Science and Policy Liaison – Wales 2023118

Why JNCC?

We’re small enough (c.300 staff) that your voice is heard by everyone including the CEO, but big enough that we have all the skills, resources and people you’ll need to get the job done. All our staff are passionate about conservation and making a difference to the world we live in. We have a very flexible, inclusive and welcoming organisational culture. Our Executive Management provides employees with the freedom and tools you will need, and our friendly team will assist you in your role.  
 
JNCC is committed to maintaining employee health and wellbeing, whether it is physically, emotionally, financially or socially, and offers a range of benefits to support employees in this. Such benefits include the option to join the Civil Service Pension Scheme, professional and personal development opportunities as well as an exciting job in a unique environment.  

Post background

In its unique UK role, JNCC works collaboratively with the four countries of the UK to support nature recovery. This requires a strong understanding of the developing policies and delivery mechanisms in the four countries, as well as internationally, to ensure JNCC’s evidence and advice evolves to meet the needs of each country.

JNCC is looking to appoint a Science and Policy Liaison Officer for Wales, to help shape and prioritise its activities. The post is a focal point for relationships between JNCC and Welsh bodies, primarily Welsh Government and Natural Resources Wales (NRW). The post holder will enable engaging conversations and influence relevant science and strategic topics. They will facilitate continued JNCC joint working with Welsh Government and NRW and ensure that JNCC’s work meets Welsh requirements for a robust evidence base in the context of natural resource management.

The post holder will be a part of the Nature Conservation Policy and Advice Team at JNCC and will work with teams across the organisation. Specifically, they will be part of a small and collaborative project team, comprising staff holding similar liaison roles covering Northern Ireland, Scotland and England. With strong links to the JNCC Executive Leadership Team, their work builds on the networks and working groups that already exist between JNCC and country partners, with the aim of identifying new opportunities and enhancing collaborations where JNCC’s skills and expertise can support the countries in delivering their priorities. Together they provide a co-ordinated UK overview and a hub for information exchange.

The portfolio of this role is broad, requiring day-to-day engagement across a range of work areas and interacting with staff, from project level through to strategic-level interactions with senior managers, executive and non-executive leaders. We are looking for someone to join our team who thrives in a fast paced and often reactive environment, who has a passion for building relationships and engaging with partners, who is confident in posing challenges
and asking questions to fully understand requirements and perspectives, who brings good organisation and communication skills and an understanding of how scientific evidence and analysis supports the policy development cycle.

This is a critical time and new opportunities are arising as Welsh Government drives forward its policy and legislative agenda to achieve transformational change to address the inextricably linked emergencies of climate change and biodiversity loss. Help JNCC’s science and evidence be at the heart of this.

Post Duties 

The post holder will be at the forefront of promoting JNCC’s capabilities in Wales and identifying opportunities for collaborative working with Welsh Government and NRW. They will liaise with individuals to develop a better understanding of their priorities, spotting opportunities and connections, conveying the work of JNCC, ensuring JNCC’s skills, experience and outputs are exploited to maximum effect, and generally building and maintaining relationships.
The main duties of the post are to:

• Maintain, and further develop where beneficial, the strong working relationships between JNCC and Welsh bodies (principally Welsh Government and NRW). This will involve, but is not limited to, building and managing relationships with key individuals; becoming established as a key and trusted point of contact for developing relationships and helping to establish collaboration where there is no pre-existing JNCC contact point; ensuring communications and information flows between JNCC and Welsh Government and NRW are effective and resilient; representing JNCC in various country and UK-level fora;

• Provide briefings to senior staff and Executive Leaders and advise on key areas for their consideration in meetings with partners.

• Maintain Welsh Government and NRW’s awareness of JNCC’s work and its strengths. Increase their understanding of the context of JNCC’s work in terms of the position of the work in Northern Ireland, Scotland and England, and the benefits it brings or could bring to Wales.

• Maintain an overview of joint working and collaboration between JNCC and Wales. Identify where JNCC might add value and make relevant teams in Welsh Government and NRW aware of the opportunity. Support JNCC teams in tailoring and promoting their work to meet Wales’s needs. Facilitate the establishment of projects funded directly by Welsh Government through a Section 83 agreement.

• Maintain an in-depth knowledge and understanding of Wales’s environmental policy, including implementation, with an emphasis on proposed changes or new developments; show where JNCC’s work contributes to both the Welsh Government’s and NRW’s priorities, identifying where developing policies and plans provide drivers for the provision of JNCC’s evidence and advice.

• Communicate effectively within JNCC. Make information on Wales-related policies available in a clear and simple format, and brief and advise JNCC Executive Leadership Team and team leaders.

