THE OPPORTUNITY

Western Forest Products is hiring for an Operations Manager to lead our Mid Island Forest Operations, based in Menzies Bay, BC, 10 minutes north of Campbell River.

What You’ll Do: The Operations Manager is responsible for delivering operational results that support the Company’s safety, sustainability, production and financial goals through financial performance and operational leadership. This is a key leadership coordination role responsible for an annual harvest of approximately 900,000m3’s that interfaces among the General Manager, Maintenance, Finance, Planning, Fibre Supply and the staff and contractors on site to enable optimal operational results and business decisions.

Who You Are: This is a great opportunity for a demonstrated leader with 10+ years’ experience in Timberlands/Woodlands operations, ideally on the Coast, in increasingly responsible roles. You have expert knowledge of timber harvesting and forest management practices and are committed to leading a safe workplace. The ideal candidate has business and financial acumen, proven experience motivating and engaging both staff and contractors, and a desire to work collaboratively with government, first nations and other stakeholders to achieve business goals.

Work Environment: This role is to be primarily performed in person at Mid Island Forest Operations, based in Menzies Bay, BC, 10 minutes north of Campbell River.

If you’re interested in this role, please submit your application by September 15th.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Financial Performance & Leadership

• Responsible for the performance and leadership of the Operation, including achievement of operational metrics and corporate goals;
• Responsible for the financial budget and production forecasting;
• Lead the creation of and ongoing improvement of production phase metrics;
• Work closely with Finance to ensure all operational decisions are based on sound financial analytics;
• Manage inventory targets across the operation, ensuring optimal levels are maintained;
• Identify capital investment opportunities and oversee project implementation in order to provide greatest return to the company; and,
• Recommend effective strategies for the financial well-being of WFP.

Operational Management

• Provide leadership in safety and environmental stewardship by demonstrating and ensuring the adherence of company safety and sustainability processes and procedures;
• Oversite and management of all staff at the operation including unionized hourly workforce including but not limited to:
  • Make certain safety and environmental regulatory requirements are met in all forestry operations, holding hourly and salaried staff and contractors accountable for performance metrics;
  • Recruit, develop, and retain employees through strong leadership and opportunities to learn and progress;
  • Training of supervision and operations personnel in problem solving techniques and root cause analysis troubleshooting techniques;
• Oversight and management of contractors employed ensuring contractor performance and metrics are met, including but not limited to:
  • Stump to Dump contractor(s);
  • Road construction and maintenance contractor(s);
  • Logging phase contractor(s);
  • Contract rate negotiations and rate modelling;
• Oversee the operations’ budgeted annual harvest volume;
• Working closely with the Planning Manager, ensure that all permits and approvals are obtained to meet operational targets and goals;
• Working closely with the Maintenance Manager, ensure that all maintenance projects are coordinated for an optimal result;
• Oversee the implementation of the Environmental Management System to ensure operations are conducted in compliance with regulations and ongoing certification status is maintained; and
• Stay abreast of industry innovations and trends in harvesting knowledge and practices to improve company margins.

QUALIFICATIONS

Education and Experience

• 10 + years of leadership experience in Timberlands Operations in increasingly responsible roles;
• Post-secondary degree in Forestry or related degree is considered a strong asset;
• Business and financial management post-secondary training or equivalent experience a strong asset;
• Eligibility or accreditation with Forest Professionals BC is considered a strong asset.

Skills, Knowledge and Required Competencies

• Commitment to Western’s core values of personal safety, sustainable management, and environmental stewardship;
• High level of integrity and professionalism;
• Expert knowledge of timber harvesting and forest management processes;
• Excellent working knowledge of applicable Forestry legislation, WorkSafe, and Employment Standards regulations applicable to the logging industry;
• Understanding of financial reports, forecasting and budgeting;
• Demonstrated strong analytical, problem solving, and logical thinking skills;
• Excellent leadership, negotiation, interpersonal and communication skills;
• Ability to motivate and engage staff to perform at a higher standard; and
• Ability to engage, work with and influence Government, First Nations, and other stakeholders.

YOUR CAREER   

At Western Forest Products, we believe our most significant asset is our people. Investing in our people brings value and success to our business, ensuring a safe, engaged, productive and continuously improving workplace.  We offer challenging opportunities working alongside the best in the industry to meet your career and professional development goals while providing competitive total rewards and recognition.

We provide a variety of on-the-job training and continuing education in many areas at Western to ensure you have the skills you need to succeed. Our promote-from-within culture recognizes high performance and we offer diverse career paths across the organization for those with the talent and will to advance.

Our total rewards offering including competitive pay, performance bonus, pension plan, benefits and other programs designed to support our employees.

WESTERN OVERVIEW

Western Forest Products is a leading forest products company that sustainably manages forests and manufactures high-quality wood products. Headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia with operations in the coastal region of BC and Washington State, Western meets the needs of customers worldwide with a specialty wood products focus and diverse product offering.

Our commitment to health and safety, environmental stewardship and community engagement is core to how we do business at Western Forest Products.

Our approach to responsible business practices in all aspects of our business is multi-faceted. We adhere to and employ the most stringent environmental practices in the world. The steps we take to ensure the forests in which we operate are renewed and remain healthy and viable for future generations are mirrored in the care we take to make certain our communities continue to grow and prosper. This includes investing in communities where we operate and continuing to forge mutually beneficial relationships with First Nations in respect of their local and cultural interests.