Deputy Director – Marine and Biodiversity Division

• Vacancy details
• Vacancy title
• Deputy Director – Marine and Biodiversity Division
• Closing date
• 24/09/2026, 16:00
• Advertising basis
• Permanent
• Actual starting salary

Circa £86,000 although some flexibility may be available for an exceptional candidate up to a maximum of £105,000.

Payband

SCS1

• Allowances
• No
• Work pattern
• Full time (not suitable for candidates who wish to work on a part time or job share basis)
• Group
• Local Government, Housing, Rural Resilience & Sustainability Group
• Directorate
• Climate Change & Environmental Sustainability Directorate
• Location (s)
• Pan Wales

‘Pan Wales’ means the post holder can be based in any Welsh Government office, subject to business needs. Roles based outside Wales, including London, are not available unless explicitly stated in the advert.

A list of the Welsh Government’s offices can be found on

www.gov.wales/welsh-government-offices

. Please note it may not always be possible to accommodate a preference for a specific office location.

The post holder’s travel from their home to their assigned Welsh Government office is considered their ‘ordinary commute’ and must be done in their own time and at their own cost.

Purpose of post

The Deputy Director – Marine and Biodiversity is a key role in delivering the Welsh Government’s agenda to protect and enhance health, nature and the environment. The senior leadership role focuses on important policy areas which can make a difference to people, nature and communities across Wales.

This is a significant leadership role, leading a team of around 40 people, and working with key stakeholders across the public and third sectors in Wales, and with counterparts in other UK Governments.

The role leads on the following main policy areas:

Halting biodiversity loss and restoring it to resilient levels – leading action across the Welsh Government and key Welsh delivery partners to support Welsh Ministers to meet a range of statutory duties and international targets.

Oversee

Marine Planning for Wales including implementation of the marine plan and development of marine planning policy for the

sustainable use of the Welsh marine environment.

Setting policy direction and overseeing the delivery of the marine licensing regulatory regime, including its delegation, to NRW to ensure it is responsive and agile to Ministerial priorities including but not limited to marine renewable energy such as offshore wind.

Improving engagement with coastal communities and strengthening marine resilience recognising the importance of the marine environment to climate change.

Increasing the funding available for nature recovery through the development of nature finance markets and models.

Provision of specialist advice on Habitats Regulations and Strategic Environmental Assessments and to address wild animal health and welfare issues where they affect species of biodiversity significance.

Key tasks

This is a full-time post in the Environmental Sustainability and Climate Change Directorate reporting to the Director (Rhodri Asby). Rhodri is part of Claire Bennett’s senior leadership team in the Local Government, Housing, Rural Resilience and Sustainability Group. You will:

Lead a team of around 40 people working flexibly across a broad spread of responsibilities and provide opportunities for everyone to contribute and be recognised for their contribution.

Build and maintain the Cabinet Minister’s trust and confidence, ensuring key commitments in the Programme for Government and wider work programme are delivered, including implementing Senedd legislation.

Provide strategic policy leadership for a range of areas, including:

Development of statutory biodiversity targets and implementation of associated duties to meet the requirements set out in the Environment (Principles, Governance and Biodiversity Targets) Act 2026.

Delivery against international biodiversity targets such as the Global Biodiversity Framework including the reporting requirements.

Development of a new marine planning framework to strengthen marine planning and governance for sustainable development, engage coastal communities and strengthen the interface between land and sea planning.

Working closely with NRW and UK Government to strengthen and streamline the marine licensing regime including implementation of the Offshore Wind Environmental Improvement measures reform to support Ministerial priorities in relation to marine energy.

Deliver shared priorities effectively through a network of partners across Wales, including the Wales Coasts and Seas Partnership and public authorities, ensuring that decision-making supports the Section 6 biodiversity duty and the objectives of the Welsh National Marine Plan.

Influence the development and implementation of other Ministerial priorities including the Sustainable Farming Scheme and National Development Framework to ensure it supports delivery of biodiversity outcomes.

Development of the nature finance strategy and corresponding actions, including funding and leading pilots to test different market mechanisms.

