Protected Species Advisor

Do you want to make a long-term difference to the people and environment of Wales? Are you passionate about protecting rare species and committed to supporting the delivery of sustainable management of natural resources?

We have an exciting opportunity to join our Wales Wide Protected Species Team as a Protected Species Adviser. You’ll be working as part of a team that advises on the potential impacts of a broad cross section of proposals on protected species, with a particular focus on species licence applications and development planning advice. At the time of a climate and nature emergency, the advice you provide will contribute directly to the conservation of some of Wales most iconic and endangered species.

In this role, the appointed candidate will provide technical expertise and guidance to internal and external customers in relation to the following species of animals protected by law; Bats (all species), Great Crested Newt, Dormice, Otters, Natterjack Toad, Sand Lizard, Red Squirrel, Pine Marten and Water Voles.

We are looking for an enthusiastic, organised and adaptable individual with strong communications skills to join our team. The successful candidate will need to be able to demonstrate experience in the ecology, conservation and principles of mitigation for a range of the above protected species, good communication skills and customer management.

As an organisation we support flexible working. You will be contracted to the NRW office at either our Cardiff or Llandarcy offices 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 Jane Garner at [email protected]

Interviews will be face to face on 04/03/2026 (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.

What you will do

• Provide technical advice on licence applications, amendments and related consultations to the Species Permitting Service to support licence determination and associated work ensuring advice is robust, evidence based and delivered to deadline.
• Provide technical advice to development projects including nationally significant infrastructure proposals, ensuring advice is robust, evidence based and delivered to deadline.
• Provide technical advice to Local Development Plans and other sub-regional strategies and plans, ensuring advice is robust, evidence based and delivered to deadline.
• Contribute to the preparation of information in relation to challenges against NRW development planning advice or licensing determinations, including attendance at Appeals and Inquiries.
• Deliver the Domestic Bat Advice Service.
• Provide advice to support the management of designated sites where Protected Species are present.
• Contribute advice to multifunctional place planning such as Area Statements. and biodiversity resilience plans and programmes.
• Provide technical advice support to the Police in investigating Protected Species offences and contribute to wider Protected Species compliance activities as appropriate.
• Contribute to the delivery of surveillance and monitoring programmes. Develop and maintain effective customer relationships (internal and external) to ensure good understanding and the efficient delivery of a fit for purpose advice service.
• Produce auditable records of actions and outcomes to justify and demonstrate that all legal and procedural requirements have been met.
• 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. Knowledge of the ecology and conservation of, and approaches to mitigation suitable for the range of species, protected by wildlife legislation.
2. A working knowledge of wildlife legislation and its application.
3. Good written and spoken communication and presentational skills, with the ability to write clearly for a wide range of target audiences.
4. Able to negotiate and work with a wide range of people, including landowners, partner organisations and the public.
5. Able to work effectively in team/collaborative situations.
6. Able to currently and legally drive a car in the UK.

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.

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.