Conservation Environment Officer

The role
Are you passionate about protecting nature and making a real impact in your local environment? Join Natural Resources Wales as an Environmental Officer and help shape the future of some of Wales' most important protected sites.

In this exciting role, you'll take the lead on managing Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) across Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan. You'll work directly with landowners and partners to assess and determine SSSI consents, develop management agreements, and carry out Habitats Regulations Assessments (HRAs). Your work will be central to ensuring these special places are protected and sustainably managed for generations to come.

You'll also support the wider team across a range of environmental responsibilities, including responding to incidents and, when necessary, using enforcement powers to uphold environmental standards. This is a varied and rewarding role where your expertise and collaboration will help deliver real outcomes for nature and communities.

If you're ready to make a difference and work at the heart of environmental protection in Wales, we'd love to hear from you.

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

Interviews will take place in person.

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.

About Us
The team is a multifunctional team and is responsible for conservation, water regulation, pollution investigations, and fisheries work. This is an excellent opportunity to be part of the integrated delivery of these functions whilst focusing on protected sites work within the area.

What You Will Do

• Work with a wide range of internal and external customers including permit holders, landowners, businesses, public bodies, recreation groups, volunteers and third sector organisations to enable others to achieve SMNR.
• Establish, maintain and advise partners to support the development of partnership projects and plans through from concepts to implementation. These projects will deliver outcomes aligned with place priorities.
• Assess compliance with relevant legislation, permit or consent conditions. Where non-compliance is identified, determine and implement the most appropriate intervention option to ensure a return to compliance as quickly as possible. Take appropriate actions to collect evidence for enforcement purposes, in accordance with defined procedures.
• Draft valid consents and assents for operations affecting protected sites. For all work areas produce required advice, investigations, documentation and reports to agreed quality standards to support operational and management decisions, protected site notification, public enquiries, court cases etc so that information, evidence and NRW interests are accurately and effectively presented.
• Within your area of expertise, provide professional local advice and responses to consultations from planning and permitting teams. Maintain working relationships with these teams through regular liaison.
• Monitor progress of work, which may include interpretation of data, contractor management, project delivery or compliance with management agreements or statutory legal notices. Identify and support any remedial actions to ensure outcome delivery.
• Play a role in a resilient NRW Incident Management Service that follows NRW process to ensure effective, timely and safe response to incidents.
• 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 .

• A good working knowledge of environment management, agriculture, fisheries, conservation or biodiversity, with focused experience in one of these distinct areas of the team remit.
• An understanding of how these multi-functional teams can contribute to the sustainable management of natural resources.
• Ensure continuing professional and personal development, expertise and competence through formal and informal learning and certification.
• Strong and effective self-management and organisational skills.
• The ability to influence, negotiate and gain cooperation of others. Experience of dealing successfully with difficult people/situations is important.
• The ability to use specialised IT systems, such as GIS or NRW customised applications.
• Able to work well as part of a team.
• Hold a current full UK valid licence to drive NRW fleet vehicles. (cars and vans)

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.