About us
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.
The role
Natural Resources Wales has a statutory duty to provide a flood warning service to communities at risk of flooding. In carrying out this duty we provide a direct flood warning service to over 120,000 people at risk of river and coastal flooding in Wales, as well as providing information via other channels including our website, Floodline and open digital data API.
We have an exciting opportunity in the North and Mid Wales Warning and Informing team. As part of the role you’ll be working to deliver our flood warning service improvement programme and will be an integral part of the Flood Warning Service Review. You’ll be responsible for improving, maintaining and providing the new service to communities identified at risk across North and Mid Wales.
You’ll also be responsible for preparing, planning and managing our response to flood incidents by ensuring local procedures are kept up to date. You’ll also be able to prepare and contribute to our incident management training and exercise plan that enables our duty officers and external partners to be better prepared for floods as part of their response.
Applying for this post
The following competencies will be used to assess the quality of applications both at sift and interview. Please read the whole of the Role Description to ascertain at what level this information needs to be presented.
- Essential Knowledge and Skills
- Evaluation of Information
- Decision making and Autonomy
- Impact
- Communications and Relationships with Others
- Responsibility for People
- Responsibility for Resources
Other information relevant to the job:
The post holder will be required to undertake a role on the flood warning duty rota and may be required to work out of hours during flood incidents.
Competencies
Essential Knowledge and Skills
· Expertise gained in a defined area or function, enabling the post holder to provide advice and guidance to others.
· Demonstrates a sound understanding and appreciation of the work of the wider function.
· Has good literacy, numeracy and communication skills including well developed customer facing skills.
· Experience of supervising others is desirable.
Evaluation of Information
· Demonstrates the ability to understand information, procedure manuals, statutory codes and legislation and interpret and apply the requirements to undertake their role.
· Able to analyse and process non-routine technical information, containing a degree of complexity.
Decision Making and Autonomy Requirements
· Ability to decide how best to achieve results, requiring some degree of judgment and creativity and the need to alter priorities where there are conflicting demands.
· Able to solve problems and make decisions of a technical nature; primarily around their own area of work but will also cross over with the work of others.
· Problems and decisions may contain a degree of complexity and require the need to apply different techniques or methods.
· Ability to undertake research to determine how best to resolve issues.
· Able to provide guidance to less experienced members, to resolve problems.
Impact
· The work undertaken is generally within a discrete area, so will primarily affect the direct environment, but may also extend across other subject and work areas.
· Aspects of the work may also have the potential, if carried out incorrectly, to impact on third parties and a wider area.
Communication and Relationships with Others
· Demonstrates the ability to interact and communicate with people around their area of expertise, across a range of functions within NRW and external parties, adapting their approach and style appropriately.
· Well established inter-personal and communication skills with the ability to develop and sustain good working relationships, which may involve a degree of influencing.
Responsibility for People
· No line management responsibility; but will supervise others in specific activities or pieces of work.
Responsibility for Resources
· Responsible for the safe and legal use and keeping of tools and equipment used to carry out their work.
· Post holders will have oversight of contractors and the associated costs.
Role Description
Job Purpose:
The post holder will manage and deliver the local flood warning service and support the delivery of the Flood Warning Service Review, alongside incident preparedness for all incidents within the Operation Directorate. They will manage and coordinate our response to river and coastal flooding.
Consider the principles of SMNR and Well-being of Future Generations Act are considered in all decision making.
Key Job Accountabilities:
Contribute to the Flood Event Management Team by participating in the identification and development of business/work plans in order to reduce and manage flood risk.
Contribute operational knowledge and requirements to the development and maintenance of our policy and strategy for the flood warning and informing service and support the delivery of resulting business change into local operational warning and informing services.
Support Health & Safety best practice by actively promoting awareness and ensuring the provision of safe working practices to comply with NRW’s policy and standards.
Promote the efficient and effective use of resources in order to ensure activities are completed to time and the cost and quality targets.
Support the engagement with NRW Operations staff and local external stakeholders to help inform, influence and communicate the short, medium and long-term direction of the flood warning and informing service in Wales.
