The role
Natural Resources Wales has two exciting opportunities to play a pivotal role in delivering compliance activities across Wales and supporting the regulation of the water industry at a national level.
We’re looking for a motivated and knowledgeable Water Compliance Officer to join our newly established Water Compliance Team – a national team focused on driving improvements in water industry performance across Wales.
This is a newly created, permanent role that will place you at the forefront of regulating water companies under the Environmental Permitting Regulations (EPR) and other relevant legislation.
You’ll work closely with colleagues across NRW and external partners to ensure that compliance and enforcement activities are robust, consistent, and evidence-based.
You’ll have the opportunity to lead and influence regulation at a national level, helping to shape NRW’s response to environmental challenges and supporting the delivery of our statutory duties. From developing enforcement strategies and mentoring colleagues, to engaging with regulated operators and responding to incidents, this is a role that combines technical expertise with meaningful environmental impact.
Interviews will take place through Microsoft Teams.
To make an informal enquiry about this role, please contact Holly Sisley Holly.Sisley@cyfoethnaturiolcymru.gov.uk
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
- Undertake compliance assessments of water industry activities, including site visits, data reviews, and incident response.
- Gather and prepare evidence to support enforcement investigations and regulatory decisions.
- Analyse and interpret environmental and compliance data to identify trends and inform operational priorities.
- Prepare clear, accurate reports to support enforcement actions, permit reviews, and internal reporting.
- Maintain regulatory databases and systems to ensure data integrity and accessibility.
- Work collaboratively with internal teams and external stakeholders to resolve compliance issues and deliver regulatory outcomes.
- Contribute to the development of team work plans and participate in NRW’s incident response activities.
- 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.
- Demonstrate a working knowledge of Welsh and UK legislation relevant to the regulation of the water industry, including Environmental Permitting Regulations and a good understanding of environmental compliance principles and enforcement processes.
- Experience of undertaking environmental assessments or regulatory work, ideally within the water sector.
- Proficient in analysing and reporting environmental data using appropriate tools and systems with experience in maintaining data quality and using data to support decision-making.
- Strong organisational and communication skills with experience in managing competing priorities and working effectively with internal and external stakeholders.
Welsh Language Level requirements:
- Essential: A1 – Entry level
Welsh language levels
Please note if you do not meet the level 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.
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.
You are welcome to apply for any vacancy in Welsh or English and any application submitted will be treated equally. Applications are welcome from individuals who work part time, as part of a job share or who work full time.
