Regional Landscape Adviser

POST: Regional Landscape Adviser
POST NO: 000986
LOCATION: Newtown or Aberystwyth
GRADE: Band D

MAIN DUTIES

• Provide specialist landscape and visual amenity advice and support to Regional casework staff on nationally significant development cases, primarily onshore wind energy.
• Provide input including, quality assurance, into scoping and reviewing landscape and visual amenity sections of environmental statements for complex cases, and, undertaking site visits where/when necessary.
• Provide input into landscape management plans.
• To support CCW attendance at, and, provide evidence to Public Inquiries as required.
• Contribute to relevant strategic policy consultations received from CCW’s Evidence & Advice Directorate and the E&A Directorate’s own research and guidance work.
• Work with regional and national CCW colleagues (including CCW’s Landscape Architect) to achieve consistency in CCW’s landscape advice on development proposals.
• Provide specialist input to CCW’s responses to local authority development plans and other plans and strategies.
• Contribute to the planning and delivery of training events related to landscape aspects of development casework.
• Develop and maintain strong links with key partners in public, private and voluntary sectors and take forward projects and initiatives with them
• Contribute to relevant CCW networks.
• Keep appropriate records for management, audit and freedom of information purposes and ensure adequate tracking and reporting of progress on development control projects.
• Give equal weight to managing operations, resources and the people for whom you are responsible.
• Take reasonable care for the health and safety of yourself and others and comply with all health and safety legislation as appropriate.
• Carry out and regularly review appropriate risk assessments, including stress, on all of your staff.
• Behave in accordance with our corporate values.
• Undertake other general duties as necessary.

JOB COMPETENCIES

To be considered for this post you will need to demonstrate the following competencies:

Essential

1. An appropriate qualification, preferably as a Chartered Landscape Architect, with relevant post qualification (Part IV) experience.
2. A sound knowledge of the potential impacts of energy (particularly wind energy) and other developments on landscapes and visual amenity, and on siting, design and mitigation issues.
3. A good knowledge of the landscapes of Wales, including the historic landscape and LANDMAP
4. Expert knowledge of Environmental Impact Assessment and landscape character assessment methods, the town & country planning system as it applies to CCW, and an understanding of relevant policies, particularly Planning Policy Wales; Welsh Government Technical Advice Note 8 and relevant UK energy policy.
5. Proven good written and spoken communication skills and an ability to represent both the technical and strategic aspects of landscape to non-specialists, both within CCW and externally, in a concise and effective way.
6. The ability to use IT applications such as databases, spreadsheets and word processing.
7. Good organisational skills and an ability to meet tight timetables and an ability to work across multi-disciplinary teams.
   - The ability to currently and legally drive a car in the UK
   - The ability to use basic Welsh conversational phrases, to pronounce Welsh place names correctly, an awareness of Welsh culture and a positive attitude to linguistic and cultural diversity

Desirable

1. An awareness of the European Landscape Convention and the UK’s commitments under it.
2. A knowledge and understanding of wider land management issues, including nature conservation, ecology and countryside access and the role that CCW plays in this.
3. An awareness of the Welsh Assembly Government’s policies for the environment, sustainable development, economic development and spatial planning, particularly energy.
   - Fluency in Spoken Welsh

There are 10 sections on our application form for you to tell us how you meet each of the numbered competencies above. Our application form asks about your driving and Welsh language abilities separately, so these competencies are not numbered above.

SALARY

The starting salary will be £30,134 a year.

STATUS

This is a fixed-term, pensionable full-time appointment until 31 July 2014 with a possible extension subject to funding.

APPLICATIONS AND CLOSING DATE

Application forms can be downloaded from our website or you can e-mail us at d.manning@ccw.gov.uk or phone us on 01686 613400 and we will post an application form and job description to your home address.

Please return your completed application form to:

Dianne Manning
Countryside Council for Wales
Ladywell House
Newtown
Powys
SY16 6RD

The closing date for receipt of application forms is midday on 1 July 2011.