National Infrastructure Planning Lead Advisor

Closing Date: 15 June 2025 | Salary: ​Grade 7: £45,367-£50,877​ per annum | Location: Flexible

Team / Directorate: Development and Planning Advice Service, Operations

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 number: 203898, 203899

The role

Are you ready to lead the way on Wales’ most complex and high-profile development proposals? We’re looking for an experienced planning professional to take on a strategic role influencing major infrastructure decisions across the nation. 

As Lead Specialist Advisor for Development Planning (National Infrastructure), you will be the principal case manager for Natural Resources Wales (NRW) in responding to nationally significant infrastructure projects. Representing NRW at Examinations and Public Inquiries, you’ll deliver authoritative written and verbal evidence on a wide range of environmental and regulatory matters. 

Your advice will cover topics such as flood risk, water quality, protected species, contaminated land, designated sites and landscape. You’ll work closely with technical specialists across NRW to build robust, evidence-based responses that shape sustainable outcomes for Wales. 

You’ll also play a key role in shaping service strategy and improving consistency in how we deliver advice. From developing guidance and tools to mentoring colleagues, you’ll help ensure the service remains resilient, technically strong and aligned with current legislation and policy. 

Key responsibilities include: 

  • Leading NRW’s advice on the most complex and nationally significant planning applications. 

  • Representing NRW at statutory Examinations and Public Inquiries. 

  • Coordinating cross-functional input on technical and environmental issues. 

  • Supporting the development of strategic guidance, tools, and internal processes. 

  • Mentoring and coaching colleagues to build service resilience and capability. 

  • Building and maintaining strong relationships with key stakeholders including Welsh Government, Planning Authorities, and statutory bodies. 

This is a rare opportunity to lead the environmental planning response to major infrastructure that will shape the future of Wales. If you’re driven by impact, policy, and sustainability – we’d love to hear from you. 

To make an informal enquiry about this role, please contact Gemma Beynon at gemma.beynon@cyfoethnaturiolcymru.gov.uk.

Interviews will be confirmed at a later date.

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

What you will do

  • Be responsible for producing and delivering influential advice on behalf of NRW to the most significant national infrastructure proposals.  
  • Analyse highly complex data and information to develop the NRW response. 
  • Lead and manage the technical input of  a wide range of internal specialists from across the business to support delivery of advice.    Resolve internal conflicts in advice. 
  • Manage programmes of advice delivery, identifying and managing risks. 
  • Produce and submit formal written advice which  transparent, proportionate, evidenced and reasoned to Public Examinations and Inquiries, ensuring statutory timescales are met. 
  • To be the lead NRW representative and provide written and verbal evidence  at Examination and Public Inquiry hearings. 
  • Lead and manage effective high public and / or political interest, communication with all interested parties, including government and national stakeholders. 
  • Be responsible for ensuring NRW recovers its costs for the work undertaken and that costs are reasonably incurred and transparent. 
  • Be the main contact for complex planning queries from both internal and external customers received. 
  • Build effective working relationships with key individuals within NRW, other Agencies and stakeholders  to ensure NRW planning advice influence is maximised. 
  • Take responsibility for ensuring that the DPAS Team have the required tools and skills to ensure fair and consistent approach to decision making in line with our legal remit. 
  • Support the DPAS National Service to ensure consistent ways of working, leading on specific initiatives, ensuring that we have the correct tools and processes in place and skills and guidance gaps are resolved. 
  • Mentor and coach members of the Service to ensure that the team has sufficient technical and legislative resilience to be able to advise on and assess the full range of development planning 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).  
  • 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.

  1. Advanced working knowledge of the planning system and environmental assessment techniques. 
  2. Substantial experience of managing the assessment of highly complex, politically sensitive development infrastructure proposals, including interaction with government, organisations and the development sector. 
  3. Substantial experience of giving evidence in public. 
  4. Advanced and specialist understanding of specific legislation and UK/WG Government Policy associated with the NRWs role in the planning process. 
  5. Proven coaching and mentoring skills.  
  6. Strong customer focussed approach to delivery, excellent negotiation and influencing skills. 
  7. Demonstrated commitment to staying informed of evolving planning policies and legislative changes through membership of a relevant professional body or by other appropriate means. 

Welsh language level requirements

  • Essential: ​Level C2 - Higher proficiency level (fluent in both spoken and written Welsh)​ 
  • Desirable: ​Level B2 – Upper intermediate level (able to discuss work matters)

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

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 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. 

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