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    You will be part of a national team but contracted to a NRW office within the place base, of which you will be required to attend meetings and training. These will be planned in advance.

    Placement Locations

    There are placements available in each of the following locations (please specify which location/s you would prefer in your application):

    • Mid Wales
    • North-East Wales
    • North-West Wales
    • South-East Wales
    • South-Wales Central
    • South-West Wales

    The Role

    We are proud to announce that NRW will be hosting twelve paid placement opportunities starting in September 2023. These are specifically for soon to be or recent graduates in an environmental, sustainability or related discipline.

    Are you passionate about keeping resources in use for as long as possible and avoiding waste? Do you want to help deliver Wales’s commitments to reach zero waste and reduce our carbon emissions by 2050? Then this is the time to join #TeamNRW!

    Welsh Government’s ‘Beyond Recycling Strategy’ is a plan to make the circular economy in Wales a reality, and highlights that our pathway towards a zero waste, low carbon economy has never been more important. So, it’s an exciting time for waste regulation!

    The Welsh Government is introducing new Business, Public and Third Sector Recycling Regulations that will require all work places in Wales to separate recyclable materials in the same way that most householders do now.

    The placements are crucial to helping NRW regulate the new requirements. Through application of our Regulatory Principles, you will ensure compliance with regulatory requirements, support proportionate action and achieve tangible multiple benefits from our regulatory interventions. This will include site visits, providing advice and guidance, undertaking investigation work, data collection, and monitoring and reporting to ensure compliance.

    If successful, you will be provided with a full training package and managed alongside the other placements by the Waste Regulation Placements Team Leader. You will be mentored by teams across Wales who are responsible for managing waste regulation. You will work independently and alongside our Waste Regulation staff to experience a diverse range of opportunities and practices to protect and enhance the environment.

    We are looking for someone with enthusiasm and passion for managing the natural resources of Wales sustainably. You will be at the forefront of this work, helping to make resource efficiency part of Welsh culture and tackle the climate emergency.

    About Us

    The role of the Waste Regulatory Reform Programme Team is to support Welsh Government's programme of legislative waste reforms as set out in the Beyond Recycling and Net Zero strategies.

    As well as the Business, Public and Third Sector Recycling Regulations, the reforms include development of a Waste Tracking service, reforms to the Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging and Material Facilities Regulations, and introduction of a Deposit Return Scheme. These reforms will change the landscape of waste regulation and help to move Wales towards a more circular economy.

    The placements are fundamental to our regulatory delivery model to ensure that we can fulfil NRW’s statutory duties and regulate compliance with the Business, Public and Third Sector Recycling Regulations. They are also part of our succession planning to ensure that enthusiastic individuals across Wales have the skills and experience to become our future Waste Regulation Officers.

    This work will help us to minimise pollution and achieve our vision of nature and people thriving together as set out in Our corporate plan to 2030.

    What You’ll Do

    • Provide advice and guidance to businesses, public and third sector organisations to raise awareness and encourage compliance with the requirements of the regulations.
    • Support development and publication of guidance materials and communication campaigns.
    • Assist with monitoring and data collection to target activities and assess compliance.
    • Take appropriate actions to collect evidence for enforcement purposes.
    • Develop and maintain systems to record and track compliance and ensure issues are escalated.
    • Where non-compliance is identified, support appropriate interventions to ensure a return to compliance as quickly as possible.
    • Undertake health and safety duties and responsibilities appropriate to the post.
    • Be committed to Natural Resources Wales’s Values, which are front and centre of everything we do; ‘We are proud to serve the people of Wales by being connected, bold, caring and resourceful’.
    • Be committed to your own development through the effective use of a Personal Development Plan.
    • Any other reasonable duties requested commensurate with the grade of this role.

    Who you are qualifications experience knowledge and skills required

    • A degree (or higher-level qualification) in an environmental or sustainability related discipline such as environmental science, environmental management, geography, or a related subject, having graduated from a higher education institution since 2020.
    • A passion for the natural world and commitment to sustainability to avoid pollution and waste and support the green recovery.
    • Ability to demonstrate an awareness of recycling and waste management principles and related legislation, including NRW’s remit and Welsh Government’s ambition for a circular economy approach to zero waste.
    • Excellent communication and interpersonal skills enabling you to effectively communicate with, influence and persuade stakeholders to achieve desired outcomes.
    • Ability to manage your own workload and work well as part of a team.
    • Good literacy, numeracy and ICT skills.
    • Full UK driving licence.

    Welsh Language Level requirement

    We are seeking to appoint at least four fluent Welsh speakers to be able to deliver a bilingual service across Wales.

    • Four roles will require Essential Level 3 (Able to communicate with confidence in Welsh in some work situations or the candidate will be expected to develop their Welsh language skills to this level following an agreed training programme) or Desirable Level 4 (Fluent in spoken Welsh).
    • Eight roles will require Essential Level 1 (Able to pronounce Welsh and use basic phrases).

    Benefits

    This role will offer a range of benefits, including:

    • agile and flexible working (role dependent)
    • Civil Service Pension Scheme offering employer contributions of 26.6% to 30.3%
    • 28 days annual leave, rising to 33 days
    • generous leave entitlements for all your life needs
    • health and wellbeing benefits and support
    • weekly well-being hour to use at your choice
    • See full details for all the employee benefits you will receive.

    Please keep reading

    If you think you have what it takes to do this role, but don’t necessarily meet every single point on the job description, please still get in touch and we will be happy to discuss the role with you in more detail.

    We’re passionate about creating a diverse workforce and positively encourage applications from under-represented communities. We embrace equality of opportunity irrespective of disability, neurodivergence, ethnic origin, colour, nationality, gender expression and gender identity, marital status, sexual orientation, culture, or religion.   We put the principles of human rights, equality, fairness, dignity and respect at the heart of our values.

    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 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.