Associate Director, Operations (Management & Executives)

  New Forests, Inc

  San Francisco, California, United States

Title: Associate Director, Operations

Location: San Francisco

Reporting to: Director, Investments and Operations

Primary role focus: The position will be responsible for the management of forestry operations on USA timberland assets acquired by clients of New Forests in the United States, both directly and through the supervision of property managers. This includes a newly acquired 170,000-acre timberland estate in northern California. The position will be an integral part of the New Forests US team as we grow our timberland and environmental markets portfolios.

Responsibilities:

• Manage operational activities on properties in New Forests’ existing and future U.S. timberland asset portfolio to maximise long run investor returns while meeting fund social and environmental obligations and objectives.
• Lead operational management of nominated forest and infrastructure assets and/or projects within New Forests’ U.S. portfolio including coordination of:
• o procurement and supervision of third party providers (property managers, consultants, appraisal services, etc.);
• o annual operational plans (including occupational health and safety reviews) budgets and third party appraisals;
• o monthly payment review and approval;
• o major asset-level projects and stakeholder engagement; and
• o internal and external reporting (monthly/quarterly/annual).

• Support asset acquisitions and dispositions for New Forests’ USA portfolio including:
• o operational, environmental, legal and financial due diligence;
• o financial and forest model assumptions; and
• o preparation of investment papers for consideration by the Investment Committee.
• Contribute to corporate governance, risk and compliance requirements, sustainability and responsible investment projects and activities.
• Supervising and monitoring performance of assets
• Developing new markets and undertaking special projects focused on optimising land use, and maximising value from investments.

Skills, Qualifications, Experience and Knowledge required:

Technical:

• Forest Management, Resource Management or related field and/or previous relevant experience in comparable roles within the timberland investment industry of 10+ years.
• Experience in managing forestry estates and understanding of forest operations, science and estate modelling.
• Extensive experience in forestry investment management and forestry valuation
• Strong commercial skills including project management, negotiation, financial analysis and formation and interpretation of legal agreements.
• Forestry license in any state and/or Certified Forester desirable
• Good Microsoft Office skills including Outlook, Word, Excel
• Excellent time management and organisational skills
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• An ability to work independently and prioritise effectively

Position description – Associate Director, Operations 2

Leadership:

• The ability to manage, coach and guide junior staff effectively and positively
• Multi-task focus, with a capability to manage, delegate and ensure the completion of a number of competing tasks and objectives by a team
• The ability to give and receive constructive feedback in a respectful and effective manner
• The experience and capability to manage the performance of your team or a third party provider to a high level
• Align organisational vision, values and strategy with team goals, actions and performance management systems
• Embrace diversity and build a collaborative team culture
•  Adapt your leadership style to situation and context

Personal:

• A personal commitment to land conservation and/or sustainable investing
• A positive, can do attitude
• Punctual, professional and outgoing personality that likes to assist people.
• A keen attention to detail and the ability to see the “big picture”
• An ability to work independently and take ownership of role
• Flexibility towards extra hours in busy periods or when staff are on leave
• Ability to build strong relationships and work within a team environment
• Ability to adapt to change quickly and effectively. Can work in a variety of environments and communicate with different stakeholders, ranging from operational contractors to executive level committees and institutional investors
• Multi-task focus, with a capability to ensure the completion of a number of competing tasks and objectives
• Capable of maintaining positive, calm demeanour during busy periods
• Currently eligible to work in the United States
• Ability to travel as required including in the field 

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