External Affairs Manager

Team / Directorate: Communications and External Affairs / Communications, Customer and Commercial

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: 203955

The role

To develop, lead and manage the strategic engagement with key stakeholders, including government, industry, and community partners. You will manage a specialist team that will shape and influence policy discussions, advise on external relationships, working particularly closely with the Chief Executive and Executive Team. Working closely with internal teams, the team will provide expert advice on external affairs, ensuring a consistent and impactful approach to advocacy, policy engagement, and reputation management.

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 Matthew Jones at matthew.jones01@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

Working closely with internal teams, the team will provide expert advice on external affairs, ensuring a consistent and impactful approach to advocacy, policy engagement, and reputation management.

What you will do

• Manage and lead a team, ensuring the delivery of work plans and be fully accountable for staff development, performance and well-being, as well as ensuring compliance with all NRW policies and procedures. 
• Lead on the development and oversee delivery of NRW’s External Affairs Plan, ensuring effective engagement with government, industry, and key stakeholders to influence policy and decision-making in line with our strategic priorities.
• Work with the team and the Public Affairs Officer to build relationships and manage regular contact with key stakeholders, politicians and political advisers to keep them informed about NRW’s work and policy concerns and ensure follow up.
• Manage preparation for key stakeholder meetings, ensuring NRW Board, ET and LT staff are well briefed on likely interest and can respond to concerns and questions accordingly.
• Through effective engagement, communication, influencing and negotiation, and working with Heads of Place and Service develop and maintain good working relationships with internal clients and external stakeholders including public- sector organisations, various industrial and commercial sectors
• Act in the best interests of NRW ensuring decision making and advice given are sound and all risks are actively managed.
  Develop and oversee the feedback loop for sharing intelligence into and out of the business and ensuring that we react appropriately
• 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 staff 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. Excellent communication skills, both oral and written with experience of providing advice to senior management 
2. Extensive experience of management of a diverse range of stakeholders.
3. Excellent relationship building skills and experience of quickly developing internal and external networks to help achieve objectives and build advocacy
4. Pragmatic and forward thinking with an ability to determine when to escalate issues to Senior Management
5. Excellent understanding of the political and public landscape in Wales
6. Ability to operate with confidence and credibility at the highest levels of an organisation.
7. Political awareness and experience of operating in politically sensitive environments.
8. Experience of managing teams, including all aspects of line management. 

Welsh language level requirements

• Essential: C2 - Higher proficiency level (fluent in both spoken and written Welsh) previous Level 5

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. 

Apply for this role

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