Senior Development Advisor

Location: Wales

The role Are you an experienced planning professional with the technical expertise and ambition to shape sustainable development across Wales? Natural Resources Wales (NRW) is seeking a Senior Planning Advisor to take on a lead role in our Development Planning Advice Service (DPAS).

This role offers the chance to influence major development proposals across Wales - including infrastructure, housing, transport, and agriculture - ensuring environmental priorities are at the heart of decision-making. In this role, you'll take ownership of complex and high-profile casework, providing authoritative advice to Planning Authorities, Welsh Government, and developers. Your work will span a wide range of environmental topics such as conservation sites, European Protected Species, flood risk, water quality, air quality, contaminated land, and landscape.

You'll work closely with technical specialists across NRW to deliver robust, evidence-based guidance that supports sustainable outcomes. Your expertise will directly influence how development takes place in Wales - ensuring it aligns with national priorities for climate, biodiversity, and natural resource management. This is an excellent opportunity for someone with substantial experience in planning, environmental management, or ecological consultancy. You'll bring strong communication and analytical skills, a collaborative mindset, and the confidence to influence at a strategic level - helping to improve the economic, social, environmental, and cultural well-being of Wales.

In this role, you will lead on nationally significant work and contribute to the continued growth and quality of a highly regarded environmental planning service. As an organisation we support flexible working. You will be contracted to the NRW office in Cardiff 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 Gemma Beynon at Interviews will take place on week commencing 23 March 2026 through Microsoft Teams

About us Our Development Planning Advice Service provides expert and influential environmental advice to Planning Authorities and Welsh Government, helping them make well-informed decisions about development across Wales. By working proactively with partners and customers, the Service plays a key role in supporting sustainable development - guiding proposals towards the most appropriate locations and ensuring environmental considerations are embedded from the outset.

The Service sits within NRW's national operations directorate and is led by the Head of Service for Planning and Marine What you will do Oversee and provide assurance of advice to Local Development Plans and other sub-regional strategies and plans, including the advice on strategic environmental assessment of such plans. Produce advice to Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects or complex, high-risk development proposals ensuring NRW advice is robust, evidence based and delivered to deadline.

Contribute professional judgement and assistance to decision-making in respect of strategic and complex individual development proposals and plans managed by other team members. Assure information prepared in relation to challenges against NRW development planning advice. Attend appeals and inquiries. Provide operational input to the development of NRW policy, process and guidance. Ensure that NRW Policy, process and guidance is consistently applied within the team.

Development of effective customer relationships (internal and external). Influence local development projects and strategies early in their evolution. Be responsible for the technical development of team members. Provide functional advice and experience to multifunctional place planning such as Area Statements. Contribute to the development of the team work plan. Manage and deliver continuous Improvement projects for the Service. Maintain auditable records of actions and outcomes to justify and demonstrate that all legal and procedural requirements have been met.

Undertake health and safety duties and…