Species Permitting Team Leader

Team / Directorate: Species Permitting Team / Evidence, Policy and Permitting

Starting salary:  £45,367 rising to £50,877 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: Week commencing 21 July 2025

Post number: 201583

The role

As a Species Permitting Team Leader, you will be responsible for delivering a high-quality technical service to both internal and external stakeholders. You will ensure the provision of robust, risk-based regulatory permitting decisions across Wales, with your expertise underpinning and supporting this vital work.

Leading a dedicated team of seven professionals, you will manage and motivate them to deliver a diverse portfolio of species permits, ranging in complexity and scale. Your leadership will be instrumental in maintaining a consistent, efficient, and expert permitting service.

Collaboration is central to this role. You and your team will work closely with colleagues across the wider Permitting Service, fostering a culture that values teamwork, efficiency, and the individual strengths of every team member. You will also collaborate with other parts of Natural Resources Wales (NRW), including the Species Advisory Teams, Biodiversity Policy Teams, and the Regulatory Approaches Team, helping to shape and implement policy, procedures, and best practice.

You will play a key role in managing NRW’s reputation, ensuring alignment with broader organisational activities and governance connected to the species regulatory regime across Wales. Additionally, you will oversee cost recovery for permitting services where applicable, drive continuous improvement in processes and standards, and provide advice on emerging legislation and its potential implications for NRW.

As an organisation we support flexible working. You will be contracted to an NRW office and a suitable hybrid working pattern will be agreed on appointment. Any regular face to face meetings or training will be planned in advance.

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.

To make an informal enquiry about this role, please contract Nicholas Bettinson at nicholas.bettinson@cyfoethnaturiolcymru.gov.uk 

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 Species team is one of several Teams in the Natural Resources Wales (NRW) Permitting Service. Part of the Evidence, Policy and Permitting Directorate, our decisions help deliver our Corporate Plan vision for Wales in 2030 as a land where nature and people thrive together. A professional service to customers is provided in line with service level targets, assessing and determining complex species permit applications, ensuring they align with NRW’s policies, processes, and guidance.

The team actively contributes to strategic development work, ensuring NRW’s permits remain effective and aligned with evolving legislation and regulatory requirements. This is an opportunity to influence the way we adapt to new challenges and ensure our permitting processes continue to support sustainable development. 

What you will do

• Manage and plan team resources within your allocated budget to deliver business plan objectives, demonstrating clear, personal leadership on Wellbeing, Health & Safety issues to engage the full team in a positive culture.
• Undertake the Performance Management of staff in accordance with current Policy and Procedures and ensure the team achieves the relevant key performance indicator targets.
• Using your detailed knowledge of your specialist area, ensure robust regulatory decisions are made working with the species sector networks of internal and external partners to resolve difficult and complex permit applications across Wales.
• Collaborate with colleagues in Operations, Communications, Policy, Legal and Senior Management regarding species sites of high public interest or reputational risk.
• Inform the content of the Regulatory Service Plan, ensuring that the permitting function is reflected in the strategic activities for the related regime.
• Using your specialist knowledge of the subject area drive to improve efficiencies to process and policy by influencing and contributing to policy and guidance change, through active engagement with internal customers and governance groups in relation to permitting matters.
• Implement strategies and develop plans and priorities for achieving Permitting Service objectives.
• Identify and manage any organisational and reputational risks, analyse and interpret a wide range of often complex information, displaying sound judgement and good political awareness in decision making.
• As a member of the department’s management group, contribute to the overall direction and management of the department and your group, managing risks effectively.
• 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. Previous line management or project management experience achieved through leading, managing, supporting and developing staff.
2. Substantial experience of adopting an integrated and risk based approach to work delivery within your technical area of species knowledge.
3. Be able to work at pace and have a track record of delivery.
4. Being innovative and demonstrating drive to achieve targets.
5. Experience of working with customers and stakeholders to develop processes and systems to maintain their effectiveness and improve customer experience.
6. Proven risk based decision making and analytical (evidential data) and problem solving skills.
7. Have proven strong communication and organisational skills.
8. The ability to use IT applications, including GIS, databases, spreadsheets and word processing.

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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