Forester (Forester)

Full Time

  Hancock Forest Management, Inc.

  Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada

Hancock Forest Management, Inc. (“HFM”) and Hancock Farmland Services, Inc. (“HFS”) are wholly owned subsidiaries of Hancock Natural Resource Group (“HNRG”).  HFM and HFS are property management companies that serve global institutional investors through related-party investment management groups (Hancock Timber Resource Group and Hancock Agricultural Investment Group) and third-party private investors. HFM oversees the timber development and harvesting operations for approximately 3.8million acres of timberland across the USA and Canada. HFS oversees the agricultural assets and operations for approximately 0.3 million acres of farmland throughout the USA. Collectively, HFM and HFS represent the North American property management platform of HNRG.

Hancock Natural Resource Group (HNRG) founded in 1985, is a registered investment adviser and wholly owned subsidiary of John Hancock/Manulife Financial Corporation. HNRG is based in Boston, Massachusetts and is comprised of two core businesses; Hancock Timber Resource Group (HTRG) which develops and manages timberland investments and Hancock Agricultural Investment Group (HAIG) which develops and manages farmland investments. As of June 30, 2018, HNRG managed USD 14.4 billion of timberland and farmland, compromising over 6.3 million acres located in the United States, Canada, and Australia.  HNRG is committed to responsible investing and sustainable management of its client’s assets, including the ongoing reduction of environmental impact, and improvement of sustainability and stewardship performance.

General Directive: Responsible for management, coordination and inspection of all operational timberland management activities within assigned area. Tasks are to be performed in a team environment involving the local operational staff as well as Administration, Accounting, Safety, Stewardship, Resource Support Team, Hancock Timber Resource Group and property management consultants.

Scope:

  • The area of management encompasses roughly 21,000 hectares of private Managed Forest on Vancouver Island.
  • Develop and maintain relationships with regulatory agencies, concerned stake holders, HFM staff, and HTRG staff.
  • Develop and maintain relationships with silviculture, layout, and harvesting contractors.

Specific Duties

  • Maintain a safe working environment; enthusiastically and proactively promote safety among HFM teams, contractors, recreation users and visitors.
  • Ensure client fiduciary obligations are maintained.
  • Plan and implement harvest unit development and lead a team of layout consultants.
  • Plan and implement all silviculture activities in conjunction with the larger HFM team’s efforts across HTRG ownerships including annual budgets and forecasts.
  • Assist in management of harvesting and road construction contractors.
  • Assist in planning and securing non-timber revenue sources in alignment with HTRG objectives including recreation, land sales, surface use revenue and other opportunistic sources.
  • Assist in the implementation and compliance of SFI forest certification program.
  • Maintain positive and proactive stakeholder relationships.
  • Ensure compliance with Manulife, HTRG and HFM policies and procedures.
  • Active and involved participant in the Vancouver Island safety program.
  • Support HNRG groups such as Acquisitions, Client Account Group, etc.
  • Special projects as requested or needed.
  • GIS duties as assigned.

Requirements:

  • A bachelor’s degree or technical diploma in Forestry or related field.
  • Registered or eligible for registration with the Association of British Columbia Forest Professionals.
  • A minimum of 2 years of coastal forest management experience is desirable.
  • Familiarity with the ESRI suite of GIS software.
  • Knowledge of Microsoft computer software, with emphasis in Excel, Access, and Word preferred.
  • Knowledgeable in safety related management.
  • Excellent relationship, interpersonal and communication skills.
  • Strong leadership capabilities to manage and develop contractor and stakeholder relationships.
  • Strong propensity to work in a team environment.
  • Highly motivated and entrepreneurial.

Hancock Natural Resource Group, Inc. and its subsidiaries are committed to maintaining a work environment that is free from the influence of illegal drugs and alcohol. As a result, all current and perspective Hancock employees are subject to be drug and alcohol tested in accordance with the Policy and applicable law.

Hancock Natural Resource Group (HNRG) is committed to being an equal opportunity employer.  The Company is committed to employ, train, promote and compensate individuals based on job-related qualifications and ability without regard to race, color, gender identity, disability, sexual orientation, religion, national origin, age, veteran or marital status.

If you are ready to unleash your potential it’s time to start your career with Manulife/John Hancock.

About Manulife
Manulife Financial Corporation is a leading international financial services group that helps people make their decisions easier and lives better. We operate primarily as John Hancock in the United States and Manulife elsewhere. We provide financial advice, insurance, as well as wealth and asset management solutions for individuals, groups and institutions. At the end of 2017, we had about 35,000 employees, 73,000 agents, and thousands of distribution partners, serving more than 26 million customers. As of September 30, 2018, we had over $1.1 trillion (US$863 billion) in assets under management and administration, and in the previous 12 months we made $27.6 billion in payments to our customers.

Our principal operations are in Asia, Canada and the United States where we have served customers for more than 100 years. With our global headquarters in Toronto, Canada, we trade as 'MFC' on the Toronto, New York, and the Philippine stock exchanges and under '945' in Hong Kong.

Manulife is committed to supporting a culture of diversity and accessibility across the organization.   It is our priority to remove barriers to provide equal access to employment.  A Human Resources representative will consult with applicants contacted to participate at any stage of the recruitment process who request an accommodation. Information received regarding the accommodation needs of applicants will be addressed confidentially.