The role
Do you want to be on the front line of protecting Wales' rivers, fisheries and natural resources?
This is an exciting opportunity to join our Enforcement Team, playing a key role in tackling illegal fishing and other fisheries offences across Wales. You'll lead investigations, gather and present evidence, undertake surveillance, respond to incidents, and take action against those who threaten our fisheries and wider water environment.
While fisheries enforcement will be your primary focus, you'll also have the opportunity to support wider environmental crime investigations, including waste-related enforcement operations, giving you exposure to a broad and varied enforcement remit.
As a specialist enforcement professional, you'll provide expert advice across the organisation, work closely with partners, and contribute to complex investigations that make a real difference. You may also represent NRW in court, presenting evidence to support successful enforcement outcomes.
This is a challenging and rewarding role for someone who is passionate about protecting the environment, thrives on investigation work, and wants to make a tangible impact across Wales.
Driving is essential to this role as site inspections and incident response is a significant part of the role. These can often be in locations hard to reach via alternative transport means such as public transport. You must hold a full and current UK driving license.
As an organisation we support flexible working. You will be contracted to the NRW office at the above location 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 Eleanor Davies at Eleanor.Davies@cyfoethnaturiolcymru.gov.uk
Interviews will be face to face (details of location will be shared in advance)
About us
As part of a specialist enforcement team, you'll play a key role in protecting Wales' fisheries and tackling environmental crime. Working alongside regulatory and operational colleagues, partner organisations and enforcement agencies, you'll lead and support investigations, provide specialist enforcement expertise, and help deliver effective regulatory outcomes across Wales. While the role has a primary focus on fisheries enforcement, there will also be opportunities to support wider waste enforcement activity.
This is a varied and rewarding position that combines office-based work with regular travel and fieldwork. You'll undertake patrols, inspections and investigations at rivers, lakes, coastal locations and other environmental sites, working directly with communities and partners to protect the natural environment. The role also involves responding to incidents and complaints, and may require occasional evening, weekend and emergency response work.
What you will do
- Take appropriate actions to collect evidence for enforcement purposes, in accordance with defined procedures.
- Provide enforcement support to the wider organisation.
- Deliver and support surveillance operations.
- Provide opinion and advice on enforcement procedures, evidence gathering and warrant applications, in line with current policies and legislation, to enable NRW to take appropriate action as per its enforcement and prosecution policy.
- Coach and develop team members on new and existing enforcement policies, procedures and techniques equipping them with the knowledge and skills to deliver their work in an effective and efficient manner.
- Liaise with other internal teams and external organisations, to establish sources of intelligence and to collate and share advice and information so that all parties possess the necessary information to perform and deliver their work.
- Attend court to represent and give evidence on behalf of the organisation to secure appropriate enforcement action in line with NRW’s enforcement policies.
- Respond to incidents and complaints.
- Contribute to a positive health, safety and well-being culture.
- 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).
- Required to take part in incident response activities.
- 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.
- Knowledge of key legislative regimes.
- Ability to communicate effectively with regulated business and the public and gaining support by influencing.
- Comfortable and competent in dealing with challenging situations and individuals.
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.
Additional Information
Due to the nature of the work the successful candidate must be eligible for Security Check (SC) clearance. This generally requires five years’ continuous residency in the UK. Further details on eligibility can be found on National security vetting: clearance levels - GOV.UK. Offers will also be subject to a satisfactory Disclosure and Barring Service Check (DBS) check.
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.
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 equal 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 want to work full-time, part-time, or job share.
Please note that we reserve the right to close this vacancy before the advertised closing date if we receive a high volume of applications. We encourage candidates to submit their application as early as possible and not wait until the closing date to apply.
#GDN, ENV, GRJ, TTJ