likely to be wider than the immediate function or department and is likely to be medium term.
Impact	Post holders have a moderate to high level of impact and influence, which is generally medium to longer term in impact. Impact will be at a national level. Post holders will have an impact as national specialist / sector lead both internally and externally and their influence will be at a senior operational level. The decisions and actions of the post holder will influence others. The consequences of their decisions making/ action will have a medium to long term impact internally or externally.
Communication and Relationships with Others	Ability to engage across the organisation, delivering strategies and polices in the most efficient way. Ability discuss highly technical, specialist or detailed policy issues, tailoring the method, style and level of communication appropriately for the audience. Ability to communicate at a high level, verbally and in writing, internally, externally and at a senior operational level. This will have a high degree of complexity, requiring higher level communication and persuasive skills. This may also include facilitating and/or presenting at internal or external meetings, giving a high level of complex technical or specialist advice, including legislative changes and input. Ability to steer the direction of discussion or activities. They will need to be able to foster and maintain good relationships and networks. Able to produce complex, technically demanding documents, reports, programs, contracts etc. Documentation will contain advice, guidance or opinion which the recipient will act upon or use. The consequences of incorrect or poorly drafted documentation is likely to have detrimental impact. Ability to source data and content from multiple locations requiring external research and professional judgment in how such research should be interpreted. The impact of such documentation is likely to be generally longer term in nature.

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
competitive financial rewards to enhance your monthly pay

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 29 January 2023

Interviews will take place through Microsoft Teams

If you have any queries about the role, please contact Wayne Grimstead at wayne.grimstead@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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