Senior Specialist Lawyer x 2

Team/Directorate: Legal Services Team/Corporate, Strategy & Development Directorate

Starting salary: £52,268 rising to £57,726 per annum through annual increments being paid each year (pro rata for part time applicants)

Contract type: Permanent

Work pattern: 201700 Full time, 37 hours per week / 201695 Part time 30 hours a week
(Part time, annualised hours, compressed hours or term time working considered - discussions at interview stage welcome)

Interview date: Week commencing 17 February 2025 (To be confirmed)

Post numbers: 201700 / 201695

The role

We are looking for 2 Senior Specialist Lawyers, to provide professional, high quality and timely legal advice and guidance to a variety of in-house clients. 

Natural Resources Wales engage with a wide variety of individuals and organisations which includes, but are not limited to, Welsh Government, third sector organisations and commercial organisations.

The full time role will liaise with in house clients across the organisation on issues mainly related to planning and habitat regulation, whilst the part time role will focus on NRW’s enforcement activity.   

The diverse range of work and the quality of the work available together with the ability to make a real difference to the environment makes working for NRW an exciting place to be. 

Preferred location is Cardiff, however, other locations where NRW has an office may also be considered. As an organisation we support flexible working and a suitable hybrid working pattern will be agreed on appointment. Any regular face to face meetings or training will be planned in advance.

We seek qualified solicitors or barristers with experience of delivering an effective legal service in the public or private sectors. 

The full time role would benefit from someone with experience of Wales’ planning regime whilst the part time role will focus on NRW regulatory enforcement work and knowledge of or experience of criminal prosecution work would be advantageous.

Previous experience of environmental law is not essential as training will be provided.

As an organisation we support flexible working. You will be contracted to the nearest NRW office to your home and a suitable hybrid working pattern will be agreed on appointment. Any regular face to face meetings or training will be planned in advance.

To make an informal enquiry about this role, please contact Sarah Asbrey at Sarah.Asbrey@cyfoethnaturiolcymru.gov.uk

Interviews will be face to face (details of time and location will be shared in advance)

Successful applicants will be subject to a satisfactory Disclosure and Barring Service Check (DBS) check. We aim to make offers of appointment within 4 to 8 weeks of the closing date.

About us

Natural Resources Wales manages a vast amount of land and other assets, including the Welsh Government Woodland Estate.  We engage with a wide variety of individuals and organisations which includes, but are not limited to,  Welsh Government, third sector organisations and commercial organisations.

This role will join a well established and diverse legal team consisting of 17 lawyers (which includes 2 managers and the Head of Legal Services), 1 barrister, and 2 paralegals.  The legal team sits within NRW’s Corporate Services and Strategy Directorate and reports to the Director of that Directorate.  The team advises NRW on all legal matters (save for employment law) and as such the work is wide ranging.

The Legal Team currently work in a hybrid way with some time spent working in the office and some time spent working from home.  There is the option to work full time from an NRW office.

