Senior Forester: Silviculture (Berlin/Entabeni Plantation) at SAFCOL (South African Forestry Company Limited)

Key Accountabilities

Manage silviculture activities and contractors and establishment programme by:

• Performing growth stock planning, identify nature and type of plants to be planted for specific conditions
• Determining planting regime and assessing sites for re-generation
• Identifying correct fertilizer type and application
• Performing blanking assessments to replace dead plants and assessing watering needs in winter plants

Perform fire management by:

• Compiling burning register and fire plan
• Assessing if fuel reduction burn is required before planting
• Developing and managing fuel reduction burns in mature compartments
• Obtaining burning permits
• Managing annual firebreak preparations and burning of fire breaks
• Attending fire association meetings and ensuring suppression of fire

Manage pruning process by:

• Managing process according to APO and regimes
• Managing task determination by keeping track of the amount of trees to be pruned per worker
• Manage marking of trees for thinning, develop and manage plantation weed control plan
• Ensure proper management of conservation areas by controlling weeding, erosion, controlling escapees (weeds)
• Update and implement management unit clearing plan, conservation management plan, environmental management plan
• Identify CAPEX needs, compile detail annual silviculture budget and consolidate budget for the section
• Monitor sectional budget and manage fuel consumption of vehicles under area of control
• Manage assets and ensure proper utilisation and preventative maintenance plan is executed
• Extract data from IMS for daily operations and reporting
• Ensure correct utilisation of equipment by teams
• Ensure team adherence to health and safety standards and environmental practices
• Manage fire-fighting operations, practices and monitor Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) usage
• Ensure toolbox talks, perform incident investigations and identify training needs
• Organise Safety, Health and Environmental (SHE) awareness initiatives
• Build and maintain relationships with the community regarding firewood, sand mining, fire prevention, and illegal activities
• Facilitate engagements with internal support functions to ensure cooperation within the business
• Supervise Silviculture team to ensure effective daily operations
• Coach and mentor team members on a daily basis to improve productivity
• Monitor team members to ensure planned training needs is undertaken
   

Minimum Requirements

• Grade 12
• National Diploma in Forestry (NQF level 6)
• B-Tech or BSc Degree in Forestry (NQF level 7) will be added advantage
• 3 – 5 Years’ experience in silviculture operations
• Valid driver’s license

 Leadership Competencies

• Driving change
• Operational delivery
• Self-awareness
• Business acumen
• People management