Lead Specialist Corporate Planning & Performance Advisor

Closing date: 8 February 2023 | Salary: £41,150-£46,147 (Grade 7) | Location: Flexible

Contract type: Permanent

Work pattern: Full time, 37 hours per week.

Post number: 203463

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

You will be joining our team at an exciting time as we support the preparation and delivery of the next Corporate Plan for NRW. We are looking for someone to lead the business planning and performance reporting cycle, providing the analysis of NRW’s progress against the Corporate Plan’s Well-being Objectives, namely to tackle the climate and nature emergencies and prevent pollution.

As the organisation expert and specialist lead, you will ensure NRW has an appropriate Corporate Planning and Performance Management Framework in place which meets the needs of both the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 and the Environment (Wales) Act 2016. You will ensure these have been developed using the five ways of working and the 9 Sustainable Management of Natural Resources (SMNR) principles: NRW is reliant on your specialist expertise to undertake this.

Responsibilities

Your responsibilities include:

Lead and provide specialist expertise, advice and guidance for the preparation of the Corporate Plan and ongoing reviewing of NRW's Well-being Objectives using external and internal facilitation, writing copy and publication
Lead and provide specialist expertise, advice and guidance for the preparation of NRW's annual business plan with links to service and other plans using internal facilitation, writing copy and publication
Lead on and provide specialist expertise, advice and guidance for performance management at all levels, working collaboratively with Heads of Business, Service and Place, ET and staff from across the organisation
Advise and provide guidance on corporate planning and performance and reporting to senior staff and across the whole organisation
Establish constructive stakeholder relationships with the Future Generations Commissioner's Office and the national bodies, working collaboratively to develop and deliver shared objectives
Establish strong, positive stakeholder relationships with the NRW Board and ET and advise and guide them to ensure their aspirations and steer are reflected in our planning and performance practices

Qualifications, experience and knowledge

Knowledge and experience of the following:

Specialist technical knowledge of corporate planning and performance management, underpinning legislation and how this can be turned into tangible actions on the ground to help meet our Well-being Objectives
Good, broad knowledge of NRW and its functions and how they help deliver our purpose and Well-being Objectives
Ability to write and present reports and other documents suitable for NRW Board, experts, staff and simplifying information for a general public audience: excellent written and oral communication skills
Significant experience in corporate planning and or performance management for a large, complex organisation
Experience of working at NRW Board level and representing NRW externally at a similar level
Excellent facilitation skills and experience of working with a wide range of stakeholders both internal and external at a variety of levels, including with Welsh Government
Well-developed partnership development and negotiation skills
Analysis of complex and often conflicting qualitative and quantitative information, views and opinions and distilling these into clear, coherent, easy to understand and workable plans
Able to matrix manage and work as part of other teams who have range of technical skills and specialisms, representing corporate planning and performance management.

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

Please note - 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	Relevant substantial experience will have been gained from working in a number of different organisations or in different roles or functions within a single organisation. Post holders are employed primarily for their advanced specialist/technical knowledge. The post holder will also need to be able to think strategically. Post holder will demonstrate good mentoring skills.
Evaluation of Information	The post holder will analyse and interpret a wide range of complex information, extracting key points and communicating this to individuals at all levels, who may not fully understand the technical/ specialist nature of the information.
Decision Making and Autonomy Requirements	The post holder is responsible for making independent decisions based on input from line management and peers and an understanding of NRW policy considering the range of options available and their potential implications for the business. Post holders will be involved in the development of organisation policy and may contribute to the development of strategy. The work may involve the management of large projects or smaller less complex programmes of work. Decisions may be made which lead to changes in established procedure/practice for dealing with issues within the post-holder’s area of work, and/or where the consequence of taking 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 of some decisions will not always be immediately clear or apparent. Problems encountered may also relate to the work of other parts of the organisation and could be variable and diverse. The impact of decisions made by the post holder is likely to be wider than the immediate function or department and is likely to be medium term.
Impact	There is a reliance on the specialist/technical knowledge and contribution of the post holder and their decisions and actions will influence others. The post holder will typically work across the organisation designing and/or managing a number of services and/or providing in depth technical/specialist expertise. The consequences of their decision making/ action will have a medium to long term impact internally or externally. The post holder will be responsible for identifying and managing reputational risks.
Communication and Relationships with Others	The work will involve written and verbal communication and/or leading key projects, which will have a high degree of complexity requiring good communication and persuasive skills. This may also include facilitating and/or presenting at internal or external meetings, giving input and complex technical or specialist advice – including around legislative changes - and steering the direction of discussion or activities. There will be a requirement to foster and maintain good relationships and networks. Post holders will produce moderately complex documents, reports, accounts, contracts etc. Content will contain advice, guidance or opinion which the recipient will act upon or use and which would have detrimental consequences if incorrect or poorly drafted. Data and content may need to be sourced from multiple locations or sources, entailing 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 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 8 February 2023

Interviews will take place through Microsoft Teams

If you have any queries about the role, please contact Sue Ginley at sue.ginley@naturalresourceswales.gov.uk or (after 23 January 2023) Caroline Hawkins at caroline.hawkins@naturalrerourceswales.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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