Legislative delivery – to include relevant aspects of cross cutting Senedd Bills such as the Environment and Wildlife Bills scheduled for year one of the Senedd term, and implementation of secondary legislation where needed, including to address the recommendations arising from the Audit Wales and IEPAW reports on protected sites.

Programme delivery – ensure the effective delivery of programmes to improve the condition and resilience of protected sites, improve bee health, support species reintroduction and effective management of the Marine Protected Area network.

Build and maintain excellent working relationships with senior officials in UK Government Departments, Natural Resources Wales, JNCC and counterparts in the Scottish Government and Northern Ireland Executive to ensure Welsh interests are taken into account, and where possible so that approaches are aligned to deliver coordinated action and economy-wide certainty on the range of environmental issues that are priorities for the Cabinet Minister for Rural Resilience and Sustainability.

Develop and maintain excellent working relationships with a wide range of delivery partners including environmental stakeholders, Local Authorities and National Parks, relevant marine and coastal authorities, farmers and land managers to ensure action is prioritised and coordinated, delivers government priorities and contributes to our overall objective of reversing biodiversity loss and maintaining health ecosystems that support Wales’ prosperity.

Ensure effective arrangements are in place to manage a tight budget of around £20m per year (revenue + capital) to deliver policy priorities, including oversight of a large grant programme to restore nature.

Civil contingencies role including responsibility for the Lead Department Plan for marine oil spills and leading on wildlife consideration arising from animal disease outbreaks, for example highly pathogenic avian influenza. Incident response may require action outside normal working hours

Ensure effective delivery of government business, including responses to Oral and Written Questions in the Senedd, correspondence and media queries, ensuring deadlines are met, outputs meet Ministers’ expectations and are of a consistently high quality.

Play an active role as part of the Senior Leadership Team in the Environmental Sustainability and Climate Change Directorate and wider Local Government, Housing, Rural Resilience and Sustainability Group.

Note: The detailed responsibilities covered by the role may be subject to change as the Directorate flexes to respond to the new Government's priorities.

Other vacancy related information

This is a full-time role given the need to be ‘on-call’ and support the response to civil continencies issues including marine oil spills. We welcome candidates who are interested in a job share. If you do not have a job-share partnership in place and would welcome a discussion with the aim of forming one for this post, please contact

SCSRecruitment@gov.wales

. We cannot guarantee a partner can be found.

In the event of two or more candidates having the same total score at interview the panel will consider : The desirable criteria Welsh language, if still tied then revert to highest score on: Behaviour - Working Together.

A candidate Q&A session will be held during the advertising period to provide further insight into the role and organisation. To receive joining details and further information, please register your interest via scsrecruitment@gov.wales.

Vetting level

SC - Candidates applying for a role that requires SC clearance must have normally resided in the UK for a minimum of the last 5 years

• Number of posts
• 1
• Contact point for further information regarding the post
• SCSRecruitmentTeam@gov.wales/Claire Bennett: claire.bennett@gov.wales
• Candidate pack / supporting information (English)
• Candidate Pack - SCS1 - Marine and Biodiversity - FINAL - ENG.pdf – 593KB
• Opens in a new window
• Candidate pack / supporting information (Welsh)
• Candidate Pack - SCS1 - Marine and Biodiversity FINAL - CY.pdf – 569KB
• Opens in a new window

Person specification

Civil Service success profiles relevant to this role are set out below (click

here

to view more information on Civil Service Success profiles).

Your application (personal statement and CV) should set out your evidence in relation to the person specification below (i.e. success profile behaviours and experience listed).

Behaviours

Working Together:

you will have experience of providing effective leadership for a team with substantial responsibilities, creating an inclusive and positive culture.

Leadership:

you will have strong interpersonal skills and the ability to develop effective working relationships with a wide range of people inside and outside of government. You will have proven ability of operating with integrity, reliability and being a role model of civil service leadership principles.

Seeing the big picture:

you will be resilient and able to operate effectively in what can be a contested and challenging policy space, brokering conflicting interests and retaining the trust and confidence Ministers, partners and communities.

