Planning Manager

James People; Taupo; On-site; NZD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Company vehicle

Insurance

Job summary

New Zealand Forest Managers (NZFM) in Taupō District seeks a Planning Manager to own forest planning and the technical foundation across inventory, harvesting schedules and environmental compliance. You will lead a skilled team and influence long-term outcomes for client forests.

You will shadow the current PM into 2027, supported by experienced colleagues while ensuring excellence in a role that combines strategic oversight with practical delivery in a dynamic forestry environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor of Forestry Science or equivalent qualification with relevant forest management experience.
• Sound understanding of forest planning, commercial, operational and regulatory factors in plantation forests.
• Ability to lead and develop a planning team and manage multiple priorities.

Responsibilities

• Own Forest & Harvest Planning from inventories to harvesting schedules and carbon/EMS considerations.
• Lead the Planning Team of four direct reports with support and direction.
• Manage Environmental & Regulatory aspects, including consents and liaison with authorities and iwi.
• Drive Stakeholder relationships with forest owners, clients, contractors and regulators.
• Assist with financial planning and reporting for operations and clients.

Skills

Forestry planning

Leadership

Budgeting

Stakeholder management

Education

Bachelor of Forestry Science

Job description

Jora New Zealand will close on 9th September 2026. Thank you for being with us, we are cheering you on as you continue your career journey.

About New Zealand Forest Managers (NZFM)

For over 36 years, NZFM has provided professional forest management services to commercial forest owners. Our services cover the full forestry cycle, including forest establishment and development, protection, planning, harvesting and log marketing.

NZFM manages a diverse portfolio of forests, with a strong presence in the Taupō District and operations across the North Island. We act on behalf of forest owners, managing their forests and maintaining strong relationships with owners, contractors, regulators and the customers who purchase their logs.

You’ll notice as soon as you walk in the door of the Tūrangi office that the team are genuinely down-to-earth people who are passionate about doing good work and enjoying it. There’s no pretence, no egos, just good people who care about what they do and the value they create.

About the role

The Planning Manager is one of the most technically important roles at NZFM. You’ll own the planning and technical foundation that underpins every forest we manage - from inventory and harvest scheduling through to environmental compliance and reporting, leading the skilled team that delivers it. Because these decisions directly shape the long-term performance of our clients’ forests, this is very much a senior professional forester’s role.

NZFM is seeking a new Planning Manager as part of an internal transition. You’ll be well-supported into the role, shadowing the current PM into 2027, so we can ensure continued excellence in what is a critical role both internally and for the clients who depend on it.

Core responsibilities for the role

• Forest & Harvest Planning: From Forest and Estate Management Plans through to preharvest and mid-rotation inventories, log scaling and forest records/mapping, you’ll own the data and systems that keep NZFM's forests accurate and well understood. You’ll also lead the formulation of harvesting strategies and allowable cut - developing the Forest Resource Description, running estate modelling, and preparing harvesting schedules that set the business up for the years ahead.
• Leading the Planning Team: You’ll have 4 direct reports - Environmental Planner, Forest Information Analyst, Forest Planner and Resource Analyst - and you’ll make sure each of them has the support and direction they need to do great work.
• Environmental & Regulatory Management: You’ll manage resource consent applications, submissions on regional and district plans, and liaison with regional/district authorities and iwi - plus oversight of the company’s EMS/SFMS and Forest Certification status, carbon modelling and ETS accounting where forests are registered, and risk identification under NZFM’s Health & Safety programme.
• Stakeholder Management: You’ll be the face of NZFM’s planning function for forest owners, clients, contractors, authorities and iwi - building the kind of trust that keeps relationships (and forests) growing over the long term.
• Financial Planning & Reporting: You’ll assist with the physical and financial planning of all operations and coordinate budgeting and reporting for clients - making sure the numbers behind the forest are as solid as the plans themselves.

What you can expect

• A strong salary package, including company vehicle and insurance.
• Direct support from the outgoing Planning Manager, with a shadow period running into 2027.
• An incredible group of industry experts to use as sounding boards while you pick up the role.
• Respectful and supportive General Manager and team.
• The main office is in Tūrangi and is an opportunity to live and work in a stunning part of the country.

Are you the one we are looking for?

This role requires a broad set of skills, listed below. Does this sound like you?

• You’re professionally qualified: A Bachelor of Forestry Science degree or an equivalent relevant tertiary qualification, together with suitable forest management experience. You bring a sound understanding of forest planning and the commercial, operational and regulatory factors involved in managing plantation forests.
• You’re decisive: You’re comfortable making the call, even with incomplete information or under pressure, and you back your judgement.
• You’re numerate and good with budgets: Numbers don't scare you. You’re confident planning, forecasting and reporting on the financial side of forest operations, and you can explain the "why" behind them.
• You’re a systems thinker: You see how the pieces connect - inventories, harvest schedules, budgets, compliance - and you build and improve the processes that keep it all working together.
• You manage relationships with skill: You connect easily at every level - forest owners, contractors, regulators, iwi, and your own team - and you understand each brings different interests to the table. You listen well, know how to triage and defuse conflict before it escalates, and you can synthesise competing views into a message that lands clearly with whoever needs to hear it.
• You’re values-driven and straight-up: No pretence, no politics - just upfront, honest, collaborative and proactive. You’re just as comfortable holding your own with a demanding client as you are with a regulator, and you bring people with you rather than talking over them.
• You bring leadership experience: As a leader you will have shown you have the attributes described in Patrick Lencioni’s book, The Ideal Team Player. You will be Humble, Hungry and Smart, and know how to get the best from a team.

Eligibility

To be considered for this role, you must have the current legal right to work in New Zealand at the time of application. This means you are either:

• A New Zealand citizen or permanent resident, or
• The holder of a current visa that entitles you to work in New Zealand for the duration of the role (full time/permanent).

We cannot support visa applications or sponsorships for this position. Evidence of your right to work will be requested as part of the recruitment process.