What you will do

• Act in the best interests of NRW ensuring decision making and advice given are legally sound and all risks are actively managed.
• Provide high quality risk and solutions based legal advice so that the Board, the Chief Executive, Directors, managers and all officers fulfil their legal obligations, statutory duties and functions in accordance with the law.
• Use professional judgement and risk analysis to best utilise the use of external legal providers, commission, utilise and manage those providers, including Solicitors, Barristers and Parliamentary Agents, to ensure that NRW fulfils its lawful obligations and the service delivers value for money.
• Instigate and conduct criminal proceedings providing recommendations for decision to Head of Legal Services on Prosecutions, Formal cautions and civil sanctions including assessment of evidence and application of the public interest test in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors.
• Take full conduct of civil litigation including specialist proceedings (eg judicial review) developing and implementing individually tailored litigation strategies, being accountable for assessing evidence, likelihood of success, preparing for and attending at courts, tribunals and inquiries and conducting advocacy in those fora.
• Consider the pertinence of, and where necessary develop and draft legislative orders (eg Orders, byelaws and other subordinate legislation) to achieve NRW objectives.
• Through effective engagement, communication, influencing and negotiation, develop and maintain good working relationships with internal clients and external stakeholders including Welsh Government, Westminster departments, other public- sector organisations, AMs, MPs, various industrial and commercial sectors regulated by NRW, the legal community, the Courts and Tribunal service.
• Influence the development, implementation and interpretation of EU, UK and Welsh legislation by interacting with the relevant legislative bodies and their policy advisors in a way that promotes Welsh interests and ensures Wales specific impacts are understood.
• Contribute to and advise upon the development and implementation of NRW strategies and policies, identifying and limiting all risks and in so doing, ensure strategy and policy making is lawful, robust and can be supported through challenge.
• Encourage best practice, innovation and continuous improvement across the Legal team and NRW by identifying and implementing learning opportunities from casework, sharing expertise and knowledge through mentoring and coaching thus improving resilience within and across teams, and providing training internally and/or to external bodies to enhance their understanding of NRW.
• Undertake health and safety duties and responsibilities appropriate to the post
• Be committed to Natural Resources Wales Equal Opportunities and Diversity Policy, together with an understanding of how it operates within the responsibilities of the post
• Be committed to your own development through the effective use of your personal development plan (known as Sgwrs).
• Any other reasonable duties requested commensurate with the grade of this role.

Your qualifications, experience, knowledge and skills

In your application and interview you will be asked to demonstrate the following skills and experience using the STAR method.

1. Qualified solicitor with current practising certificate issued by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) or barrister with a current practising certificate issued by the Bar Standards Board (BSB), and practising experience in public and regulatory law.
2. Ideally post qualification experience (PQE) on entry combined with business acumen, risk management skills and sound judgement based on experience.
3. Evidence of compliance with competency frameworks and Continuing Professional Development obligations is required
4. Experience in the procurement/commissioning of external legal advice and associated services and the interpretation of such advice to aid internal decision making.
5. A working understanding of the devolution settlement in Wales as well as the legal environment within which NRW operates including its relationship with Westminster Departments for non-devolved matters.
6. Ability to operate with confidence and credibility at the highest levels of an organisation.
7. Pragmatic and forward thinking with an ability to innovate to develop solutions to complex legal or service delivery issues.
8. Political awareness and experience of operating in politically sensitive environments.
9. Exercises sound judgement and be willing to be held to account for decisions, actions and choices made personally, thus instilling confidence and gaining respect at all levels.
10. Excellent written and oral communication skills and presentation skills.
11. Able to act as a role model of organisational values, showing exemplary behaviours of honesty, integrity and ethics.

Welsh language level 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.

Benefits 

This role will offer a range of benefits, including:

• agile and flexible working
• 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
• commitment to professional development
• health and wellbeing benefits and support
• weekly wellbeing hour to use as you choose

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

Please keep reading

If you think you have what it takes to do this role, but don’t necessarily meet every single point on the job description, please still get in touch and we will be happy to discuss the role with you in more detail.

We’re passionate about creating a diverse workforce and positively encourage applications from under-represented communities. We embrace equality of opportunity irrespective of disability, neurodivergence, ethnic origin, colour, nationality, gender expression and gender identity, marital status, sexual orientation, culture, or religion.   We put the principles of human rights, equality, fairness, dignity and respect at the heart of our values.

We are committed to equal opportunities and we guarantee interviews for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

We want to attract and retain talented and highly skilled staff, so we make sure that our pay scales remain competitive. We advertise the full pay scale on our job descriptions. Appointed candidates start at the first point of the pay scale and annual increments are paid each year.

We want our staff to grow professionally and personally. From leadership development to access to further and higher education courses, our staff have opportunities to expand their knowledge on variety of topics, stay current in their field and continue to learn as their career progresses.  

We are a Bilingual organisation which complies with the Welsh Language Standards.  Welsh language skills are considered an asset to NRW and we encourage and support staff to learn, develop and use their Welsh language skills. 

Apply for this role