Environment Officer – Water Quality

Sustainable Management of Natural Resources (SMNR) is at the core of NRW’s purpose, and everyone here plays a part in ensuring resilient ecosystems and supporting wellbeing across Wales. This role sits within the South Powys Environment Team, based in Llandrindod Wells, covering a stunning and diverse area from the south of Rhayader to Ystradgynlais, including Bannau Brycheiniog, the Brecon Beacons National Park, the Black Mountains, and important designated sites such as the River Wye and River Usk Sites of Special Scientific Interest.

You will support wider environmental management, including incident response, regulatory work, and compliance relating to water resources, agriculture, land, and water quality. This includes contributing to projects and partnership approaches that deliver practical environmental improvements, including those linked to the Water Framework Directive.

This is a chance to make a meaningful impact across some of Wales’ most valued landscapes while working as part of a supportive, knowledgeable, and committed team.

As an organisation we support flexible working. You will be contracted to the NRW office at the above location 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 Jenny Phillips at [email protected]

Interviews will be face to face week commencing the 13/04/2026 (details of location will be shared in advance)

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.

About us

This role is based at Mid Wales Place and will support the delivery of a planned programme of work across South Powys. As part of our multidisciplinary Environment Team, you’ll work alongside colleagues specialising in environmental regulation and the management of designated sites. Together, you will help achieve outcomes that contribute directly to NRW’s corporate plan and our wider environmental ambitions.

What you will do

• Assess compliance with relevant legislation, permit or consent conditions. Where non-compliance is identified, determine and implement the most appropriate intervention option to ensure a return to compliance as quickly as possible. Take appropriate actions to collect evidence for enforcement purposes, in accordance with defined procedures.
• Work with a wide range of internal and external customers including permit holders, landowners, businesses, public bodies, recreation groups, volunteers and third sector organisations to enable others to achieve SMNR.
• Establish, maintain and advise partners to support the development of partnership projects and plans through from concepts to implementation. These projects will deliver outcomes aligned with place priorities.
• Within your area of expertise, provide professional local advice and responses to consultations from planning and permitting teams. Maintain working relationships with these teams through regular liaison.
• Monitor progress of work, which may include interpretation of data, contractor management, project delivery or compliance with management agreements or statutory legal notices. Identify and support any remedial actions to ensure outcome delivery.
• Draft valid consents and assents for operations affecting protected sites. For all work areas produce required advice, investigations, documentation and reports to agreed quality standards to support operational and management decisions, protected site notification, public enquiries, court cases etc so that information, evidence and NRW interests are accurately and effectively presented.
• Play a role in a resilient NRW Incident Management Service that follows NRW process to ensure effective, timely and safe response to incidents.
• 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).
• Required to take part in incident response activities.
• 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. A good working knowledge of environment management, agriculture, fisheries, conservation or biodiversity, with focused experience in agricultural regulation.
2. An understanding of how your role in a multi-functional team can contribute to the sustainable management of natural resources.
3. Ensure continuing professional and personal development, expertise and competence through formal and informal learning and certification.
4. Strong and effective self-management, organisational and IT skills, including the ability to use specialised IT systems, such as GIS or NRW customised applications.
5. The ability to influence, negotiate and gain cooperation of others including experience of dealing successfully with difficult people/situations and the ability to work well as part of a team.
6. Hold a current full UK valid licence to drive NRW fleet vehicles (cars and vans).

Welsh Language level requirements

• Essential: Level A1 – Entry level

Welsh language levels

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.

Unless otherwise stated in the ‘Role’ section of this advert, Natural Resources Wales is unable to offer visa sponsorship for this position. Although we hold a Skilled Worker visa sponsorship licence, it applies only to specific roles that meet both the eligibility criteria and salary requirements set out by the UK Government under the Skilled Worker visa route.

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.