Senior Specialist Surveyor

Closing date: 16 April 2025

Salary: Grade 8: £52,268-£57,726 per annum

Location: Coed y Cymoedd

Contract type: Permanent

Work pattern: Full time, 37 hours per week

Interview date: To be arranged

Post number: 200901

The role

You will be working alongside the Specialist Surveyor and Technical Support Surveyor as part of the South-Central Land Management team within the Land and Assets team of South Wales Operations. The Land Management team plays a key role in ensuring the land we manage is safe, accessible, and welcoming, allowing everyone to enjoy visiting the Welsh Government Woodland Estate.

In this role, you will support and inform the diverse work of the South-Central Operations team in this unique and busy region of Wales. Your work will cover a wide range of activities, from forestry operations and land management to flood and water asset management. You will also be involved in negotiating environmental land agreements, leading land acquisitions, supporting the delivery of commercial agreements, managing lease and access agreements, overseeing community management agreements, and contributing to proactive land stewardship.

We are looking for someone who is enthusiastic, forward-thinking, pragmatic, and practical, with exceptional interpersonal skills. You will be an excellent communicator, able to work closely with a variety of customers, partners, and stakeholders to embed Sustainable Management of Natural Resources (SMNR) and deliver wellbeing outcomes across this diverse area of Wales.

This role offers the opportunity to provide a high-level, expert professional contribution within South Central Wales. You will be responsible for ensuring that Natural Resources Wales (NRW) effectively manages the significant financial, legal, operational, and reputational risks associated with the management of land and assets in this area.

As an organisation we support flexible working. You will be contracted to an NRW office within the place base / location above and a suitable hybrid working pattern will be agreed on appointment. Any regular face to face meetings or training will be planned in advance.

Interviews will take place through Microsoft Teams. Vetting checks may be required depending on the role. Appointments are normally made within 4 to 6 weeks of the closing date.

What you will do

• As a professionally qualified Land Agent you will be responsible for providing authoritative professional expertise and advice to senior management to support NRW’s Land Stewardship, legal compliance and strategic budget management.
• You will negotiate and lead acquisition of land, valuing assets, and give professional advice on legal and tax issues associated with land stewardship. You will be accountable for this advice which will be relied upon in high risk decision making.
• You will have operational responsibility for leading and managing complex task groups and high-profile projects involving multifunctional specialist/technical staff.
• You will be accountable for the instruction of solicitors and barristers and for providing information to legal agents in support of court cases, conveyancing and litigation.
• You will be responsible and accountable for land transactions and claims settlement.
• You will contribute your professional knowledge and judgement to the development of business plans, strategy, policy and guidance.
• You will coach, mentor and support colleagues across Operations either in your capacity as the Land Agent for a Place or as a technical lead for a specific topic area for the Directorate as a whole.
• You will work with other Technical Specialists in NRW, leading where appropriate, to promote consistent advisory and regulatory practices across functional regimes.
• You will represent NRW as a professional expert on internal and external forums operating at a Wales and UK level.
• You will be accountable for building, maintaining and improving relationships with internal and external stakeholders and management teams.
• You will be accountable for maintaining your personal professional accreditation (RICS) and ensure the latest developments in the professional field are reflected in your work and your contributions to strategy, policy and guidance production.
• You will maintain 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).
• 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

Applications to this role will be assessed based on the following criteria both at shortlisting and interview. In your job application please demonstrate, using the STAR method, how you meet the requirements outlined below.

1. Full Chartered Surveyor membership of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. (RICS)
2. Substantial relevant experience in the field and ability to demonstrate a high level of knowledge and personal and professional credibility and a commitment to continuing professional development.
3. Able to manage complex Projects and Programmes of work.
4. In-depth knowledge in land and property management to enable the provision of objective advice to others on specialist issues.
5. Excellent inter-personal and influencing skills and the ability to develop and maintain good relationships and networks with a range of individuals and at all levels.

Welsh Language Level requirements:

• Essential: Level A1 – Entry level (able to use and understand simple, basic phrases and greetings, no conversational Welsh)
• Desirable: Level B2 – Upper intermediate level (able to discuss work matters)

Please note: if you do not meet the level 1 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.

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.

You are welcome to apply for any vacancy in Welsh or English and any application submitted will be treated equally. Applications are welcome from individuals who work part time (annualised hours, compressed hours or term time working etc), as part of a job share or who work full time.