Woodlands Operations Manager

Job Title: Woodlands Operations Manager
Location: Truro, Nova Scotia
TP-JDS-9844
Meridia Recruitment is proud to partner with Irving Woodlands in their search for a Woodlands Operations Manager. This is a key leadership role responsible for overseeing harvesting, trucking, and road construction activities within a complex environment supporting regional mill operations.

Role Description

The Woodlands Operations Manager will take ownership of day-to-day woodlands operations in Nova Scotia, ensuring reliable fibre flow from harvest through to mill delivery. The role leads a small team of supervisors responsible for harvesting and trucking operations and works closely with mill leadership and regional stakeholders to align production with demand.
This is a highly operational, hands-on leadership role in a fast-paced environment supported by a large contractor network and continuous production activity. You will be responsible for production planning, scheduling, KPI tracking, and overall operational performance across multiple harvesting systems and trucking operations.

The successful candidate will work directly with harvesting crews, trucking operators, contractors, and landowners, ensuring safe, efficient, and cost-effective execution of operations. A key focus of the role is strengthening and growing the contractor base to support long-term operational capacity.

Your Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in forestry, woodlands operations, construction, transportation/logistics, or a related heavy operational environment
• Bachelor's Degree or College Diploma in a relevant field, such as Forestry, Natural Resources, or a related discipline.
• At least 5 years of supervisory experience, demonstrating effective leadership and people management skills.
• Proven leadership experience managing field-based, production-focused teams.
• Experience working with contractors and mixed workforce models is an asset.
• Ability to manage scheduling, production planning, and KPI-driven performance.
• Strong leadership presence with credibility in hands-on operational settings.
• Valid driver's license and willingness to travel and work in a dynamic and sometimes remote work environment.

This is an opportunity to join J.D. Irving's Woodlands operations, a well-established and evolving forestry network in Atlantic Canada with significant investment in infrastructure and capability. The successful candidate will play a critical role in improving operational performance, expanding contractor capacity, and ensuring long-term fibre supply reliability.

To express interest in this opportunity please apply online by clicking "Apply Now" below.
For more information contact Thomas Pugh, Partner, at 902-818-4506 and [email protected] or Heather Simmons, Consultant, at 902-421-2335 and [email protected]. If you require accommodation to participate in the recruitment process, please let us know.
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