Team / Directorate: Sustainable Land Management / Evidence Policy and Permitting

Starting salary: £36,246 rising to £39,942 per annum through annual increments being paid each year (pro rata for part time applicants)

Contract type: Fixed term contract until 31/03/2026

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: 28 August 2025

Post number: 203981 (For office use only: GDN / ENV / TJN / CWJ / TTJ)

The role

Join Us in Shaping a Sustainable Future

Lead the way in data management and digital innovation for nature recovery.

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) is looking for a dynamic and driven individual to join our Operational Readiness team. Working closely with Welsh Government and operational teams, you'll provide expert data management advice to support the roll-out of the Sustainable Farming Scheme.

You will:

1. Identify ICT development needs, enabling NRW to fully utilise GIS software and internal platforms such as Safle.
2. Ensure the accurate capture of designated site management plan data to help meet Wales' ambitious 30 by 30 nature recovery targets.
3. Develop and manage robust datasets and structures, ensuring data integrity and security in line with NRW's governance, licensing standards, and protocols.

This is your opportunity to play a key role in how Wales uses data to shape a greener, more sustainable future.

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 Russell De'ath at

russell.de-ath@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.

About us

The Sustainable Land and Nature Group plays a central role in delivering Natural Resources Wales' Corporate Plan vision - where nature and people thrive together. The group leads on terrestrial ecosystems and species, as well as sustainable land, forestry, and woodland management.

Our Areas of Advice:

• Terrestrial ecosystems
• Terrestrial species
• Sustainable land management
• Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS)
• Woodland
• Forestry
• Soils

What We Do:

The Sustainable Land and Nature Group:

• Leads integrated environmental planning for land and nature across NRW.
• Drives NRW's Land and Nature Programme, coordinating the delivery, monitoring, evaluation, and review of integrated outcomes across multiple services.
• Develops NRW's policy, strategy, and desired environmental outcomes related to terrestrial ecosystems and species, sustainable land management, the SFS, soils, woodland, and forestry.
• Identifies strategic evidence needs in these areas and works with the Evidence Department to design and deliver an applied evidence programme.
• Contributes expert input to environmental assessments (such as SoNaRR) in relation to the group's areas of focus.
• Leads the development of strategic policy and technical guidance, both internally and externally.
• Collaborates closely across NRW Services, including with Regulation and Permitting, Evidence, Operations, Land Stewardship, Incident Management, and Natural Resource Management (NRM), to deliver NRW's Land and Nature Programme.

What you will do

• Work with the Operational Readiness team and with Welsh Government operational teams to lead on data management advice.
• Identify ICT development needs to enable NRW to use a range of GIS software packages and other internal platforms (e.g. Safle) to accurately capture designated sites management plan data and inform and influence reporting towards the 30 by 30 nature targets.
• To develop and manage data sets and data structures and ensure data security through adherence to NRWs data governance and licencing arrangements, standards and protocols.
• Undertake regular imports of data provided by WG delivery teams and partners in suitable formats for migration into NRW and/or WG data structure and their subsequent management and analysis.
• Support data entry and validation through training and mentoring.
• Undertake analysis and manipulation of data (including in Power Bi formats) to support a wide range of reporting requirements and ensure that the quality of NRW's data is fit for its intended use
• Support the provision and import of equivalent data from partners iWork with the equivalent programmes across NRW to support the development of consistent approaches to recording and reporting progress in delivering actions for designated sites.
• Contribute to the development of new and innovative data methods to drive forward efficiency and improvements to NRW's planning, recording, and reporting.
• Identify data collection methods and tools. Undertake occasional fieldwork to support delivery teams with primary data collection.
• Work collaboratively with other NRW teams to deliver cohesive and strategic action on designated sites in Wales.
• 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 .

• Experience of handling spatial environmental data such as, field-based / surveillance data, interpreting and reporting on data and, ideally, knowledge of a range of conservation activities and methodologies.
• Experience of working with field collected environmental data. in one or more of terrestrial ecology, freshwater ecology, hydrology water quality, or earth science.
• Experience of data management systems, as well as practical understanding of handling environmental data.
• A degree level qualification in a relevant subject area or the equivalent level of knowledge.
• Good analytical skills including statistics, and experience of data handling in GIS (both desk based and field based).
• An excellent communicator with good organisational skills.
• You will have knowledge of one or more areas of data analysis, evidence synthesis, and data management, and a sound understanding of statistical methods and use of data management/ statistical and spatial analysis applications (including R and ESRI).
• You will have problem-solving skills, with the ability to extract key information and present this in a clear and concise manner to a range of audiences and in both written and oral forms.

Welsh language level requirements

• Essential: Level A1 - Entry level (able to use and understand simple, basic phrases and greetings, no conversational Welsh)
• Desirable: Level C1 - Proficiency level (fluent Welsh speaker)

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.