Contribute to the development and delivery of the flood warning service so that the directorate, it’s partners and the public are prepared to respond to flood events.
Contribute to service improvement projects, working with dispersed project teams drawn from across Directorates and/or organisations.
Provide input to incident plans and procedures with external partners and test through exercise in order to ensure the directorate is prepared for flood events.
Co-ordinate and administer internal procedures to ensure that the directorate is capable of responding effectively during a flood event.
Support delivery of responsibilities under the Civil Contingencies Act working with partners as part of the Local Resilience Forum.
Key Job Qualifications or Knowledge:
Degree in relevant scientific subject (e.g. physical geography, environment science or civil engineering) or equivalent experience.
Graduate member of appropriate professional body (e.g. CIWEM, ICE or IRM) and working towards becoming chartered in the near future.
Experience of using flood warning services and systems including during flood incidents.
Experience of delivering and improving flood warning services and systems.
Ability to demonstrate and understanding of a wide range of flooding related issues and processes including warning, informing and response by the public and professional partners.
Knowledge of NRW’s key duties and responsibilities and how the flood warning and informing service supports these.
Able to demonstrate close attention to detail whilst not losing focus of the strategic context of your work.
Experience in use of specialist ICT applications, including flood warning systems.
Must have a full UK driving licence.
What you will do
You will provide expertise to a defined area or function undertaking a range of work that supports regulation and environmental responsibilities of NRW.
You may be involved in work relating to incident response.
You will refer to procedure manuals, relevant statutory codes and legislation in undertaking the work, undertaking analysis and interpreting requirements as necessary.
You will process and analyse non-routine information that has an element of complexity and will be of a technical nature.
You will undertake work within a discrete area although the work has the potential, if carried out incorrectly, to impact across other subject areas and third parties.
You will provide guidance to less experienced colleagues in the resolution of problems.
You will have oversight of contractors and the associated costs.
You will determine how best to achieve results by applying technical judgment and creativity, altering priorities if there are conflicting demands.
You will be responsible for the safe use and keeping of tools and equipment required to undertake your role.
Who you will be working with
You will supervise others in specific activities or pieces of work.
You will work with a range of people across NRW functions, together with external parties.
Where you will be working
Your role will be primarily office based but may entail travel between different NRW locations, as well as working at partner organisations and other premises.
You will also work outdoors at different sites and may be exposed to unpleasant conditions from time to time.
What knowledge and skills you need
You will have a degree level qualification in a relevant subject area or the equivalent level of knowledge.
You will have subject matter expertise within a defined area that enables you to provide guidance to others.
You may not be a subject matter expert in all areas but will have a sound understanding and appreciation of the work of the wider function.
You will have good literacy, numeracy and communication skills including well developed customer facing skills.
You will have analytical skills that enables you to process and analyse technical information.
You will have good inter-personal and influencing skills and able develop and sustain good working relationships.
You will, ideally, have previous supervisory experience.
What other information is relevant to your job
You will realise your contribution by applying the principles of SMNR to your work; in how you think, plan and deliver activities.
You will be expected to work with teams and individuals from across NRW, sharing your expertise and insight to solve complex problems. You will support collaborative working with partners and sector organisations, focussing on shared priorities.
You are responsible for complying with the policies, procedures and processes that relate to your role.
You are responsible for ensuring that all financial transactions undertaken by yourself represent value for money and meet the requirements of the organisation.
NRW is a Category 1 responder under the Civil Contingencies Act (2004), and this means we have a duty to work with partners to prepare for and respond to emergencies and incidents covered by the Act. All staff may be required to undertake activities, at a level commensurate with the skills and experience required by their role, to assist in ensuring this duty is undertaken.
This role description sets out a broad indication of the role, where it sits within the overall NRW structure and indicative expectations of the post holder. It is not intended to provide a detailed description of all tasks and activities. This document should be read in conjunction with the job specific Personal Development Plan which sets out the specific activities and projects to be delivered during the year.
Before applying for this role please read the candidate guidance
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 and we have a guaranteed interview scheme for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.
We are an employer of choice because we put the principles of human rights, equality, fairness, dignity and respect at the heart of our values.
