Water Compliance Team Leader

Team / Directorate: Water Compliance Team Team / Operations Directorate

Starting salary: £45,367 rising to £50,877 per annum through annual increments being paid each year (pro rata for part time applicants)

Contract type: Permanent

Work pattern: Full time, 37 hours per week (Part time, annualised hours, compressed hours or term time working considered - discussions at interview stage welcome)

Interview date: To be confirmed

Post numbers: 203771

The role

The post holder will lead and develop the Once in Ops Water Compliance team, ensuring effective and efficient regulation of EPR water discharges. This includes setting the annual strategic priorities for regulation to deliver the Corporate Plan and guide our regulatory approach to SMNR and delivering Wellbeing outcomes. Depending on organisational priorities, supporting the team on site-based regulation may be required.

Initially a small team, it is expected to expand within the next 12 months to a team of around 12 officers.

The main focus of the team will be Water Company compliance, including the assessment of operator self-monitoring and storm event duration monitoring data submission. The Team Leader role will be an account manager role for the two Water Companies in Wales, Dŵr Cymru and Hafren Dyfrdwy.

The team will also undertake wider compliance assessment duties, including the coordination of auditing requirements, evaluating data returns, and resolving data quality issues.

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 upon appointment. Any regular face-to-face meetings or training will be planned in advance.

Interviews will take place through Microsoft Teams.

Successful external applicants will be subject to a satisfactory Disclosure and Barring Service Check (DBS). We aim to make offers of appointment within 4 to 8 weeks of the closing date.

What you will do

• Manage and develop a large team of Regulatory Officers focused on delivering compliance across Wales and be fully accountable for their performance, contribution, development, and well-being.
• Implement knowledge of Environment Permitting Regulations for water discharges, including compliance assessment and analysis.
• Responsible for (together with EPP colleagues) liaison with Welsh Government, Water Companies, and other permitted sites regarding water and permit compliance issues.
• Support Managers and Leadership in delivering against key deliverables aligned to the Corporate Plan, ensuring our actions and role in delivering regulation are continually reviewed and reported in line with regulatory service plan requirements.
• Preparation and presentation of your team's annual work plan and production of associated performance and assurance reports.
• Have oversight for regulatory decisions at the place level, ensuring adherence to the Regulators Code and our Regulatory Principles.
• Develop and maintain effective and influential customer relationships (internal and external) at senior management level.
• Contribute your technical knowledge and stakeholder management experience to risk-based decision making by the team and the wider business.
• Be responsible for team and project budgets.
• Undertake health and safety duties and responsibilities appropriate to 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.
• Required to take part in incident response activities.

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:

• Experience in the water quality and water industry sector.
• Extensive knowledge and experience of water regulation and enforcement processes.
• Coaching and mentoring skills.
• Experience of community liaison and public engagement activities.
• Strong organisational, time management, and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to communicate effectively with regulated businesses and the public, explaining issues and gaining support by influencing.
• Essential: A1 - Entry level (able to use and understand simple, basic phrases and greetings, no conversational Welsh)

Please note: If you do not meet the A1 requirement, i.e., the ability to understand basic phrases and pronounce Welsh names correctly, NRW offers a variety of learning options and staff support to help you meet these minimal requirements during your employment with us.

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

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 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 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 a variety of topics, stay current in their field, and continue to learn as their careers progress.

We are a bilingual organisation that 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.