Development Planning Advice Team Leader

Closing Date: 18 June 2025 | Salary: ​Grade 7: £45,367 - £50,877​ per annum | Location: Bangor

Team / Directorate: Development Planning Advice Service, Operations. 

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)

Post number: 203904

The role

Are you an experienced planner or environmental advisor ready to lead a high-performing team shaping development across Wales? We’re looking for a confident and collaborative leader to manage one of our Development Planning Advice Teams at Natural Resources Wales (NRW). 

As Team Leader for the Development Planning Advice Team, you’ll be responsible for leading a team of around 10 professionals providing expert planning and environmental advice to Local Planning Authorities, applicants and Welsh Government. Your team’s input will influence major developments – from infrastructure and housing to agriculture and regeneration – ensuring proposals support sustainable placemaking and the responsible management of Wales’ natural resources. 

You’ll play a hands-on leadership role, ensuring your team is well supported, trained and equipped to deliver high-quality, consistent advice. You’ll also help shape national planning advice strategy and guidance, and maintain strong working relationships with internal specialists and external stakeholders. 

Key responsibilities include: 

  • Leading and managing a team delivering NRW’s development planning advice across multiple Local Planning Authority areas. 

  • Overseeing casework on a wide range of developments including infrastructure, transport, housing, and agriculture. 

  • Supporting your team in providing advice on environmental issues including flood risk, water quality, protected species, contaminated land and landscape. 

  • Building strong relationships with Local Planning Authorities, Welsh Government and key stakeholders. 

  • Contributing to the development of service-wide strategy, tools, and guidance. 

This is a fantastic opportunity to lead impactful work at the intersection of planning, environment and place-based policy in Wales. If you’re a people-focused leader with a background in planning, development or regulation – we’d love to hear from you. 

As an organisation we support flexible working. ​You will be contracted to an NRW office within the place base / location above 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 Peter Jordan at peter.jordan@cyfoethnaturiolcymru.gov.uk.  

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

  • Manage and develop a large team of Planning Advisors and will be fully accountable for their performance, contribution, development and well-being. 
  • You will undertake high level technical conversations with external stakeholders who are operating at a senior level. 
  • Be responsible for delivery of an efficient and effective Development Planning Service to internal and external customers. 
  • Be responsible for the preparation and presentation of your teams’ annual work plan and to produce associated performance and assurance reports.  
  • You will work with colleagues across the organisation, collaborating with them to develop and deliver policies strategies, plans and work programmes.   
  • You will manage projects on behalf of the wider DPAS service. 
  • You will lead task groups of staff from across the organisation to support of your work programme.  
  • Be responsible and accountable for the DPAS contribution to local Area Statements and Wellbeing Plans and responsible for supporting relevant aspects of their delivery. 
  • You will contribute specialist expertise to the team and be accountable for the decisions and advice given by the team. 
  • You will contribute your technical knowledge and stakeholder management experience to risk-based decision making by the team and the wider business 
  • You will be responsible for team and project budgets. 
  • You will provide assurance and governance for Charged Services operated by the team. 
  • 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 and that of your team through the effective use of your personal development plan (known as Sgwrs).  
  • Any other reasonable duties requested commensurate with the grade of this role. 
  • Required to take part in incident response activities

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. Significant experience in Development Planning and Environmental Assessment.  
  2. Well-developed partnership development and negotiation skills and significant experience of high profile external and internal stakeholder management. 
  3. Experience of managing a large, geographically dispersed team.  
  4. Able to analyse complex information and situations and make sound judgements. 
  5. Confident and able to discuss policy issues, that may be technical or specialist, with a range of audiences. 
  6. Able to work well as part of a team and lead virtual teams of staff who have a range of technical skills and specialisms.  

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

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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