Research Officer at Sappi

The main responsibilities of this job are:

• Assist with the maintenance of the forest management system by providing technical support and assistance to the Planning department to ensure the proper functioning and optimal utilisation of the forest management system
• Use and aid the development of data cleaning routines and queries to access and extract data to ensure data integrity in the data management system
• Assist with the running of the required synchronisation and data integrity procedures with GIS to ensure data consistency and effective integration between GIS and planning databases
• Assist with the development and implementation of requested improvements on the forest management system as required by the planning department by means of in-house development or interaction with service providers to support planning activities
• Advise Sappi on current and new technologies applicable to data management system and ensuring that best practice is carried out in terms of data and database management.
• Develop a full understanding of the forest management system functionality on all three planning levels (strategic, tactical and operational) by testing and implementing the full functionality of the system to ensure that efficient planning activities are carried out.
• Assist with ensuring optimal usage of forest management functionalities by carrying out training to forest management system users to drive the usage of the functionality.
• Facilitate effective tactical planning by interacting with planning and operations to implement these plans in the forest management system
• Assist with the management of the various additional in-house databases related to Precision Forestry and Planning activities by carrying out required maintenance and development to support planning activities and Precision Forestry projects
• Assist with the development of any additional databases as required by the Precision Forestry and Planning.
• Support the development and deployment of the various end-user data interfaces related Precision Forestry and Planning activities such as GIS web applications and dashboards by carrying out required maintenance and development to ensure the successful implementation of the projects in the operational activities of the business.
• Assist in the development of analytics tools related to Precision Forestry projects using machine learning techniques and scripting tools such as R, Python, SQL or similar.

The ideal candidate should have:

• BSc Degree in Informatics, Computer Science or related field
• An Honours Degree will be an advantage
• Minimum of 2 years’ experience in database management and Geographic information systems (GIS) or a relevant MSc is essential
• Forestry experience will be advantageous