Operational delivery and resilience

• Hold executive accountability for safe, consistent and effective national operational delivery.
• Hold executive accountability for the leadership, performance and resilience of nationally delivered operational services, including Flood Risk and Incident Management, Strategic Projects, Land Stewardship, Marine Operations, Planning, Development and Permitting.
• Ensure NRW is operationally prepared to support the requirements of the Infrastructure (Wales) Act 2024, including planning, development, permitting, marine and environmental advisory functions associated with significant infrastructure projects across Wales.
• Provide executive oversight of nationally delivered services, ensuring consistency, quality and customer focus for internal and external service users across Wales.
• Ensure statutory duties, regulatory requirements and public safety obligations are met.
• Maintain a resilient operating model, including incident and emergency preparedness.
• Lead through complexity, risk and organisational change while sustaining performance.
• Ensure national services drive NRW's statutory purpose, public safety responsibilities, environmental outcomes and long term organisational priorities.
• Take ultimate executive responsibility within the directorate for national operational delivery, incident readiness, service resilience, statutory compliance, risk escalation, performance recovery and delivery of agreed outcomes.

Service quality and outcomes

• Ensure services are customer centred, accessible and deliver high-quality outcomes.
• Balance operational performance, environmental outcomes and customer experience.
• Drive continuous improvement using insight, learning and feedback.
• Promote a culture that values customers, colleagues and service excellence.
• Ensure national operational services deliver consistent standards and drive effective service outcomes across Wales.

Strategy, governance and assurance

• Shape strategic direction using evidence, operational intelligence and professional judgement.
• Ensure strong governance, risk management and performance frameworks.
• Provide assurance and advice to the Board and respond constructively to scrutiny.
• Oversee effective use of resources, ensuring value for money and alignment to priorities.
• Promote integrity, transparency and accountability consistent with the Nolan Principles of Public Life.
• Provide executive assurance on the performance and governance of National Operations, including accountability for income of approximately £34.8 million and expenditure of approximately £74.3 million.
• Ensure financial plans are robust, budgets are actively managed, risks and opportunities are addressed, and resources are deployed effectively to steer operational delivery, regulatory activity, public safety, environmental outcomes and strategic priorities
• Provide advice and recommendations that carry significant weight with the Chief Executive, Executive Team and Board in relation to national operational performance, incident readiness, statutory delivery, regulatory compliance, financial stewardship, strategic risk and organisational resilience.

Partnerships and influence

• Build trusted relationships with Welsh Government, partners and stakeholders.
• Represent NRW at senior forums and influence national outcomes.
• Enable collaboration across national, place based and corporate functions.
• Influence and build confidence through effective communication, credibility and professional leadership.
• Represent NRW in complex discussions relating to national operational delivery, public safety, incident management, regulatory delivery, strategic projects, land stewardship, marine operations, planning, development and permitting.
• Influence outcomes across local, national and strategic forums, including situations involving competing priorities, operational sensitivity, public scrutiny and different stakeholder perspectives.
• Exercise senior level influence and negotiation with Welsh Government, regulators, local authorities, communities, partners and stakeholders where there are competing priorities, public scrutiny, environmental sensitivities, regulatory requirements and differing stakeholder expectations.

Transformation and improvement

• Lead innovation and continuous improvement in service delivery and operating models.
• Sponsor major programmes and ensure delivery of benefits and outcomes.
• Foster a culture of learning, adaptability and organisational improvement.
• Bring people with them through change by creating engagement, understanding and shared ownership of outcomes.
• Lead significant organisational transformation through senior leaders, ensuring effective planning, delivery, communication, benefits realisation and risk management.

Additional responsibilities

• 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 and that of your staff through the effective use of your personal development plan (known as Sgwrs).
• Required to take part in incident response activities.
• Any other reasonable duties requested commensurate with the grade of this role.

Your qualifications, experience, knowledge and skills

• Degree level qualification, relevant professional qualification or equivalent executive level experience, supported by evidence of continuing professional development.
• Significant experience operating at Executive, Director or Board level within a large, complex and publicly accountable organisation, with responsibility for organisational performance, risk, governance and delivery.
• Demonstrable experience of leading large scale operational, regulatory or service delivery functions, ensuring services are delivered safely, lawfully, efficiently and in line with strategic objectives.
• Proven ability to provide corporate leadership beyond functional boundaries, contributing to organisational wide decision making and taking collective accountability for the success, reputation and sustainability of the whole organisation.
• Evidence of leading significant organisational transformation and improvement programmes, delivering measurable outcomes through others within complex and changing environments
• Credible track record of building and sustaining effective relationships with government, regulators, partners, communities and senior stakeholders, influencing outcomes at local, national and strategic levels.
• Exceptional communication and engagement skills, with the ability to communicate complex issues with clarity, credibility and authenticity, building trust and confidence across a diverse range of audiences.
• Demonstrable experience of leading people through uncertainty and change, creating engagement, maintaining wellbeing and bringing colleagues and stakeholders on the journey to achieve shared outcomes
• Proven ability to exercise sound judgement and make complex, high impact decisions, balancing evidence, risk, public value, environmental outcomes and organisational priorities while taking accountability for outcomes.
• Demonstrable commitment to ethical leadership, inclusion and the Nolan Principles of Public Life, with a track record of fostering cultures characterised by integrity, transparency, accountability and respect.
• Ability to prioritise deliverables within a complex organisation, having a performance mind-set and a proactive can-do attitude with strong, creative problem-solving skills to address issues that appear intractable.

Welsh Language level requirements

• **Essential