- Vacancy: Senior Water Compliance Officer
- Role ID: 204114
- Directorate: Operations
- Team: Water Compliance Team
- Location: Flexible
- Grade/Salary range: 6: £41,132 – £44,988
- Working pattern: Full time
- Contract type: Permanent
- Closing date: 30/11/2025
The role
Join Us as a Senior Compliance Officer in the Water Compliance Team!
This is an exciting opportunity to play a pivotal role in delivering compliance activities across Wales and supporting the regulation of the water industry at a national level.
We’re looking for an experienced and motivated professional to join our Water Compliance Team as a Senior Compliance Officer within the Operations Directorate.
This important role sits at the heart of our efforts to ensure environmental standards are met, and our shared objectives for the environment and wellbeing objectives are delivered.
As a Senior Compliance Officer you will act as a technical data lead for the team, you will provide expert advice and guidance to colleagues and partners. You’ll help shape and improve our IT systems, develop innovative ways of producing and managing data for compliance activities, and ensure that these systems are efficient, accessible, and fit for purpose.
You’ll play a key part in delivering complex water compliance work, including compliance assessments, environmental performance evaluations.
Working closely with the Team Leader and colleagues across the organisation, you’ll help ensure the effective delivery of our compliance responsibilities as part of our wider Water Programme.
If you’re looking for a rewarding role that combines technical expertise with meaningful environmental impact, we’d love to hear from you.
As an organisation we support flexible working. You will be contracted to an NRW office closest 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 Holly Sisley Holly.Sisley@cyfoethnaturiolcymru.gov.uk
Interviews will be held via Microsoft Teams.
Successful applicants will be subject to a satisfactory Disclosure and Barring Service Check (DBS) check. Appointments are normally made within 4 to 8 weeks of the closing date.
What you will do
- Develop and maintain existing tools using NRW systems as well as data transformation and visualisation software, such as PowerBi, to ensure that data is accurate and can be used for successful compliance assessment.
- Lead and co-ordinate specialist, monitoring and technical advice to internal and external customers, from a range of sources; ensure that decisions are based on sound technical judgement, in line with current legislation and best practice.
- Ensure that where NRW’s monitoring data is used for compliance, it is collected and stored to the quality standards prescribed by European and UK legislation and by NRW policy
- Identify and produce technical reports analysing and interpreting national and local datasets for operational work, national policy decisions, public enquiries, court appeals etc.
- Represent NRW in discussions with partner organisations.
- Act as technical mentor and advisor to team members.
- Closely assist Team Leader in the planning and delivery of compliance programme and enforcement.
- Take appropriate actions to collect evidence for enforcement purposes, in accordance with defined procedures.
- Where non-compliance is identified, determine and implement the most appropriate intervention option.
- Co-ordinate the technical development of team members.
- Undertake health and safety duties and responsibilities appropriate to the post
- Provide evidence and act as expert witness for prosecutions, public enquiries and judicial reviews.
- 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.
- A degree (or equivalent) in a biological, environmental science or geographical or earth science subject or relevant experience in discipline.
- Strong analytical skills, including statistical analysis and expert data handling using GIS, NRW systems (such as WISKI or PALS), and data transformation and visualisation tools such as Power BI.
- High level expertise in water quality and knowledge and experience of implementing relevant UK and European legislation coupled with expert interpretation of data against legislative drivers.
- Expertise in interpreting and reporting on environmental data, undertaking monitoring activities and producing clear, concise, and high-quality reports.
- Expertise in work planning.
- Experience of coaching and mentoring.
Welsh Language level requirements
- Essential: Level A1
Please note if you do not meet the A1 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:
- Civil Service Pension Scheme offering employer contributions of 28.97% (successful internal staff will remain in their current pension scheme)
- 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
We’re passionate about creating a diverse workforce and positively encourage applications from under-represented communities. We embrace equality of opportunity irrespective of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.
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.
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