Peatland Restoration Specialist

The role

If you're driven by demanding fieldwork, working outside, and the reward of seeing real change take shape, this role will be a great fit. As a Peatland Restoration Specialist in the National Peatland Action Programme (NPAP), you'll spend time in some of Wales's wildest landscapes‑often wet, often muddy, and always rewarding. Whether you're navigating deep heather, negotiating boggy ground, or working through relentless Welsh rain, you'll be doing it with purpose: restoring peatlands that are vital for climate resilience, biodiversity, and water management.

You'll take projects from concept to completion, developing technical specifications, securing consents, managing budgets, and overseeing contractors to ensure high‑quality delivery. Your work will involve mapping, surveying, and designing restoration interventions across both NRW‑managed land and privately owned sites, while providing expert advice to colleagues, partners, landowners, and stakeholders. You'll also contribute to monitoring, reporting, and knowledge‑sharing as NPAP continues to expand, building a rolling portfolio of projects at different stages of progress.

This is hands‑on, boots‑on‑the‑ground conservation - demanding, varied, and deeply impactful, your chance to play a key role in tackling the climate and nature emergencies - while working with a passionate team, across some of Wales' most precious landscapes.

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.

Travel to various offices and frequently to remote locations inaccessible without the ability to drive is required so a full and current driving licence is essential.

To make an informal enquiry about this role, please email Nick Young at nick.young

Interviews will take place through Microsoft Teams between 11 - 18 March 2026

• Lead and co‑ordinate specialist technical advice and guidance from a range of sources; ensure that decisions are based on sound technical judgement, in line with current legislation and best practice.
• Work with other project team members, other NRW staff and external stakeholders, to plan and develop the detailed programme of site restoration, assessing the technical requirement for a wide range of restoration projects and produce technical specifications to be followed by contractors.
• Work with the Peatlands Programme Procurement & Grants Officer post to tender and let projects in a timely manner and in full accordance with NRW Policies and Procedures.
• Undertake field‑based supervision of contractors, ensuring liaison with owner/occupiers, other NRW staff and partners' staff.
• Ensure that all necessary consents for project delivery works are in place, including (where relevant) European Protected Species Consents, SSSI consents, Ordinary Water Course Consents, Flood Risk Approvals and Planning consents.
• Develop and manage multiple and overlapping contracts covering all aspects of the project, ensuring that project specifications and project delivery are consistent and compliant with NRW Health and Safety and project delivery policy, including adherence to Construction Design and Management regulations where relevant.
• Support other NRW staff in designing, procuring and managing restoration contracts in cases where these staff are leading on project delivery.
• Maintain detailed records of progress with programme implementation to support reporting. Present and share results and learning via written reports and other methods.
• Contribute to regular progress reports and updates led by the Programme Manager.
• With the support of other NRW and partner staff, produce a standardised project assessment and monitoring proforma and implement it/promote its use by others to ensure all projects benefit from a standardised baseline assessment.
• Attend and actively contribute to regular meetings of the team and support the Team Leader at Project Board and Steering Group meetings.
• Manage the budget allocated to project elements you are responsible for and…