Lead Specialist Carbon Permitting Advisor

Closing date: 30 March 2023 | Salary: £41,150 - £46,147 (Grade 7) | Location: Flexible

Contract type: Permanent

Work pattern: Full time, 37 hours per week. 

Post number: 201584

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

This role sits within the Industry and Waste Regulation / Carbon permitting team dealing with a range of permit applications, compliance and enforcement related carbon trading schemes.  We’re looking for a hard-working individual to join a busy team.  If you have experience of managing a process and working to deadlines, if you’re a team player, have a high level of administrative and analytical skills and can evaluate complex applications we would welcome your application.   You are expected to have knowledge of greenhouse gas emissions trading scheme permits, policy and legislation, ETSWAP system, compliance and enforcement procedures and a record of dealing with the industry and using a variety of software packages or databases.

Responsibilities

Your responsibilities will include:

  • Determination of applications for Environmental Permits for UK Emission Trading Scheme 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; UK Emissions Trading Scheme, Energy Saving Opportunity Scheme.
  • Establish strong working relationships with a range of large organisations in the industrial, health, commercial and academic sectors to enhance their knowledge of climate change legislative requirements (UK ETS, ESOS) and advise on optimising energy usage, facilitating the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. 
  • Monitor the performance of the Climate Change part of the team and take appropriate action to ensure we meet our performance measure targets and statutory requirements.
  • Take responsibility for ensuring that team members working on the UK Emissions Trading Scheme, Energy Saving Opportunity Scheme have the required tools and skills to ensure fair and consistent approach to decision making in line with our legal remit.
  • Ensure that the Carbon Permitting Team delivers appropriate decisions on permit applications within the statutory timelines by monitoring progress against targets, identifying risks to delivery and managing those risks. 
  • Specifically lead on the on the development of the technical development framework and the mentoring and coaching to ensure that the team has sufficient technical and legislative resilience to be able to effectively deliver Climate Change legislation permitting, compliance and enforcement in Wales, now and in the future. 
  • Ensure that the reported Greenhouse Gas emissions and Annual Activity Level Reports from participants in Wales are verified and reported to the UK Government on an annual basis, effectively demonstrating Wales’s contribution to the reduction of the UKs greenhouse gas emission reduction targets.

Qualifications, experience and knowledge

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

  1. Substantial experience of managing the assessment of highly complex, politically sensitive UK Emission Trading Scheme permit applications, including interaction with government organisations and members of the public, within your specialised area.
  2. Substantial working knowledge of the technologies used and the environmental protection methodologies relevant to the UK Emissions Trading Scheme, Energy Saving Opportunity Scheme. 
  3. Advanced and specialist understanding of specific legislation and associated Directives and how they relate to the permitting process. 
  4. Proven coaching and mentoring skills. 
  5. Strong customer focussed approach to delivery.
  6. 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 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

  • Ability to undertake complex high level practical or technical tasks requiring advanced specialist knowledge in the subject matter.
  • Post holders will have high level knowledge with a personal and professional credibility, acting as the a national, NRW and larger sector expert. The post holder may act as an expert witness in a public enquiry. Post holders will provide technical advice to decision makers that impact nationally, which may not be defined in existing policy or guidance.
  • The post holder will provide objective advice to others on specialist issues based on in-depth knowledge and experience. The post holder will keep up to date on advances and changes within their technical/ specialist fields and interpret and apply updated knowledge as appropriate.
  • The post holder will have substantial and relevant experience working within the field, from a number of different organisations or different roles within a single organisation. Mentoring skills are required at this level.

Evaluation of Information

  • Ability to interpret the function’s operational delivery plans and understand their context in the wider NRW policy strategy.
  • Ability to analyse and interpret a wide range of often highly complex information, extracting key points and communicating this to individuals at all levels. 

Decision Making and Autonomy Requirements

  • Responsible for the successful delivery of projects, addressing challenging issues within their own programme of work with little supervision. The post holder is able to decide how best to achieve these, guided by expected results. They may need to alter priorities as a result of conflicting demands. Objectives and targets etc will be reviewed on an intermediate basis.
  • Able to make independent decisions at an operational management level, with input from line management and peers. They will have an understanding of NRW policy and their potential implications for the business.
  • Decisions made may lead to changes in established procedure/practice within the post-holder’s area of work. Consequence of making wrong decisions will have an adverse effect on the organisation in relation to its external stakeholders such as partner organisations, lenders, service users etc. 
  • Decisions may concern a broad range of matters and the outcomes may not always be immediately clear or apparent. Problems encountered may relate to other parts of the organisation and could be variable and diverse. The impact of decisions is likely to be wider than the immediate function or department and is likely to be medium term.

Impact

  • Post holders have a moderate to high level of impact and influence, which is generally medium to longer term in impact.  Impact will be at a national level.
  • Post holders will have an impact as national specialist / sector lead both internally and externally and their influence will be at a senior operational level.
  • The decisions and actions of the post holder will influence others. The consequences of their decisions making/ action will have a medium to long term impact internally or externally.

Communication and Relationships with Others

  • Ability to engage across the organisation, delivering strategies and polices in the most efficient way. Ability discuss highly technical, specialist or detailed policy issues, tailoring the method, style and level of communication appropriately for the audience.
  • Ability to communicate at a high level, verbally and in writing, internally, externally and at a senior operational level.  This will have a high degree of complexity, requiring higher level communication and persuasive skills. This may also include facilitating and/or presenting at internal or external meetings, giving a high level of complex technical or specialist advice, including legislative changes and input. Ability to steer the direction of discussion or activities. They will need to be able to foster and maintain good relationships and networks.
  • Able to produce complex, technically demanding documents, reports, programs, contracts etc. Documentation will contain advice, guidance or opinion which the recipient will act upon or use. The consequences of incorrect or poorly drafted documentation is likely to have detrimental impact.
  • Ability to source data and content from multiple locations requiring external research and professional judgment in how such research should be interpreted. The impact of such documentation is likely to be generally longer term in nature.

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 as you choose

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: 30 March 2023

Interviews will take place through Microsoft Teams

If you have any queries about the role, please contact Wayne Grimstead at wayne.grimstead@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.

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