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Environment & Social Specialist Advisor

Location: North of Wales | Salary: G6, £35,994-£39,369 | Closing date: 10 July 2022

Contract type: Permanent

Work pattern: 37 hours

Post number: 201715

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 a NRW office within the place base, 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 post holder will provide direct advice and guidance on environmental, recreational and heritage (ERH) matters to Programme, Project Managers and Developers to facilitate the development of complex, commercial energy projects on the NRW Managed Estate. They will be a technical specialist supplier leading on providing advice and guidance across the Programme and Projects, as well as leading on selected lower risk commercial Projects.

Responsibilities

Your responsibilities include:

Review, analyse and interpret complex information and provide timely advice on ERH (e.g. Habitat Management & Access Management Plans) issues supported by relevant written reports.
Undertake research and provide advice for colleagues to act upon energy project Environmental Statements ensuring ERH constraints are considered and managed appropriately.
Undertake site-based monitoring communicating regularly with Developers and identify risks and issues to ensure appropriate mitigation measures are in place.
Contribute to NRW technical/strategic groups ensuring that policy and delivery are consistent and appropriate.
Share good ERH practice with Developers ensuring that statutory consultee is informed and understands the reasoning behind advice.
Influence the work of others through representation at team and Developer events and build and maintain relationships and lines of communication.
Ensure environmental planning conditions placed on Developers are completed to an acceptable standard to protect the Minister’s interest.
Ensure Habitat Management and Access Management Plan work programmes are managed and delivered minimising risk to NRW and potential legacy outcomes.
Act as contract manager on supply contracts.

Qualifications, experience and knowledge

Knowledge and experience of the following:

Degree in environmental science or related subject and/or relevant experience of managing environmental issues on a construction site. (Essential)
Ability to negotiate and influence effectively internally and externally to deliver ERH management. (Essential)
Good understanding/experience of Welsh planning system at local and NSIP level. (Essential)
Good understanding/experience of environmental issues, climate change and sustainable development issues that impact on NRW Managed Estate. (Essential)
Good written and spoken communication skills. (Essential)
PRINCE2 Foundation or Practitioner level or willingness to achieve the qualification. (Desirable)
Good IT skills particularly Word, Excel, GIS. (Desirable)
Good interpersonal skills, team working skills and the ability to deal appropriately with people of all levels. (Desirable)
Ability to be self-motivated and lone work. (Desirable)

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	As a subject matter expert significant experience, they will encourage sustainable use of the external natural environment. They will be able to undertake a higher level of stakeholder or technical tasks requiring specialist knowledge, expertise. The post holder will provide objective advice to others and external organisations, based on knowledge and experience. They will keep up to date on changes within their technical, specialist fields e.g. stakeholder working, partnerships, recreation & access, education & skills. Experience will have been gained from working in a number of different organisations or in different roles or functions within a single organisation. Post holders will demonstrate good communication and mentoring skills and will maintain an awareness of the wider agenda and business environment as it relates to SMNR and wellbeing plans. The post holder will have Influencing skills and diplomacy in sharing NRWs approach to NRM and the Wellbeing Agenda with external audiences.
Evaluation of Information	Interprets the function’s operational delivery plans and understands its context in the wider NRW strategy, related to SMNR and wellbeing plans. Able to analyse and interpret a range of complex information relating to their field of expertise, e.g. landscape, recreation & access, education & skills, extracting key points and communicating this to individuals. This may include providing specialist advice to less experienced colleagues. Able to map information and understand habitats and common land. The post holder will be able to appraise open access land for the purposes of statutory open access mapping.
Decision Making and Autonomy Requirements	Work is guided by expected results, but the post holder is able to decide how best to achieve these. Guidance may be provided by peers but there will likely be need for some degree of judgment or creativity. They will need to be able to alter priorities as a result of conflicting demands. Objectives and targets etc will be reviewed on an intermediate basis. Responsible for making independent, management level decisions with input from line management and peers. They will have an understanding of NRW policy and their potential implications for the business. Post holders will be involved in the development of organisation policy and will have a level of autonomy in the implementation of organisational policy. Decisions may lead to changes in established procedure/practice within the post holder’s area of work. The 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 of some decisions may not always be immediately clear or apparent. Problems encountered may also relate to the work of 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 level of impact and influence, of medium term. The focus of work is external, so that the impact carries more weight and risk in terms of NRW’s profile and remit. The post holder's decisions and actions will influence others. They will act as a point of contact providing specialist advice to more junior colleagues. The consequences of decision making/actions will have a medium impact internally or externally.
Communication and Relationships with Others	Ability to engage across the business, delivering polices and work plans in the most efficient way. Post holders will frequently liaise with external organisations, attending multi agency forums e.g. Local Access Forums, RDP, PSB support. They will act as a point of contact for specialist advice for more junior colleagues. The post holder will have good verbal and written communication with persuasive skills. They may need facilitate or present at internal or external meetings, giving advice and input as required. They will need to foster and maintain good relationships and networks. Post holders will produce less complex documents, reports, accounts, contracts etc. Documentation will contain a lower level of advice, guidance or opinion which the recipient will act upon or use. This is likely to have detrimental consequences if incorrect or poorly drafted. Able to source information from multiple locations through research and apply professional judgment as to how the material should be interpreted; the impact of which is likely to be medium 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

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

How to apply

Application form

Guidance on completing a job application form

Send completed applications forms to Applications@naturalresourceswales.gov.uk

Application closing date: 10 July 2022

Interviews will take place through Microsoft Teams.

If you have any queries about the role, please contact Nathalie Beaurain at Nathalie.Beaurain@cyfoethnaturiolcymru.gov.uk or 03000 654631

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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