Lead Marine Licensing Specialist

As a Lead Specialist Permitting Officer, you’ll be one of the most senior members of NRW’s Marine Licensing Team, responsible for assessing some of the most complex and high-profile marine licence applications.

You’ll carry out detailed technical assessments, consult with experts, and ensure decisions are robust, defensible, and well-documented. You may also act as an expert witness in public inquiries, supporting evidence-based, transparent regulation.

This is a busy, desk-based role where you’ll manage multiple cases simultaneously – balancing deadlines, problem-solving, and applying risk-based decision making under tight statutory timescales. You’ll also play a key role in mentoring and supporting the wider team, helping to maintain high technical standards in marine permitting.

If you’re looking for a role that combines deep technical challenge, environmental impact, and leadership – this is it.

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 Emmer Litt at [email protected]

Interviews will be face to face on 27 February 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.

This role meets the criteria for sponsorship under the Skilled Worker visa route. Natural Resources Wales welcomes applications from non-UK citizens who are eligible to apply under this route, subject to confirmation by the Home Office.

Please note that while we may be able to support the Certificate of Sponsorship required for a visa application, the organisation does not cover the cost of the visa itself, including any associated fees for dependants.

The applicant must still meet the UK Skilled Worker Visa Eligibility and Requirement. For further information, please visit: www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa

About us

As the principal environmental regulator for Wales, Natural Resources Wales (NRW) plays a critical role in protecting, maintaining, and enhancing our natural resources—helping ensure a healthy environment for people and wildlife, now and in the future.

Our Permitting Service is central to this mission. By robustly assessing applications for a wide range of regulated activities, we reduce environmental risks, support sustainable economic growth, and promote responsible behaviour across Wales.

Though small in size, our department has a broad reach, made up of eight expert teams working collaboratively to share knowledge and drive best practice:

• Water Resources
• Water Quality
• Waste
• Installations & Radioactive Substances
• Marine Licensing
• Species Licensing
• Forestry
• Permit Delivery

Your role will sit within the Marine Licensing Team, where you’ll help regulate some of the most complex and environmentally significant activities taking place in Welsh waters.

What you will do

• Determination of applications for Marine Licences of high public and / or political interest, managing effective communication with all interested parties, including government and national stakeholder groups.
• Analyses highly complex data and information to inform and assist policy and legal colleagues within your area of expertise.
• Build effective working relationships with key individuals within NRW and other UK Competent Authorities to ensure that the value of Permitting to our regulatory role is maximised.
• Take responsibility to ensure that the work of the Marine Licensing Team is clearly documented and that decisions taken on licence applications are transparent and consistent.
• Ensure that the Marine Licensing Team have the required tools and skills to ensure fair and consistent approach to decision making in line with our legal remit.
• Ensure that the Marine Licensing Team delivers appropriate decisions on licence applications within the statutory timelines by monitoring progress against targets, identifying risks to delivery and managing those risks
• Lead or support the Permitting Service technical leads group to ensure consistent ways of working and that we have the correct tools and processes in place to identify skill gaps and develop our people so that we can effectively deliver for our customers in a timely manner.
• Specifically lead on the development of the technical development framework and the mentoring and coaching of Marine Licensing Officers to ensure that the team has sufficient technical and legislative resilience to be able to advise on and assess the full range of marine licencing requirements.
• 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. Experience of managing the assessment of highly complex, politically sensitive marine licence applications, including interaction with government organisations and members of the public.
2. Education to degree level or equivalent in a relevant scientific discipline.
3. Track record of delivering timely optimal solutions by effective information analysis and risk-based decisions with a customer focus.
4. Substantial working knowledge of the marine industry and the environmental protection methodologies relevant to the marine licensing process.
5. Advanced and specialist understanding of specific marine licensing legislation and associated Directives and how they relate to the marine licensing process.
6. Proven coaching and mentoring skills.
7. Effective communication, planning and organisation skills.
8. You will be expected to keep up to date with changing regulatory policy and proposed changes to legislation via membership of a relevant professional body or other equivalent means.

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.