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Sands of LIFE Project & Monitoring Officer

Closing Date: 5 March 2023 | Salary: £32,876 - £36,229 (Grade 5) | Location: Bangor

Contract type: Fixed Term Appointment to 30 June 2024.

Work pattern: 37 hours a week, Monday to Friday with occasional weekend work

Post numbers: 200446

As an organisation we support flexible working. This role allows hybrid working (a mix of home and office working) and a working pattern suitable for you can be discussed on appointment if you are successful.

You will be contracted to the NRW location stated in this advert, of which you will be required to attend for regular meetings, training and for one-to-one meetings with your manager. These will be planned in advance.

Job Description

This is an exciting opportunity to join an established, multi-million pound biodiversity restoration project. As a member of the Sands of LIFE project team, you will be helping to deliver the ambitious programme of practical sand dune restoration, monitoring and stakeholder engagement work across four Special Areas of Conservation in Wales.

As Sands of LIFE Project and Monitoring Officer North, you will be responsible for leading on the delivery of large-scale, innovative on-site works at Newborough, Tywyn Aberffraw, Morfa Harlech and Morfa Dyffryn. This will involve letting and overseeing high-value contracts as well as subsequent monitoring. You will also collate and share the results of the project with fellow sand dune professionals (from the UK and overseas), local communities and visitors, including at the project’s final conference.

This post would suit an individual looking to develop their career in biodiversity conservation with a government agency. You will be required to regularly visit the four sand dunes named above, and will need to be comfortable in these remote environments. The successful candidate will be adaptable, learn quickly, show initiative and be able to work effectively with contractors, team members and other partners. The focus will be on delivering final outputs under a demanding time pressure.

The Sands of LIFE project (LIFE 17 NAT/UK/000023) has received funding from the LIFE Programme of the European Union and is part funded by Welsh Government.

Responsibilities

Together with other project team members, you will support the Team Leader in ensuring delivery of the project objectives and targets and in reporting progress according to agreed milestones. You will ensure good governance of the project, including strict adherence to NRW’s procurement and wellbeing, health and safety practices. Your responsibilities will include the following:
Work with other project team members and other NRW staff, to plan and develop the detailed programme of site restoration, monitoring and stakeholder engagement work for four sand dune sites for the project period.
Deliver all practical on-site management, restoration and monitoring works to exemplary standards through a combination of first-hand on-site work and close supervision of specialist contractors.
Develop and manage multiple and overlapping contracts covering all aspects of the programme.
Maintain detailed records (including GIS-based data) of progress with project implementation to support reporting at key milestones. Collate and analysis project monitoring data to quantify the effectiveness of project actions. Present and share results and learning via written reports and other methods.
Attend and actively contribute to regular meetings of the LIFE project team, and supporting the Team Leader at Project Board and Steering Group meetings.
Manage the budget allocated to project elements you are responsible for and maintain relationships with third party suppliers to meet value for money and spend profile requirements.
Be responsible for the supervision, mentoring and on-the-job training of an assistant post.
Work with a wide range of stakeholders using a variety of engagement methods to increase understanding and appreciation of the requirements for and societal benefits resulting from sand dune restoration, LIFE and the Natura 2000 site series.

Qualifications, experience and knowledge

You will be able to demonstrate knowledge and experience of the following:

Knowledge of site conservation management for biodiversity, including experience of the application of management techniques and the management of contractors.
Terrestrial habitat data collection, analysis and presentation of results including the ability to write clear, concise reports and the use of GIS to analyse and collate data.
Excellent team working and communication skills and the ability to represent the LIFE project to a variety of audiences including land managers.
The ability to undertake physically demanding field work in a variety of weather conditions and terrains. Where necessary/appropriate this includes lone working.
The ability to currently and legally drive a car in the UK.

Welsh language requirements

Essential Level 1 - Able to pronounce Welsh and use basic phrases

Desirable Level 3 – Able to communicate with confidence in Welsh in some work situations

Please note if you do not meet the level 1 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.

Competencies

Applications to this role will be assessed based on the following competencies, both at shortlisting and interview. Please give examples of how you demonstrate these competencies when completing your application form.

Essential Knowledge and Skills	The post holder will have gained relevant experience in a number of environments or roles in an organisation, so that they have a good grasp and understanding of organisational procedures and policy. The post holder may not be a subject matter expert but will demonstrate a good understanding of their technical discipline and work of the function/team. They will have previous contract management experience and be able to undertake tasks associated with managing contracts, identifying and managing risk. The post holder will also have a good level of literacy, numeracy and communication skills. The post holder will have high level knowledge and experience of health, safety and wellbeing, and public safety and liability.
Evaluation of Information	Ability to understand and interpret varied pieces of information, which may include reference to procedure manuals and statutory code requirements. Whilst not an expert in all functions, the post holder has an ability to understand a range of technical information, understand contractual requirements and able to identify risk.
Decision Making and Autonomy Requirements	Work will be guided by expected results, but the post holder is able to decide how best to achieve these. This may require some degree of judgement and creativity. The post holder will manage a range of contracts and be able to alter priorities where there are conflicting demands or work activity needs to change. Ability to make decisions around their own area of work but may cross over with the work of others. Decisions may be of a technical nature and guidance could be sought from others. The post holder will manage contracts of low-level complexity. Solutions will be readily applied, through prior knowledge. Objectives and targets are likely to be reviewed on regular basis.
Impact	As an externally facing role, work carried out will impact externally and internally. The post holder will manage small and less complex contracts of low risk and low impact. The post holder will work within a discrete area of NRW. Any impact of the work primarily affects the direct environment and may extend to other subject areas/projects. The post holder will need to identify and manage risk effectively, to avoid detrimental impact. Any impact will be relatively low with a short to medium term.
Communication and Relationships with Others	Ability to communicate across a range of functions within NRW. The post holder will work closely and collaboratively with contractors and colleagues to deliver programmes of work. This will require a range of communication skills and the ability to develop and sustain good working relationships. Relationships are likely to be of an on-going nature and may involve a degree of influencing. Ability to communicate with external colleagues at a similar level, or more senior/managerial roles.
Responsibility for Resources	Responsibility for safe keeping and use of tools and equipment of modest value, used to carry out their role in the field. The role may have a delegated budget, which is likely to be modest and part of a wider and larger budget held by a more senior individual.

Benefits of Working for us

This role will offer a range of benefits, including:

Agile and Flexible Working (role dependent)
Civil Service Pension Scheme offering employer contributions of 26.6% to 30.3%
28 days Annual Leave, rising to 33 days
Generous Leave Entitlements for all your life needs
Health and Wellbeing Benefits and Support
Weekly Well-being Hour to use at your choice

See full details for all the employee benefits you will receive.

How to Apply

Please send a completed Application form to Applications@naturalresourceswales.gov.uk using the post number as the email reference

Before completing your application, please read our Guidance on completing a job application form

Application closing date 5 March 2023

Interviews will take place through Microsoft Teams

If you have any queries about the role, please contact Kathryn Hewitt on Kathryn.hewitt@cyfoethnaturiolcymru.gov.uk or 07970 254369

Natural Resources Wales embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunity. We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition.

We welcome and encourage applications from groups currently underrepresented, including women, black and ethnic minority groups and people with a disability. We have a guaranteed interview scheme for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

We put the principles of human rights, equality, fairness, dignity and respect at the heart of our values.

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