Senior Water Quality Permitting Officer

Team / Directorate: Permit Delivery Team / Evidence, Policy and Permitting

Starting salary: £41,132 rising to £44,988 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) 

Post number: 203711

The role

As a Water Quality Permitting Senior Officer, you will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of water management in Wales. This is an exciting opportunity to provide specialist expertise in assessing and determining complex water quality permit applications. Your work will directly support the sustainable use and protection of our natural resources, ensuring compliance with Natural Resources Wales (NRW) policies, processes, and procedures.

You will act as a trusted expert within the Permit Delivery Team, advising on the interpretation and application of relevant legislation. Your insights and leadership will be critical in addressing both routine and strategic permitting challenges, ensuring permits remain effective and aligned with evolving regulatory requirements.

Collaboration will be at the heart of your role. You will work closely with colleagues within the Permit Delivery Team and across the broader Permitting Service, sharing expertise and tackling complex issues together. By fostering teamwork and leveraging individual strengths, you will help maximise efficiency and drive excellence in NRW’s permitting operations.

This is more than a job—it’s a chance to make a meaningful impact on Wales’ environment and communities. Join us in safeguarding our water resources for future generations.

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 Joanne Fitton.

joanne.fitton@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.

What you will do

• Lead on complex permit determination and decision under water quality permitting legislation by carrying out appropriate technical assessment in accordance with NRW policies and procedures where available, and issue, refuse or vary permits within timescales.
• Lead on influencing and implementing mentoring and coaching frameworks to aid technical development of other permitting officers within water quality permitting and where applicable throughout the permitting service, ensuring consistency in approach.
• Extensive experience of permitting decision making using a range of technical guidance and technical software and modelling programmes as required by the water quality regime.
• Lead on supporting operational teams by providing specialist expertise in pre-application discussions and post permit work for a range of application types within the field of water quality.
• Identify and deliver opportunities for process and procedural changes.
• Deliver an efficient and effective service by co-ordinating change that leads to improved internal and external stakeholder experience of the Permitting Service.
• Co-ordinate and lead in preparing defence in relation to legal challenges against permit decisions for your assigned area of work.
• Represent the Permitting Service on relevant internal technical groups and relevant external stakeholder events.
• 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. Education to degree level or equivalent in a relevant scientific discipline.

2. An in-depth understanding of the relevant legislation and how it relates to the water quality permitting process.

3. Extensive experience of assessing complex water quality permit applications. 

4. Proven coaching and mentoring skills.

5. Strong customer focussed approach to delivery.

6. Track record of delivering timely optimal solutions by effective information analysis and risk-based decisions.

7. Effective planning and organisation skills.

Welsh language level requirements

• Essential: 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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