Marine Lead Advisors x 2

Directorate: 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)

Interview date: To be confirmed

Post number: 203917 / 203918

The role

Are you ready to lead the delivery of expert advice on some of Wales’ most complex and high-impact marine developments? We’re looking for an experienced marine advisor to join Natural Resources Wales (NRW) as a Marine Lead Advisor within our Marine Advice Service as part of the Infrastructure and Casework.

In this senior role, you’ll lead and coordinate our input on major marine infrastructure projects – including offshore renewable energy – and support other team members working on nationally significant casework. You’ll manage the overall programme of large marine cases, ensuring advice is consistent, technically robust and delivered efficiently.

You’ll play a key part in NRW’s wider Marine Programme, collaborating with colleagues across Directorates and contributing to the Offshore Renewable Energy Programme. You’ll also coordinate our responses to national consultations and support continuous improvement of our marine advice service, keeping abreast of evolving policy and strategy across Wales and the UK.

Key responsibilities include:

• Leading case management on complex marine development proposals, including offshore renewables.
• Overseeing delivery and quality assurance for large-scale marine casework across the team.
• Mentoring and supporting team members working on technical consultations.
• Coordinating team responses to national consultations and strategic planning exercises.
• Collaborating with internal specialists and external partners, including SNCBs, government, and industry.
• Contributing to the ongoing development of NRW’s Marine Advice Service and cross-functional marine programmes.

You’ll be based in the Marine Area Advice and Management Team, working alongside specialist teams covering marine ecosystems, licensing, monitoring, and marine policy. This is a fantastic opportunity to shape marine development in Wales and help deliver nature-positive outcomes in our seas.

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 Charlotte Gjerlov charlotte.gjerlov@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.

 

What you will do

• Be responsible for producing and delivering influential advice on behalf of NRW to the most significant national infrastructure proposals.
• Analyse highly complex data and information to develop the NRW response.
• Lead and manage the technical input of a wide range of internal specialists from across the business to support delivery of advice.
• Resolve internal conflicts in advice.
• Manage programmes of advice delivery, identifying and managing risks.
• Produce and submit formal written advice, which is transparent, proportionate, evidenced and reasoned to Public Examinations and Inquiries, ensuring statutory timescales are met.
• To represent NRW and provide written and verbal evidence at Examination and Public Inquiry hearings.
• Lead and manage effective high public and / or political interest, communication with all interested parties, including government and national stakeholders.
• Where appropriate, be responsible for ensuring NRW recovers its costs for the work undertaken and that costs are reasonably incurred and transparent.
• Where relevant, be the main contact for complex queries from both internal and external customers received.
• Build effective working relationships with key individuals within NRW, other Agencies and stakeholders to ensure NRW marine planning advice influence is maximised.   
• Influence and contribute to the development and delivery of NRW Marine Service Plan and Marine Programme, and other relevant NRW policy, strategy and process, including casework guidance, working collaboratively with EPP colleagues.
• Support the team leaders to ensure that the Marine Advice Service have the required tools and skills to ensure fair and consistent approach to decision making in line with our legal remit.
• Support the Marine Service to ensure consistent ways of working, leading on specific initiatives, ensuring that we have the correct tools and processes in place and skills and guidance gaps are resolved.
• Mentor and coach members of the Service to ensure that the team has sufficient technical and legislative resilience to be able to advise on and assess the full range of marine development planning requirements.
• Marine pollution incident response and preparedness.
• 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. Substantial technical expertise and hands-on experience in marine environments, with a strong foundation in marine planning and conservation.
2. Advanced working knowledge of the planning system and environmental assessment techniques, particularly as they apply to marine developments.
3. Extensive experience managing the assessment of complex and politically sensitive marine infrastructure proposals, including effective engagement with government, statutory bodies, and the development sector.
4. Proven experience in providing expert evidence in public forums such as inquiries or hearings.
5. Advanced and specialist understanding of legislation, policy and guidance relevant to the marine planning process and marine conservation, including those associated with Natural Resources Wales’ role and responsibilities.
6. Demonstrable experience in coaching, mentoring and developing others to build technical and professional capability.
7. Strong customer-focused approach, with excellent negotiation, influencing and relationship management skills.
8. Commitment to maintaining up-to-date knowledge of evolving marine and planning policy, including proposed legislative changes, through professional body membership or equivalent continuing professional development.

 

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 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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