Strategic Surveyor for Biodiversity & Protected Sites

The role

You will provide specialist land agency expertise across Wales, playing a central role in strengthening our biodiversity outcomes. As a specialist lead for Land Management Agreements, you will shape and oversee the mechanisms we use to bring protected sites, particularly Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs), into favourable management. Your insight will help colleagues navigate changes in policy and legislation, ensuring that our approach remains both compliant and forward-looking. This role is pivotal to NRW's response to the Nature Emergency, directly influencing how we protect, restore, and enhance Wales's most important natural places.

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.

There will be a requirement to visit farms and other rural locations, where public transport is not available. Therefore a full and current UK driving licence is essential.

To make an informal enquiry about this role, please contact Nick Thomas

at nick.thomas@cyfoethnaturiolcymru.gov.uk

Interviews are planned for week commencing 13 April 2026 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.

What You Will Do

• Use professional expertise and judgement to lead on and support in the negotiation of Management Agreements to bring Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) into better condition. Interpret changes to policy and law and advise and motivate colleagues accordingly
• Plan, prioritise and organise resources to ensure agreements and cases are delivered on time and to a high standard.
• Identify and act on opportunities to reduce cost and achieve value for money for NRW.
• Identify and manage potential risks to the business.
• Build, maintain and improve relationships with internal and external stakeholders to best achieve the shared outcomes; and being visible and approachable to all.
• Evaluate strategic policy and procedure and initiate appropriate change to meet objectives

Be sensitive to the political landscape and the possible impacts on NRW business.

Recognise that knowledge exists at all levels and look to provide opportunity for knowledge transfer.

Be accountable for maintaining your personal professional accreditation (RICS) and ensure the latest developments in the professional field are reflected in your work and your contributions to strategy, policy and guidance production.

Maintain auditable records of actions and outcomes to justify and demonstrate that all legal and procedural requirements have been met.

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.

• Qualified Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rural Pathway preferred).

Experience in land and property management and able to demonstrate experience of working with legal documents such as leases.

Proven ability to analyse land and property related issues and to develop solutions to deliver the optimum overall outcome, often working in collaboration with others.

A sound working knowledge of a wide range of legislation and common law interacting relating to bodies with statutory responsibilities.

Experience of assisting in managing either private or public-sector land.

Knowledge in land and property management to enable the provision of objective advice to others on specialist issues.

Excellent inter-personal skills and the ability to develop and maintain good relationships and networks with a range of individuals and at all levels.

Excellent negotiating skills employed to achieve the best outcome for NRW.

Sound working knowledge of Microsoft Office.

A full and current UK driving UK.

Welsh Language level requirements

• Essential: Level C1 - Proficiency level
  
  

If you do not meet the Welsh language level requirements for this role your application will not be shortlisted.

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.