3650 - Environmental Advisor – Ecology & Nature Recovery

Job summary

The Strategic Road Network (SRN) is a critical Welsh Government infrastructure asset valued at over £21.8 billion. Although it represents only around 5% of Wales’ total road length, it carries roughly one‑third of all road traffic—connecting communities, supporting the Welsh economy, and enabling access to essential services.

This role sits within Welsh Government’s Network Management Division (NMD), as part of a wider effort to strengthen our capability as a highway authority and embed environmental excellence across the SRN. Over the coming months, we are building a diverse, skilled team to help shape a safe, resilient, and sustainable transport network for Wales. This is an exciting opportunity to influence real change—improving biodiversity, supporting nature recovery, and ensuring our transport infrastructure contributes positively to Wales’ environment, communities, and well‑being.

Job description

What You’ll Be Doing

As part of the NMD, you’ll support the planning, operation, maintenance, and improvement of the SRN in line with Welsh Government policy, including:

• Llwybr Newydd: The Wales Transport Strategy (2021)
• The Well‑being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015
• Environmental and biodiversity commitments across Government

You will play a key role in translating this policy framework into practical action—ensuring the SRN not only meets statutory environmental requirements, but actively contributes to ecosystem resilience and nature recovery.

Environmental Advisor – Key Focus

You will lead and coordinate the implementation of Llwybr Newydd i Natur – the Nature Recovery Action Plan across the SRN, ensuring biodiversity and ecosystem resilience are embedded through all functions of the Division. You’ll be responsible for:

• Developing, prioritising, and delivering workstreams that protect and enhance biodiversity
• Providing expert ecological and environmental advice to project teams, trunk road agents, and internal/external stakeholders
• Ensuring compliance with environmental legislation, planning requirements, and Ministerial priorities
• Supporting and coordinating environmental work across Transport, including contributing to capital programmes that improve asset management outcomes
• Championing a holistic, collaborative approach to environmental stewardship across the SRN

Why Join Us?

We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce that reflects the communities we serve. You’ll be joining a supportive, delivery‑focused team that values innovation, partnership working, and continuous improvement. In this role, your expertise will directly shape how Wales manages and cares for its transport environment—helping to safeguard nature, support well‑being, and enhance the resilience of one of the nation’s most important infrastructure assets.

You’ll also benefit from an exceptional employee package. As a Welsh Government employee, you’ll be automatically enrolled into the Civil Service Pension Scheme, which offers one of the most generous employer contribution rates in the UK (28.97% employer contribution), providing long‑term financial security that is difficult to match elsewhere. You’ll enjoy 31 days of annual leave plus bank and privilege holidays, alongside flexible working arrangements and a hybrid working approach designed to support wellbeing, work‑life balance and productivity. We also offer a range of additional benefits, including cycle and green car schemes, discounted rail season tickets, and access to wellbeing and employee support programmes. For more information, visit Pay, pensions and benefits , GOV.WALES

Person specification

Key Responsibilities

• Lead strategic nature recovery across the SRN, driving meaningful change by embedding biodiversity enhancement, ecosystem resilience and sustainability into all aspects of network planning, operation and maintenance.
• Provide expert ecological leadership, promoting a collaborative, joined‑up approach across Welsh Government, trunk road agents, consultants, and delivery partners to ensure nature recovery is central to SRN decision‑making.
• Act as a core member of the Environmental Coordination and Advice Team, delivering high‑quality technical, legislative and strategic guidance to internal teams and external stakeholders.
• Shape environmental excellence by developing and implementing policies, standards and guidance that support statutory requirements and long‑term environmental objectives for the SRN.
• Strengthen partnership working by collaborating with key organisations—such as Natural Resources Wales, Welsh Government Nature Policy teams, devolved administrations, professional bodies and National Highways—to improve outcomes for wildlife and advance nature recovery across Wales.
• Drive programme leadership by coordinating a strategic pipeline of biodiversity and nature recovery initiatives, ensuring they are evidence‑based, deliverable and aligned with Ministerial priorities.
• Ensure legal and policy compliance, offering authoritative advice on biodiversity, sustainable development and environmental legislation, while embedding best practice into all SRN activities.
• Oversee environmental activities delivered by Trunk Road Agents, fostering strong relationships, monitoring performance, and ensuring delivery aligns with environmental service requirements.
• Support transparent governance by contributing to monitoring, evaluation and reporting on compliance with Welsh Government environmental strategies, plans and commitments.
• Champion the environmental ambition of the SRN Division, using effective communication and stakeholder engagement to promote best practice, share success and build confidence in delivery.
• Lead and manage external consultants, commissioning specialist ecological, environmental or technical support to deliver high‑quality evidence, assessments and project outputs.
• Promote innovation and evidence‑based practice, encouraging research, new technologies, and progressive approaches that enhance biodiversity outcomes and drive continuous improvement.
• Maintain professional expertise through active continuing professional development, ensuring your skills, knowledge and credentials remain current and relevant.

Licences

Valid UK Driving Licence

Memberships

Member of a relevant professional body such as the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Seeing the Big Picture
• Working Together
• Managing a Quality Service

Benefits

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

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

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 processStage 1Application FormStage 2Interview

A reserve list may be held for this opportunity. Any candidate who is successful in being offered a reserve status, will remain on the reserve list for 12 months.

In the event of a large number of applications, an initial sift will be conducted against the assessment criteria Experience 1. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift or progressed straight to assessment/interview.

In the event of two or more candidates having the same total score, the following merit order will be applied:

• Experience 1
• Experience 2
• Working Together
• Managing a Quality Service
• Seeing the Big Picture

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

Please note this Post is NOT regulated by the Civil Service Commission.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.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : Environmental Coordination & Advice Team
• Email : EST-NMDMailbox@Gov.Wales

Recruitment team

• Email : SharedServiceHelpdesk@gov.wales

Further information

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition. Please see the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles on the Commission's website.

If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with these principles and wish to make a complaint please email complaints@gov.wales. Please ensure that you refer to the vacancy reference number.

If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Welsh Government, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: info@csc.gov.uk