Team / Directorate: Woodland Programme / Evidence, Policy and Permitting
Starting salary: £41,132 rising to £44,988 per annum through annual increments being paid each year (pro rata for part time applicants)
Contract type: Permanent
Work pattern: Full time, 37 hours per week (Part time, annualised hours, compressed hours or term time working considered - discussions at interview stage welcome)
Interview Date: 15 September 2025
Post number: 202729 (For office use only: ENV, GRJ, GGL)
The role
As one of two Specialist Advisors within the Woodland Programme Team, you will play a vital role in guiding the delivery of the Welsh Government's Woodland Creation and Restoration grant schemes.
You will provide advice, direction and specialist technical services to ensure the verification processes for these schemes are robust, consistent, and aligned with the UK Forest Standard. Your work will help ensure that woodland projects across Wales are not only compliant but also deliver long-term environmental, social, and economic benefits.
Working at the intersection of policy, practice, and evidence, you'll support colleagues across NRW and engage with landowners, agents, and external partners to uphold best practice in woodland management and restoration.
This is a unique opportunity to shape the future of Wales' woodlands and contribute to national efforts on climate, biodiversity, and sustainable land use.
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 Chris Botting
[email protected]Interviews will take place via 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.
About Us
The Woodland Programme Team provides a verification service to Welsh Government; ensuring that applications to their Woodland Creation and Woodland Restoration schemes are compliant with the UK Forestry Standard and the scheme rules. The team sits in the Sustainable Land and Nature Group within the Evidence, Policy and Permitting Directorate. We are a Wales-wide team with staff based across the various Natural Resources Wales offices.
What you will do
- Prepare technical assessments, drawing on a range of complex information and data sources.
- Support the preparation of material to inform the development of NRW, WG and other Partners policy, statutory advice and guidance documents; Prepare the development of procedures, tools and guidance and lead the delivery of new ways of working.
- Liaise with external stakeholders such as Welsh Government, sector representatives and partners to ensure the timely and effective delivery of project, policy or strategy obligations.
- Advise on evidence gaps and project manage agreed evidence projects, in line with the agreed evidence programme.
- Support engagement with sectors, partners, WG, Confor and other Environment bodies in Wales and the UK; and be the lead point of contact for customer queries.
- Contribute to task and finish groups, commissioned through the Business Boards, to prepare defined products as required.
- Collaborate with the Team Leader to develop and deliver an agreed Personal Development Plan.
- 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 .
- Knowledge of: Welsh, UK and EU legislation related to forestry land management and agriculture; Welsh, UK Government policy drivers in land management including forestry and agriculture as set out in the WG Woodland programme; and the issues and opportunities in Wales.
- Experience of: technical analysis and interpretation of a range of environmental information and data; including analysing large data sets.
- Working with/in WG, across the forestry sector and other land management organisations.
- Working in a programme and project management environment with Project Management experience and/or qualifications.
- You will be a member of a relevant professional institution and/or working towards membership.
- Share your knowledge and expertise to help solve problems, supporting all Heads of Business in EPP as required.
Welsh Language Level Requirements
- Essential: Level A1 - Entry level (able to use and understand simple, basic phrases and greetings, no conversational Welsh)
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.
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.
