About the job

Job summary

The Marine Ecosystems and Biodiversity Branch within the Marine and Biodiversity Division (Welsh Government) are seeking a motivated individual with strong interpersonal skills along with the ability to work autonomously.  

The purpose of this post is to lead the delivery of the Governments priority on biodiversity and tackling the nature emergency, including the specific Programme for Government (PfG) commitment on seagrass and saltmarsh restoration. The post will play a fundamental role in providing specialist technical marine science input and understanding to develop existing programmes. Further areas of particular note will be the Marine Protected Areas completion programme, the emergency response to Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza and Welsh marine monitoring aspirations.

The post will have a critical role in supporting wider PfG commitments including on marine renewable energy by responding to potential developer derogations. Such responses are often highly technical in nature and the successful post holder will need to be well versed in marine development regulations as well as assessment methodologies.

The post holder will take direct line management responsibility for one team member and report directly to the Head of Branch (HoB). The successful candidate will work closely with the HoB and take on a clear leadership role.

The post is required to not only work across administrations but also to lead external stakeholder workshops, whilst providing technical insights on behalf of WG.   

Job description

• Direct line management of one HEO posts. The post holder will need to be able to lead and motivate staff in a remote setting.
• Support Ministers through briefing notes and Ministerial advise as necessary
• Delegate and support delivery of existing and reactive workloads. Including working closely with the Head of Branch to manage Branch budgets.
• Represent the Marine Ecosystems and Biodiversity branch in a range of internal and external meetings. Such meetings are likely to include other administrations along with key stakeholders.
• Lead (remote) stakeholder workshops
• Deputise for the Head of Branch as necessary
• A background in marine evidence/policy is required to support non-technical staff members as well as working with specialist marine partners and stakeholders.

What the organisation will expect:

• You will be responsible for managing defined areas of work using your specialist knowledge or experience to exercise sound judgement when interpreting complex or conflicting information weighing up all evidence to produce innovative solutions to problems.  
• You will be adaptable, flexible, open to, and accepting of change affecting you and your area of work and deal with that change efficiently and professionally.
• You will show political awareness and an understanding of the political landscape when considering the impact of your decision and work on the wider business area and when formulating proposals for Senior Managers and Ministers.

What your team will expect

• You may be required to manage a team setting clear direction on achieving their objectives. You will support team members in their work such as complex areas of work; work allocation and prioritisation; performance management; training and development; mentoring and coaching.
• You will value diversity and inclusion, creating an environment where individuals feel safe to challenge, share ideas and express concerns adopting an inclusive leadership style.
• You will be responsible for developing, implementing and maintaining systems or processes ensuring excellence or value for money.

What key stakeholders will expect:

• You will take the lead in creating, building and maintaining constructive relationships at all levels.
• You will be able to tailor and adapt your communication style (written and oral) to advise, guide, influence and persuade internal and external stakeholders as appropriate.

Person specification

• It is likely the candidate will be required to attend in person meetings, across the UK, on an ad hoc basis.
• This advertisement confirms the overall criteria being assessed throughout this recruitment exercise. For further details on the criteria and evidence required at the application stage, you will need to press apply and review the application form. 
• When presenting your evidence, you may find it useful to consider the expectations of the grade as set out in the Grade Description as well as the main responsibilities that are essential for the role. 
• A presentation on Experience 2 will be required at stage 2. More information will be provided in the invitations to that stage. 

Benefits

All Welsh Government staff are members of the Civil Service, and as a result are eligible for:

• Civil Service Pension Scheme
• 31 days annual leave (pro-rated for part time)
• training and development opportunities
• Cycle2Work Scheme
• Smart Working flexible working arrangement
• Green Car Scheme (subject to availability)

If you are an active Civil Service Pension member you can continue your membership throughout your employment with us.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours.

Welsh Government, like all other Government Departments use Success Profiles when we recruit. For each role we consider what you will need to demonstrate to be successful. This gives us the best possible chance of finding the right person for the job. It raises performance and improves diversity and inclusivity.

The selection process and stages are:

Number of Stages:	2 stage process
Stage 1	Application Form
Stage 2	Interview

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window). The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.