Though small in size, our department has a broad reach, made up of eight expert teams working collaboratively to share knowledge and drive best practice. Your role will sit within the Marine Licensing Team, where you’ll help regulate some of the most complex and environmentally significant activities taking place in Welsh waters.
As a Lead Specialist Permitting Officer, you’ll be one of the most senior members of NRW’s Marine Licensing Team, responsible for assessing some of the most complex and high-profile marine licence applications. You’ll carry out detailed technical assessments, consult with experts, and ensure decisions are robust, defensible, and well-documented. You may also act as an expert witness in public inquiries, supporting evidence-based, transparent regulation.
This is a busy, desk-based role where you’ll manage multiple cases simultaneously – balancing deadlines, problem-solving, and applying risk-based decision making under tight statutory timescales. You’ll also play a key role in mentoring and supporting the wider team, helping to maintain high technical standards in marine permitting. If you’re looking for a role that combines deep technical challenge, environmental impact, and leadership – this is it.
What you will do
- Determination of applications for Environmental Licences from marine sites of high public and/or political interest, managing effective communication with all interested parties, including government and national stakeholder groups.
- Analyses highly complex data and information to inform and assist policy and legal colleagues within your area of expertise.
- Build effective working relationships with key individuals within NRW and other UK Competent Authorities to ensure that the value of Permitting to our regulatory role is maximised.
- Take responsibility to ensure that the work of the Permitting Team is clearly documented and that decisions taken on permit applications are transparent and consistent.
- Take responsibility for ensuring that the Marine Permitting Team have the required tools and skills to ensure fair and consistent approach to decision making in line with our legal remit.
- Ensure that the Marine Permitting Team delivers appropriate decisions on licence applications within the statutory timelines by monitoring progress against targets, identifying risks to delivery and managing those risks.
- Lead or support the Permitting Service technical leads group to ensure consistent ways of working and that we have the correct tools and processes in place to identify skill gaps and develop our people so that we can effectively deliver for our customers in a timely manner.
- Specifically lead on the development of the technical development framework and the mentoring and coaching of Marine Permitting Officers to ensure that the team has sufficient technical and legislative resilience to be able to advise on and assess the full range of marine licencing requirements.
- 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).
- Required to take part in incident response activities.
- 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 managing the assessment of highly complex, politically sensitive marine licence applications, including interaction with government organisations and members of the public, within your specialised area.
- Education to degree level or equivalent in a relevant scientific discipline.
- An in-depth understanding of the relevant legislation and how it relates to the Marine Licensing process.
- Track record of delivering timely optimal solutions by effective information analysis and risk-based decisions.
- Substantial working knowledge of the technologies used and the environmental protection methodologies relevant to the Marine Permitting regime.
- Advanced and specialist understanding of specific legislation and associated Directives and how they relate to the permitting process.
- Proven coaching and mentoring skills.
- Strong customer focused approach to delivery.
- Experience of using GIS Mapping Programmes.
- Effective planning and organisation skills.
- Effective communication skills.
- You will be expected to keep up to date with changing regulatory policy and proposed changes to legislation via membership of a relevant professional body or other equivalent means.
Welsh Language level requirements
- Essential: Level A2 – Elementary level
Application deadline: August 16, 2026
Salary range: £47,055 – £52,770