• Support the NCPA Team’s wider work on UK co-ordination and engagement. For example, this may include managing secretariat services for joint UK groups, supporting implementation across the UK of the Global Biodiversity Framework and helping make links between Welsh bodies and organisations on topics of common interest.

• Play an active part in JNCC’s Engagement, Legislation and Policy project in JNCC’s Nature Conservation Policy and Advice Team, in order to collaborate with colleagues in similar roles in Northern Ireland, Scotland and England, to strengthen JNCC’s joint working and information flows within the four countries of the UK.

The post holder will be line managed from JNCC’s Nature Conservation Policy and Advice Team and will receive support from NRW and Welsh Government colleagues. You will be expected to work independently as well as part of a team. You will be self-motivated with excellent communication, planning and organisation skills with the ability to manage a busy workload and respond quickly to a range of tasks. Depending on the needs of the team, there may be a requirement to line manage other staff or interns.

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

• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Managing a Quality Service

We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:

• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together
• Managing a Quality Service

We’ll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• A degree, or equivalent experience, in a relevant subject such as natural sciences or natural resource management.
• Good knowledge of the role and remit of JNCC in relation to other organisations, in particular the country nature conservation bodies, UK Government departments and Devolved Administrations.
• Good understanding of environmental policy and legislation and an ability to analyse and brief on the content and implications of new and emerging policy. Specifically, this should include good knowledge of Welsh policy, or an ability to build on a stron
• Good general knowledge of ecology and nature conservation in the UK, with an ability to lead and facilitate technical discussions towards understanding science and evidence needs to support policy development.
• Excellent communication skills and demonstrable experience of conveying detailed and complex information to a range of audiences using a range of media. For example, this could include, written briefings, webinars, web content, newsletters and more formal
• Experience of managing relationships of engaging with a wide range of stakeholders and partners, determining their priorities and working collaboratively, including experience of organising and facilitating workshops and other engagement events.
• Welsh language skills are highly desirable at least to the level of being able to pronounce Welsh place names and personal names, and the ability to understand and use basic phrases of Welsh – such as for opening and closing meetings.

We only ask for evidence of these technical skills on your application form:

• A degree, or equivalent experience, in a relevant subject such as natural sciences or natural resource management.
• Good understanding of environmental policy and legislation and an ability to analyse and brief on the content and implications of new and emerging policy. Specifically, this should include good knowledge of Welsh policy, or an ability to build on a stron
• Good general knowledge of ecology and nature conservation in the UK, with an ability to lead and facilitate technical discussions towards understanding science and evidence needs to support policy development.
• Excellent communication skills and demonstrable experience of conveying detailed and complex information to a range of audiences using a range of media. For example, this could include, written briefings, webinars, web content, newsletters and more formal
• Experience of managing relationships of engaging with a wide range of stakeholders and partners, determining their priorities and working collaboratively, including experience of organising and facilitating workshops and other engagement events.
• Welsh language skills are highly desirable at least to the level of being able to pronounce Welsh place names and personal names, and the ability to understand and use basic phrases of Welsh – such as for opening and closing meetings.

JNCC is committed to creating an environment where everyone feels valued and respected and see this as a good place to work. JNCC has a responsibility to ensure that we have an inclusive culture where discrimination, harassment, bullying and prejudice will not be tolerated. Our selection process is determined on fair and open competition and regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership.

Continuous professional development (CPD)

Employees are encouraged to keep developing skills and professional knowledge.
JNCC has made available, and encourages employees to use, on average, five working days per annum for CPD activities with access to related funding

Leave entitlement

JNCC annual leave allowance is 25 days per annum. After five years’ service, leave entitlement increases to 30 days per annum.
In addition to annual leave, JNCC offers 12 public and privilege days per annum, three of which are explicitly reserved for office closure between Christmas and New Year.

Work/life balance

JNCC supports flexible working hours and practices to help employees strike a good balance between work life and personal life.

Our policies are family-friendly and include flexi-time, flexible working patterns, compressed hours and dispersed working. JNCC also offers paid maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental leave, over and above the minimum statutory entitlements. Some work/life balance benefits are available following a minimum length of service.

Any move from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax-Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/

Civil Service Pension

Employees will have the opportunity to join Civil Service pension arrangements, which include a valuable range of benefits. JNCC makes a significant contribution to the cost of employee pensions.

Employee Assistance Programme

JNCC provides employees with a free and confidential support service which gives unlimited access to information, advice and emotional support to help employees prepare for and manage all of life’s ups and downs, events and challenges.

Trade Union

JNCC has entered into a partnership agreement with its recognised Trade Unions: Prospect and PCS, which employees are able to join and be involved with.

Salary sacrifice schemes

Employee Discount Scheme

Civil Service Sports Club

Job contact :

• Name : Recruitment Team
• Email : recruitment@jncc.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : recruitment@jncc.gov.uk