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This is a 3 month opportunity for a registered PhD student to help Natural Resources Wales make effective use of citizen science water quality data.

The placement provides an opportunity to gain insight into the functioning of Natural Resources Wales and evidence based decision making within the Welsh environment context. The researcher will join a national team covering terrestrial, freshwater and marine monitoring. We develop plans and strategies for NRWs monitoring work to ensure that we make effective use of our monitoring resources to provide the evidence needed to address the nature, climate and pollution emergencies.

The researcher will be expected to work independently within parameters and guidelines provided by Natural Resources Wales. Working closely with a wide range of colleagues, the successful candidate will build valuable working relationships, broaden their knowledge of this sector, and enhance their existing transferable skills. In particular the researcher will gain experience in communicating and presenting scientific information to a range of audiences including policy colleagues and the general public.

With support from their NRW supervisor, the researcher will be expected to take responsibility for managing and delivery of work commitments during the placement period.

As an organisation we support flexible working. You will be contracted to the nearest NRW office to your home and a suitable hybrid working pattern will be agreed on appointment. Any regular face to face meetings or training will be planned in advance.

To make an informal enquiry about this role, please contact Sue Byrne at sue.byrne@cyfoethnaturiolcymru.gov.uk

Interviews will take place through Microsoft Teams (details of time and location will be shared in advance).

Successful applicants will be subject to a satisfactory Disclosure and Barring Service Check (DBS) check. Appointments are normally made within 4 to 8 weeks of the closing date.

You will review and produce a report on the use and impact of citizen science water quality data on the understanding of water quality at a catchment scale.

You will review the availability of water quality data from a range of citizen science projects across Wales. For a selection of these projects you will review and analyse the data, alongside NRW data, and produce reports for sharing with the projects, demonstrating how their data have been used and highlighting any opportunities for enhancing the value of the data.

• 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.

In your application and interview you will be asked to demonstrate the following skills and experience using the STAR method.

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) can only accept applications to the PhD student placement programme from registered students who are within their funded period. Before applying, all applicants must:

• Seek approval from their academic supervisor;
• Confirm the method of payment with their finance department;
• Confirm they can take a study break for the duration of the placement.

Sound understanding of water chemistry and/ or freshwater ecology relevant to the Water Framework Directive Regulations Natural Resources Wales / Assessment of water quality in Wales 2024 A sound understanding of statistics and experimental design.

Good communication skills with the ability to extract and present key information to a range of audiences in both written and oral forms.

Essential: A1 - Entry level

The placement will be funded by NRW and will match the current UKRI PhD stipend rate. The payment process aims to compliment PhD student university stipend payment structures, i.e. NRW pay the university via a Purchase Order on completion of the placement and the funds are passed-on to the student's account from the university. To avoid delays to students receiving payments, it is preferable that the student's PhD stipend is not paused during the placement and that, instead, it continues and that NRW reimburse the university for the time the student is not undertaking research. Please note: we do not pay students directly. Students with Welsh European Funding Office (WEFO) funding must confirm this method of payment is accepted before applying.

We're passionate about creating a diverse workforce and positively encourage applications from under-represented communities. We embrace equality of opportunity irrespective of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.

We are committed to equal opportunities and we guarantee interviews for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

We want to attract and retain talented and highly skilled staff, so we make sure that our pay scales remain competitive. We advertise the full pay scale on our job descriptions. Appointed candidates start at the first point of the pay scale and annual increments are paid each year.

Unless otherwise stated in the 'Role' section of this advert, Natural Resources Wales is unable to offer visa sponsorship for this position. Although we hold a Skilled Worker visa sponsorship licence, it applies only to specific roles that meet both the eligibility criteria and salary requirements set out by the UK Government under the Skilled Worker visa route.

We want our staff to grow professionally and personally. From leadership development to access to further and higher education courses, our staff have opportunities to expand their knowledge on variety of topics, stay current in their field and continue to learn as their career progresses.

We are a bilingual organisation which complies with the Welsh Language Standards . Welsh language skills are considered an asset to NRW and we encourage and support staff to learn, develop and use their Welsh language skills.

You are welcome to apply for any vacancy in Welsh or English and any application submitted will be treated equally. Applications are welcome from individuals who work part time, as part of a job share or who work full time.