Forestry Permitting Officer

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

Starting salary:  £36,246 rising to £39,942 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: To be confirmed

Post number: 201619

The role

As an Officer in the Forestry Permitting Service you'll be responsible for assessing complex felling applications, the forest management plans and environmental impact assessment applications in accordance with NRW Policy, processes, guidance and procedures.  You will need to have a good understanding of relevant legislation and how it relates to forestry permitting. You will help to ensure that the Forestry Permitting Team assess around 30% of our applications in house. You must be able to work efficiently and effectively and provide an excellent level of support to the team and our customers.

We are looking for someone who can complement our small but busy team, has forestry experience and knowledge, can work at a fast pace, meet deadlines, is proactive, adaptable and collaborative and is able to effectively prioritise their workload. 

You will be supporting the forestry and woodland sector in Wales in delivering sustainable woodland management and achieving the desired outcomes in the Woodland for Wales Strategy.

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 contact Suzanne Lilley-Owen at suzanne.lilley-owen@cyfoethnaturiolcymru.gov.uk 

Interviews will be conducted via Microsoft Teams.

Successful external applicants will be subject to a satisfactory Disclosure and Barring Service Check (DBS) check. We aim to make offers of appointment within 4 to 8 weeks of the closing date.

About us

We are a busy team of six dealing with forestry permits from all across Wales. We work closely with our colleagues in Forest Regulations and Tree Health Team, Environment Team and Regulatory Approaches Team.  We are part of the Regulation and Permitting Service which sits under the Evidence, Policy and Permitting Team. This role reports directly to the Forestry Permitting Team Leader.

What you will do

• Determine the outcome of complex Environmental licence/permit applications through sound decision making for applications for their assigned regime by carrying out appropriate technical assessment in accordance with NRW policies and procedures where available, and issue, refuse or vary permits to time and budget.
• Determine applications using a range of technical guidance and technical software and/or modelling programmes as required by your assigned regime.
• Aid technical development of permitting officers within your assigned permitting team, through direct coaching and by supporting the delivery of the Technical Development Framework using your expertise in your related area.
• Represent the permitting team in your area of expertise on relevant internal technical groups, and internal/external stakeholder meetings.  
• Act as lead for complex permit/licence determinations, including less complex nationally significant infrastructure projects.
• Co-ordinate and lead in preparing defence in relation to legal challenges against permit decisions.  
• Provide technical support in your subject matter area to operational teams to include pre-application advice and support the delivery of structured training as required.
• Contribute to improved efficiency and performance of the permitting team, identify opportunities for changes to process and guidance and support a culture of continuous improvement for both your assigned regime and for across regime working.
• 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. Knowledge of the relevant legislation and how it relates to the permitting process.
2. Practical experience of assessing relevant licence/permit applications or using them in a compliance role.
3. Track record of delivering timely optimal solutions by effective information analysis and risked based decisions.
4. Experience of coaching and mentoring skills.
5. Experience of customer service delivery and the ability to influence and persuade to achieve environmental outcomes.
6. Experience of delivering process improvements/efficiencies.

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%
• 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

If you think you have what it takes to do this role, but don’t necessarily meet every single point on the job description, please still get in touch and we will be happy to discuss the role with you in more detail.

We’re passionate about creating a diverse workforce and positively encourage applications from under-represented communities. We embrace equality of opportunity irrespective of disability, neurodivergence, ethnic origin, colour, nationality, gender expression and gender identity, marital status, sexual orientation, culture, or religion.   We put the principles of human rights, equality, fairness, dignity and respect at the heart of our values.

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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