Delivering at pace

: you will act as a role model for delivery by showing efficiency and focus, while being open to new ideas and honest about challenges. You will provide clarity about the action required to achieve results and address unexpected developments.

• Experience
• Experience of successfully establishing and delivering funding programmes to secure policy objectives
• Experience of making or implementing legislation
• or
• of work in a regulatory field or environmental policy or delivery
• Strengths – (assessed at interview only)
• Assessment process
• Stage 1 – Application

To apply for this role, you will be asked to submit:

Application Form

We welcome applications in Welsh and English. Applications in either language will be treated equally. If you have an impairment that would prevent you from applying online, please contact

SCSRecruitment@gov.wales

to request an alternative format or a reasonable adjustment to submit your application.

CV:

We operate name-free recruitment.

The selection panel will not see personal information while shortlisting in line with our commitment to end bias and promote equality and diversity.

Please remove your name from your CV and personal statement.

Personal Statement:

Your personal statement will be input into the application system and has a maximum word count of 1,500. Please explain how your professional qualifications, skills, qualities and experience meet the essential criteria included in the person specification. These are the key behaviours listed above: Working Together;

Leadership, Seeing the Big Picture, and Delivering at Pace

and

the two experience criteria.

The Welsh Government is committed to achieving a workforce that reflects the society it serves – at all levels. You will be asked to confirm some diversity information on your application form. Collecting this information enables us to identify whether we are recruiting from the widest possible pool of talent and check that all groups are being treated fairly throughout the process; this form will not be disclosed to anyone involved in assessing your application. If you do not wish to provide a response to a particular question, you select ‘prefer not to say.’ You will not be able to submit your application if you leave any of the questions unanswered.

Stage 2 – Assessments

If shortlisted, you will take part in the following assessments:

Online Psychometric Tests:

These include a discussion with a psychologist via Microsoft Teams. You will receive a link to the online tests within 10 working days after the shortlisting meeting. You do not need to take these tests again if you have completed these tests in the last two years for a role at the same grade.

Staff/Stakeholder Engagement Exercise:

This exercise gives you the opportunity to present your experience, ideas and views on effective leadership for this role. You will meet with a group of staff via Microsoft Teams who may be future team members, peers, colleagues or stakeholders.

Interview & Scenario Exercise:

Before your interview, the selection panel will receive feedback on your psychometric tests and staff engagement exercise.

You will be given a presentation topic before your interview and will be asked to give a 5-minute verbal presentation.

Interviews will be around 45 minutes and will consider how the skills and experience in your CV and personal statement meet the requirements of the role. The interview will be held in person at the Welsh Government’s office in Cathays Park in Cardiff.

Welsh language requirements

Welsh language requirements

3 - Welsh language skills are not essential for this opportunity; you do not need Welsh language skills to apply. However, as the Welsh Government is a bilingual organisation, Welsh language skills are desirable and will be considered if two or more candidates receive the same score at the application or interview stage.

• Understanding by reading
• 1 - Can read some basic words and phrases with understanding
• Speaking and being understood
• 1 - Can hold a basic conversation in Welsh
• Understanding by listening
• 1 - Can understand parts of a basic conversation
• Writing and being understood
• 1 - Can write basic messages on everyday topics
• Working for the Civil Service
• The
• Civil Service Code

sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

The Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

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

AI candidate guidance

for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection Process and Stages

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
• Behaviours

We’ll assess you against these Behaviour criteria during the selection process.

Behaviour 1:

Working Together

You will have experience of providing effective leadership for a team with substantial responsibilities, creating an inclusive and positive culture.

This will be tested at stage 1: Application Form

This will be tested at stage 2: Interview

Behaviour 2:

Leadership

You will have strong interpersonal skills and the ability to develop effective working relationships with a wide range of people inside and outside of government. You will have proven ability of operating with integrity, reliability and being a role model of civil service leadership principles.

This will be tested at stage 1: Application Form

This will be tested at stage 2: Interview

Behaviour 3:

Seeing the Big Picture

You will be resilient and able to operate effectively in what can be a contested and challenging policy space, brokering conflicting interests and retaining the trust and confidence Ministers, partners and communities.

