Water Quality Permitting Officer

To determine permit applications in accordance with recognised NRW policy, process, guidance and procedures. Support the Permitting Service and respond to internal and external customer queries, aligned to Water Quality.

We are seeking a proactive and highly motivated individual to join our busy and varied Water Quality Permitting Team. The Water Quality Permitting Teams’ primary role is to improve water quality by tackling pollution and supporting sustainable economic growth through determining applications for environmental permits and consents within statutory deadlines. You will work with water companies, industry, businesses and householders and help create a cleaner, safer, and healthier environment. You will work within a team of 8 Permitting officers that work hybridly. The team is largely based in Cardiff and in order to build up technical skills there will be a need to attend the office in person to receive training and attend meetings as required.

The Water Quality Permitting Team is part of a wider national permitting service that covers the permitting and licencing of Waste, Industry, Marine, Water Resources, Forestry, Species licencing. It sits under the Evidence, Policy and Permitting Directorate.

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 Emma Jones at [email protected]

Interviews will take place through Microsoft Teams.

Successful external applicants will be subject to a satisfactory Disclosure and Barring Service Check (DBS) check. We aim to make offers of appointment within 4 to 8 weeks of the closing date.

What you will do

• Determine the outcome of Environmental licence/permit applications through sound decision making for applications for their assigned regime by carrying out appropriate technical assessment in accordance with NRW policies and procedures where available, and issue, refuse or vary permits to time and budget.
• Support and work collaboratively with the permitting service to ensure process efficiency and consistency of approach.
• Undertake technical screening reports to inform on applications in relation to your subject area.
• Develop and maintain effective customer relationships (internal and external) to ensure good understanding and the efficient delivery of fit for purpose licences and transition into compliance activities.
• Produce appropriate records of decisions, actions and outcomes to justify and demonstrate that all legal and procedural requirements have been met.
• Produce and provide regular accurate information to managers on progress, to adapt and ensure delivery of work to time and cost.
• 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 *and that of your staff 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.

1. Qualifications for Permitting Officer 2 under the Installations, Marine, Waste, Water Quality and Water Resources regimes require a degree or equivalent in a relevant scientific discipline.
2. Customer service experience and ability to influence/persuade to achieve desired outcome.
3. An understanding of the Environmental Permitting Regulations and how they relate to the permitting process. (Desirable)
4. Experience of decision making using technical software and modelling programmes. (Desirable)
5. Ability to identify efficiencies and improvements in processes and ways of working. (Desirable)

Welsh language level requirements

• Essential: Level A1 - Entry level (able to use and understand simple, basic phrases and greetings, no conversational Welsh) with an expectation to develop Welsh language skills to Level B2 – Upper intermediate level (able to discuss work matters) following an agreed 

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%
• 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

If you think you have what it takes to do this role, but don’t necessarily meet every single point on the job description, please still get in touch and we will be happy to discuss the role with you in more detail.

We’re passionate about creating a diverse workforce and positively encourage applications from under-represented communities. We embrace equality of opportunity irrespective of disability, neurodivergence, ethnic origin, colour, nationality, gender expression and gender identity, marital status, sexual orientation, culture, or religion.   We put the principles of human rights, equality, fairness, dignity and respect at the heart of our values.

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.