Enforcement Apprenticeship x 6

Closing date: 1 March 2023 | Salary: £21,655-£24,408 (Grade 2) | Location: Flexible around Wales   

Contract type: Fixed term apprenticeship until 31 March 2026

Work pattern: Full time, 37 hours per week. 

Post numbers: 203456, 203457, 203458, 203459, 203460, 203461

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 nearest NRW office to your home, 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

Natural resources in Wales are fantastic - rugged mountains and woodlands, beautiful landscapes and coastlines, and amazing wildlife.

They are vital for our survival and provide us with the basic things we need to live: clean air, clean water, and food. They create jobs for thousands of people like farmers, foresters, and tourist operators, creating wealth and prosperity.

They give us all a better quality of life and opportunities to enjoy the outdoors against a backdrop of Wales’ natural beauty and heritage. People come from far and wide to experience them. They are intrinsically linked with Welsh culture and language.

It’s our job in Natural Resources Wales (NRW) to look after these natural resources and what they provide for us: to help reduce the risk to people and properties of flooding and pollution; to look after special places for well-being, wildlife and timber; and to work with others to help us all to manage them sustainably. The people who work here in NRW have the knowledge, expertise, and passion to help make the sustainable management of natural resources a reality.

About the Enforcement Apprenticeship roles

This year, NRW is launching a new enforcement apprenticeship with six opportunities available across Wales, which are centred on NRW developing the environmental specialists of the future to continue our teams important work across Wales. If successful, you could be appointed to teams based in any of the six regions mapped across Wales. As a result, you could end up working in the South Wales Valleys, across the Pembrokeshire National Park, along the borders of England or in the depths of the Cambrian Mountains or the foothills of Snowdonia National Park.

Regardless which team you join, this opportunity provides the ability to work alongside our professional teams responsible for the enforcement of a varied range of regulatory regimes, primarily those centred around fisheries but could extend into other areas such as waste and water. Some incidents or breaches of regulatory requirements cause, or have the potential to cause, serious environmental damage. Others may interfere with people's enjoyment or rights, or our ability to carry out our activities. Our first response will be to prevent harm to people and the environment from occurring or continuing. As part of the role, you will carry out the effective and efficient investigation of a variety of complex environmental offences and provide operational support to the wider organisation.

This scheme will expose you to a diverse range of opportunities that help us to protect the Welsh environment and the communities across Wales. We are looking for someone with enthusiasm and passion for the environment who can demonstrate drive to learn and deliver their work whilst working alongside our teams and wider customers, including the public.

The successful applicants will be enrolled on a L3 City and Guilds Environmental Conservation Apprenticeship and be supported to complete the course throughout their employment with NRW. You will receive learning and development opportunities to enable you to protect and enhance the natural environment.

You will be based in the Waste Regulation teams but through the apprenticeship scheme you will have the chance to see & be involved enforcement activities (and potentially wider NRW activities) across other operational-focused teams.

Full UK driving licence (essential)

Responsibilities

Your responsibilities include:

  • Contribute to a positive health, safety and well-being culture.
  • Working with Place-based operational teams to enable NRW to take appropriate action as per its enforcement and prosecution policy
  • Support delivery of work plans, created by the team, which contributes towards the delivery of business plans.
  • You will liaise with other internal teams and external organisations, to establish sources of intelligence and to collate and share advice and information so that all parties possess the necessary information to perform and deliver their work.
  • Assist with site visits and you may need to attend court, to support other NRW colleagues, to represent and give evidence on behalf of the organisation to secure appropriate enforcement action
  • Maintain records and information in line with regulations/legislation and agreed standards.
  • Participate in team meetings and participate in external meetings with other members of the team.
  • Interact with peers in NRW across NRW to support wider enforcement activities
  • Other work as directed by the line manager.
  • You may be part of an incident response team.

Qualifications, experience and knowledge

Knowledge and experience of the following: 

  1. ICT competence. (basic level) 
  2. Previous environmental experience is desirable. 
  3. This can be a physically demanding role so reasonable levels of fitness are required.    
  4. Confident working in and near water.
  5. Basic literacy and numeracy skills are required for the role.  GCSE grade C (or equivalent) in English and Maths are essential.   
  6. Full UK driving licence ideally to include cat B + E. (trailer tow)
  7. You do not require any specific academic or technical qualifications, but it is expected that you will have achieved a reasonable standard of education equivalent to Level 2 of the Credit & Qualifications Framework for Wales, which may have included some element of study of an administrative/ business support discipline, or you will have the equivalent level of knowledge.
  8. You will have previous practical work experience and gained a reasonable level of administrative competence.
  9. Due to the nature of the role, the minimum age is 18 years old.

Welsh language requirements

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

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

  • Knowledge and skills will have been gained through prior practical work experience so that the post holder has a reasonable level of technical competence to fulfil the requirements of the role. The role will require good numeracy, literacy, IT and communication skills, both written and verbal. 
  • The post holder will also have good literacy, numerical and communication skills and an understanding of the health and safety requirements and implications in relation to work activity.

Evaluation of Information

  • Information used for the purposes of undertaking the role will generally be straight forward, easily understood and from readily available resources.
  • There may be an element of gathering, collecting and recording data requiring some degree of accuracy.  Checking and validation of data/ information may be a characteristic of roles at this level.
  • Other documentation is likely to be fairly routine and standard in terms of understanding or completion.

Decision Making and Autonomy Requirements

  • The work will generally follow an agreed work plan which the post holder will be required to follow with little requirement to deviate, apart from prioritising of tasks.  Work is typically of a routine nature. Some problems encountered however may require an element of initiative or judgment although solutions will generally be based on previous knowledge and experience and known solutions and outcomes. Decision making and autonomy is therefore relatively limited.

Impact

  • The work undertaken is generally within a discrete area so that any impact of the work primarily affects others within the team. However 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 fairly immediately and could be 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 give clear guidance or instruction if necessary.
  • There will also be contact with the general public and third parties which will typically entail exchanging information.
  • Written communication will include the completion of standard documentation and record keeping requiring good IT skills.

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

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

Application closing date 1 March 2023

Interviews to be confirmed

If you have any queries about the role, please contact Fiona Hourahine at Fiona.hourahine@cyfoethnaturiolcymru.gov.uk  

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.

Last updated