The role
Ready to make a real difference? Join us in a pivotal role where your scientific expertise helps protect Wales’ environment and public health while supporting sustainable industrial growth.
As Lead Officer in the Installations and RSR Permitting Team, you’ll provide technical leadership to assess complex environmental permit applications across major Welsh industries — from refineries and combustion plants to landfills, metals processing, and radioactive substances.
With a strong scientific background (especially chemistry and maths) and experience in environmental regulation, you’ll lead robust technical assessments in line with legislation and NRW policies. Your expertise will guide decisions to issue, refuse, or vary permits, shaping how industries operate and ensuring compliance with environmental standards.
You’ll act as the focal point for complex queries, represent the service at public events and inquiries, and lead on applications of high public or political interest. Beyond permitting, you’ll mentor colleagues, build team capability, and drive process improvements. You’ll also engage with stakeholders, contribute to planning, and embed sustainable resource management principles into our regulatory frameworks.
This is your chance to work at the intersection of science, policy, and industry — safeguarding Wales’ natural resources for future generations.
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 Jennifer McGuire at Jennifer.McGuire@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
| The role sits within a small closely working team of permitting specialist scientists that share knowledge, experience, and best practice. You will be responsible for supporting, mentoring and training of your peers to facilitate risk based decisions to produce robust enforceable permits. |
What you will do
- Determination of applications for Environmental Permits from installation sites of high public and/or political interest, managing effective communication with all interested parties, including government and national stakeholder groups.
- Analyse highly complex data and information to inform and assist policy and legal colleagues within your area of expertise.
- Build effective working relationships with key individuals within NRW and other UK Competent Authorities to ensure that the value of Permitting to our regulatory role is maximised.
- Take responsibility to ensure that the work of the Permitting Team is clearly documented and that decisions taken on permit applications are transparent and consistent.
- Take responsibility for ensuring that the Installations Permitting Team have the required tools and skills to ensure fair and consistent approach to decision making in line with our legal remit.
- Ensure that the Installations Permitting Team delivers appropriate decisions on permit applications within the statutory timelines by monitoring progress against targets, identifying risks to delivery and managing those risks.
- Lead or support the Permitting Service technical leads group to ensure consistent ways of working and that we have the correct tools and processes in place to identify skill gaps and develop our people so that we can effectively deliver for our customers in a timely manner.
- Specifically lead on the development of the technical development framework and the mentoring and coaching of Installation Permitting Officers to ensure that the team has sufficient technical and legislative resilience to be able to advise on and assess the full range of the installation sectors permitting requirements.
- 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.
- Substantial experience of managing the assessment of highly complex, politically sensitive installation permit applications, including interaction with government organisations and members of the public, within your specialised area.
- Substantial working knowledge of the technologies used and the environmental protection methodologies relevant to the Installations Permitting regime.
- Advanced and specialist understanding of specific legislation and associated Directives and how they relate to the permitting process.
- Proven coaching and mentoring skills.
- Strong customer focussed approach to delivery.
- You will be expected to keep up to date with changing regulatory policy and proposed changes to legislation via membership of a relevant professional body or other equivalent means.
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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