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Sands of LIFE Assistant Project Officer

Closing Date: 19 February 2023 | Salary: £21,655 – 24,408 (Grade 2) | 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 Number: 202221

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 office in Bangor, at 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 suitable for individuals seeking entry into a career in biodiversity conservation with a government agency. As a member of the Sands of LIFE project team, you will help deliver the ambitious programme of practical sand dune restoration, monitoring and stakeholder engagement work across four Special Areas of Conservation in Wales.

You will carry out a wide variety of tasks to assist the Sands of LIFE Project and Monitoring Officer, to achieve challenging outputs in latter stages of the project. This will include assisting with the letting and overseeing of contracts, monitoring results, collating data and preparing reports, as well as helping with engagement events (walks, talks etc), interpretation materials and the project’s final conference.

You will be required to regularly visit sand dunes at Newborough, Tywyn Aberffraw, Morfa Harlech and Morfa Dyffryn 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 with 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

Your responsibilities will include the following:

Assist the Sands of LIFE Project and Monitoring Officer to deliver practical on-site management and restoration and monitoring works.
Assist the Sands of LIFE Project and Monitoring Officer to develop and manage multiple and overlapping contracts covering all aspects of the programme.
Maintain detailed records (including GIS-based data). Collate and analyse project monitoring data to quantify the effectiveness of project actions.
Attend and actively contribute to regular meetings of the LIFE project team, and supporting the Project and Monitoring Officer at Steering Group meetings.

Qualifications, Experience & Knowledge

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

An understanding of sand dune site conservation and management.
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 pronounce 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 has gained knowledge and skills, through prior practical work experience, so that they have a reasonable level of technical competence to fulfil the requirements of the role. The post holder will have good literacy, numerical and communication skills. They will have an understanding of health and safety requirements and implications in relation to work activity.
Evaluation of Information	The use of information within this role will be straight forward, easily understood and from readily available resources. The post holder will need to be able to check, validate, gather, collect and record data requiring some degree of accuracy. Documentation is routine and standard, in terms of understanding or completion.
Decision Making and Autonomy Requirements	The post holder's work is typically routine in nature and will follow an agreed work plan, with little requirement to deviate, apart from prioritising of tasks. Some problems encountered may require an element of initiative or judgment, although solutions will be based on previous knowledge, experience, known solutions and outcomes. Decision making and autonomy is relatively limited.
Impact	The work undertaken is within a discrete area, so any impact primarily affects others within the team. Some aspects of the work have the potential, if carried out incorrectly, to have a low impact on third parties. The impact would be known immediately, and rectified and addressed quickly without any longer-term issues arising.
Communication and Relationships with Others	Communication will be with colleagues carrying out both similar and different aspects of work. This may include leading on some aspects of work requiring the ability to give clear guidance or instruction if necessary. There will be contact with the general public and third parties, which will entail exchanging information. Written communication will include the completion of standard documentation and record keeping requiring good IT skills.
Responsibility for Resources	The post holder will be responsible for the safe use and operation of equipment and data used to fulfil their role. These will be of a relatively modest value and the post holder is expected to take personal responsibility for their use and safe keeping.

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: 19 February 2023

Interviews will take place through Microsoft Teams

If you have any queries about the role, please contact Kathryn Hewitt at 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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