The role
Join us in shaping the future of regulatory services at Natural Resources Wales.
As a Charges Accountant, you’ll play a pivotal role in developing charging schemes that generate £50m annually—around 20% of NRW’s funding.
Working within a specialist team, you’ll collaborate across directorates, Evidence, Policy & Permitting, Operations, Finance, Corporate Services, and with external partners to design processes that support evolving regulatory needs. Your work will include creating guidance, delivering staff training, and ensuring our charging schemes remain fit for purpose.
You’ll lead on building evidence-based proposals for full cost-recovery charges, supporting public consultations, and securing sustainable funding for the long term. This includes reviewing NRW’s statutory consultee role and other regulatory areas to ensure compliance and efficiency.
Additionally, you’ll contribute to our annual regulatory service plan, helping us deliver the high standards our stakeholders expect.
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.
This is a fixed term role until 30 September 2028
To make an informal enquiry about this role, please contact Mike P Jones at michael.p.jones@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.
This role meets the criteria for sponsorship under the Skilled Worker visa route. Natural Resources Wales welcomes applications from non-UK citizens who are eligible to apply under this route, subject to confirmation by the Home Office.
Please note that while we may be able to support the Certificate of Sponsorship required for a visa application, the organisation does not cover the cost of the visa itself, including any associated fees for dependants.
The applicant must still meet the UK Skilled Worker Visa Eligibility and Requirement. For further information, please visit: https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa
About us
Natural Resources Wales is responsible for the regulation of over forty regimes, from major industry to cockle fisheries. Our regulation underpins much of what we do to protect, maintain and enhance our natural resources so that people can live better and healthier lives and our wildlife can thrive. Regulation contributes to this by reducing the risk of harm to the environment, people and communities of Wales and promoting responsible behaviour that manages our natural resources in a sustainable way.
You will report to the Manager of the Regulatory Business Management Team, under the Regulation and Permitting department which sits within the EPP Directorate.
What you will do
- Create an appropriate evidence base on which to build future cost models, involving dialogue with Heads of Business/ Service of Regulation and functional management team/ team leaders and subject matter experts.
- Provide informed challenge to process mapping to ensure effective representation of all our regulatory activities.
- Providing advice to the Head of Regulation on actions needed to achieve full cost recovery, in line with existing & revised legislative/policy changes, Corporate priorities through translation of Corporate/ Business/ Service Plans.
- Support Heads of Regulatory Business and Service by ensuring that the Regulatory Service Plan is underpinned by up to date knowledge and evidence of the costed activities needed to deliver our regulatory service standard.
- Ensure a “root and branch” detailed review and re-costing of subsistence charges in all of our regulatory regimes to ensure full cost recovery is achieved.
- Support future charging proposals and consultation process with detailed evidence of our regulatory costs within each regulatory regime.
- Collect/ maintain evidence and Account for the level of GiA required by each regulatory regime and its associated activities.
- Support the Head of Regulatory Business/Service in the monitoring of its financial performance, identify areas of risk/opportunities and provide expert advice on decision making.
- Provide expert financial advice and guidance on technically complex areas such as workforce planning, alternative sources of income, and funding.
- Develop networks with external stakeholders and other UK Regulatory bodies to promote collaboration, best practice and consistency in approach.
- Maintain close working with Finance to include sharing modelling outputs to inform NRW wide activity costings and future year modelling.
- Advocate compliance with our “Managing our Money” policy, identifying and then either resolving or referring issues to governance specialists for resolution.
- 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.
- Qualified CCAB approved qualification or qualified by experience.
- Experience working within Finance environment at a professional level.
- Knowledge of 'Managing Welsh Public Money' Principles & HMT's 'Classification of Receipts'.
- Understand a wide range of our business and environmental activities.
- Understand, interpret and provide advice and solutions on technical and complex financial matters and communicate the results to non-finance staff in an understandable and engaging way.
- Be able to work at pace and have a track record of delivery.
- Knowledge and understanding of our Finance Scheme of Delegation with an ability to advise others
Welsh Language level requirements
- Essential: Level A1 - Entry level
Welsh language levels
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 age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.
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.
Unless otherwise stated in the ‘Role’ section of this advert, Natural Resources Wales is unable to offer visa sponsorship for this position. Although we hold a Skilled Worker visa sponsorship licence, it applies only to specific roles that meet both the eligibility criteria and salary requirements set out by the UK Government under the Skilled Worker visa route.
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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