Hydrologist

Team / Directorate: Hydrology, Geomorphology & Water Resources Management / Operations

Starting salary:  £32,544 rising to £35,377 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: 22/09/2025

Post number: 200315 ENV

The role

As a Hydrologist with Natural Resources Wales (NRW) you’ll play a key role in supporting internal teams and external stakeholders with technical support on hydrology and water resource management matters.

You’ll work with real-world hydrological data—analysing and interpreting it to inform critical decisions around water abstraction licences, drought response, and post-flood event analysis. You’ll also contribute to the effective operation of the River Dee Regulation Scheme, helping to ensure sustainable water management in one of the UK’s most important catchments.

This is an exciting opportunity to build a strong foundation in operational hydrology and water resources management. You’ll be part of a supportive team, gaining hands-on experience and learning from senior specialists as you assist with more complex and high-profile projects. We welcome applications from recent graduates with a degree in a relevant environmental or physical science subject (such as physical geography, environmental science, or hydrology). If you're eager to start a meaningful career that blends science, data, and environmental impact—this could be the perfect role for you.

To make an informal enquiry about this role, please contact Rob Bissell (robert.bissell@cyfoethnaturiolcymru.gov.uk)  or Lynsey Turvey (lynsey.turvey@cyfoethnaturiolcymru.gov.uk) 

Interviews will take place at the Natural Resources Wales office in Buckley (CH7 3AJ). 

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

You’ll be joining the Hydrology, Geomorphology and Water Resources Management Team in North Wales, within our Flood and Water Management Department. We are a multi-functional team that covers North and Mid Wales. You’ll be working on some of Wales most iconic rivers including the Dee, Conwy and Severn. The role will include a mixture of site and office-based work, and you’ll have the opportunity to provide practical solutions that will help us address the Nature and Climate Emergency.

 

What you will do

• Provide accurate and timely support for operational decisions and environmental issues by carrying out analysis and interpretation of data and preparing reports from information and field investigations.
• Contribute to investigations, identifying concerns and providing a first level technical response to the team / other functions, in line with NRW policy, to help influence and support environmental outcomes.
• Check compliance with environmental standards and service levels and undertake front line investigation e.g. inspection, monitoring, survey work, to carry out and support the business plan and environmental outcomes.
• Contribute to the successful implementation of emergency plans including drought and flood incident management.  
• Produce water situation and drought monitoring reports using hydrometric data and information provided by water companies.  
• Co-ordinate responses to correspondence and enquiries, ensuring that internal and external information is effectively processed and tracked to ensure compliance with NRW policy and procedure.
• Develop and maintain a strong customer focus to ensure effective relationship building and partnership working to achieve environmental goals.
• Maintain and develop information storage and retrieval systems and ensure that information is up to date and readily accessible to facilitate departmental workflow.
• Participate in the development of team work plans and undertake any agreed actions effectively, to contribute to business planning and delivery.
• Support health & safety best practice by actively promoting awareness and ensuring the provision of safe working practices to comply with Environment Agency policies and standards.
• Support the management of the River Dee to ensure the effective, timely and safe response to incidents and other operational requirements associated with flow management and flood warning in the catchment.  
• 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.

1. Degree in relevant scientific subject (e.g. physical geography, environment science or civil engineering). 
2. Member of appropriate professional body (e.g. CIWEM or ICE) or willing to work towards membership.
3. Relevant work experience in hydrology/water resources management/flood risk management/statistical data analysis and processing. 
4. Ability to demonstrate a basic understanding of hydrological or related issues e.g. different hydrological parameters, types of hydrological data, data measurement methods etc.
5. Computer literate, experience in technical report writing and data manipulation. 
6. Full UK driving licence

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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