This will be tested at stage 1: Application Form

This will be tested at stage 2: Interview

Behaviour 4:

Delivering at Pace

You will act as a role model for delivery by showing efficiency and focus, while being open to new ideas and honest about challenges. You will provide clarity about the action required to achieve results and address unexpected developments.

• This will be tested at stage 1: Application Form
• This will be tested at stage 2: Interview
• Experience

We'll assess you against the following Experience criteria during the assessment process.

Evidence to provide

CV, Experience questions

Experience 1:

Experience of successfully establishing and delivering funding programmes to secure policy objectives.

This will be tested at Stage 1: Application Form

This will be tested at stage 2: Interview

Experience 2:

Experience of making or implementing legislation or of work in a regulatory field or environmental policy or delivery.

• This will be tested at stage 1: Application Form
• This will be tested at stage 2: Interview
• Strengths

This will be tested at Interview stage only.

Strength 1:

Problem Solver

Eligibility

You will be asked about your nationality and if you are legally allowed to work in the United Kingdom. This is to find out if you are eligible to apply for this vacancy. This is a requirement for working within the Civil Service.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nationality-rules

If you do not meet the eligibility criteria your application will not progress. If it becomes clear at a later stage in the process that you are not eligible to apply, your application may be withdrawn, or the offer retracted.

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)
• 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

Social Model of Disability

Welsh Government has adopted the social model of disability, which recognises that barriers in society

act to disable people who have impairments, or health conditions, who are neurodivergent or who use British Sign Language.

We are committed to removing barriers in the recruitment process so that all (or potential new) staff can perform at their best.

Recruitment adjustments can be made at any part of the recruitment process for candidates with an impairment or health condition, who are neurodivergent or who use British Sign Language.

Please get in touch with

DiversityInRecruitment@gov.wales

to discuss adjustments for any part of the process.

• Inclusive Interview Schemes
• We are committed to inclusive recruitment and offer interviews to eligible candidates who meet the
• minimum criteria

for the role through the following schemes:

Disability Confident

The Welsh Government is a Disability Confident Leader. As part of our commitment to this scheme we interview any candidate with an impairment, health condition, who is neurodivergent or who uses British Sign Language if they meet the

minimum criteria

for the post.

A Great Place to Work for Veterans

The Welsh Government operates the Great Place to Work for Veterans Initiative. As part of our commitment to this scheme we interview any eligible candidates who meet the

minimum criteria

for the post.

Redeployment Interview Scheme

Civil Service employers can offer an interview to a fair and proportionate number of civil servants who are at risk of redundancy and who meet the

• minimum criteria
• for the post
• By ‘
• minimum criteria

’ we mean that candidates must provide us with evidence in their application (and/or test) that they meet the minimum level of competence for the role - usually defined as

a minimum score of 4 per criterion.

Social Partnership

In Welsh Government, the relationship between the employer and trade unions is based on social partnership. We believe our goals can best be achieved by management and trade unions working together.

Our 3 recognised trade unions are:

• PCS
• Prospect
• FDA

This relationship is underpinned by a partnership agreement. This sets out how our unions work with Welsh Government on issues such as:

• Pay
• Terms and conditions
• HR Strategy, policies and procedures
• Health, safety and well-being
• Organisational change

Our Welsh Government trade union colleagues work together to give their members a real say in the workplace. They make sure that the interests of their members are promoted and protected. They also help reduce inequalities and improve terms and conditions.

The Welsh Government has an excellent track record of working in partnership with its trade unions. We support you to join a recognised trade union, to ensure your voice is heard in the workplace. We encourage you to learn more about our trade unions, partnership working and to get involved in their work.

Benefits

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

Civil Service Pension Scheme

Between 25 and 30 days annual leave based on your period of continuous employment in the Civil Service (pro-rated for part time)

• training and development opportunities`
• Cycle2Work Scheme
• Smart Working flexible working arrangement

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

• Recruitment principles and complaints
• 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.