203940 Senior Industrial Decarbonisation Specialist

Directorate: Operations

Starting salary:  £52,268 rising to £57,726 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: 203940

The role

Are you passionate about tackling climate change and shaping the future of industry in Wales? Natural Resources Wales (NRW) is seeking two dynamic and skilled Senior Specialist Advisors in Industrial Decarbonisation. These influential roles sit within our North East and South West Operations Teams but cover the wider South and North Wales areas. The roles offer the opportunity to drive meaningful change at the heart of Wales’ transition to a low-carbon economy.

As a Senior Specialist Advisor, you will lead NRW’s engagement with emerging industrial decarbonisation technologies including hydrogen, carbon capture and storage, and the networks they rely on. Acting as a national expert and programme manager, you will coordinate regulatory strategies, influence policy development, and build strong partnerships with industrial stakeholders and government bodies.

You will work closely with operational, policy and evidence teams across NRW to shape our regulatory approach, helping ensure new technologies can be delivered efficiently while protecting the environment. This is a high-profile role, operating across a wide range of sectors and stakeholders. You won’t have direct line management responsibilities, but you will lead high-impact programmes of work and support staff across the organisation. The role is flexible in location and offers hybrid working, with travel required to attend meetings and site visits.

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 Lyndsey Rawlinson, lyndsey.rawlinson@cyfoethnaturiolcymru.gov.uk  

Interviews will take place via 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

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) is the principal environmental regulator, advisor, and operator in Wales. We work to protect and sustainably manage our natural resources, ensuring that people and nature thrive together.

This post sits within the Operations Directorate, in regional teams responsible for delivering frontline regulatory and advisory services. The Industrial Decarbonisation roles contribute directly to our climate change priorities, working at the interface of policy, planning, and permitting to support the rollout of innovative low-carbon technologies across Wales’ highest-emitting industries.

The teams you will join work collaboratively across the organisation, ensuring that decarbonisation is embedded in our regulatory approaches and our advice to stakeholders. You’ll contribute to NRW’s broader corporate objectives, including a resilient and sustainable economy, improved environmental outcomes, and a net zero public sector. This role is central to helping Wales achieve its legally binding climate targets and aligning NRW’s regulatory systems with the pace of industrial change.

What you will do

• Act as the NRW expert national technical lead for specific highly complex sectors or technical issues.
• Act as technical mentor and advisor to team members.
• Participate in the development of teamwork plans and deliver any agreed actions to contribute to business planning and delivery.
• Facilitate engagement with industrial stakeholders and relevant partner organisations, ensuring open channels of communication and collaborative approaches to decarbonisation projects.
• Work with Industrial Cluster Operators to develop medium-term regulatory strategies for the installations, including engagement with senior managers and executives within companies, to deliver multiple benefits.
• Routinely lead our response to large or contentious cases/issues and act as an account manager for key stakeholders.
• Contribute to sector working and cross-agency sector groups as required to aid adoption of consistent regulatory approaches and the dissemination of good practices to the benefit of the environment. Where appropriate act as NRW lead for specific technical sectors.
• You will have operational responsibility for leading and managing complex task groups and high-profile projects involving multifunctional specialist/technical staff.
• Work with other Technical Specialists in NRW, leading where appropriate, to promote consistent advisory and regulatory practices across functional regimes.
• Represent NRW as a professional expert on technical/ strategic groups or represent NRW on external forums e.g., UK regulators’ sector groups.  These types of groups will agree sector-specific regulatory strategy at a Wales, UK or European level.
• Develop cross-directorate working relationships thereby contributing towards development of any relevant WG industry related policies.
• Interact with other regulatory specialists in NRW to promote consistent regulatory practices.
• Support Evidence, Policy and Permitting advisors at operational level.
• You will also be expected to assist colleagues to  respond to Environmental related incidents on regulated  industrial premises. 
• 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.
• 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. Professional membership.
2. Significant experience of working across a wide range of relevant industrial sectors.
3. Project management qualifications and/or substantial equivalent experience of working in a programme and project management environment.
4. Coaching and mentoring skills.
5. Experience of managing contentious issues and community liaison and public engagement activities.
6. Good understanding of commercial business processes and pressures.
7. Strong stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to liaise effectively with industrial partners, external bodies, and local communities to facilitate collaboration and shared objectives. 
8. Ability to communicate effectively with regulated business and the public, explaining complex issues and gaining support by influencing.
9. Extensive knowledge and experience of regulatory processes.

Welsh language level requirements

• Essential: Level A1 – able to pronounce Welsh and use basic phrases

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 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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