Director of Operations, Pine

J.D. Irving, Limited; Dixfield (ME); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

J.D. Irving, Limited is seeking a Director of Pine Operations to oversee the operations and productivity of pine mills located in Dixfield, Maine. This role requires strong leadership to ensure safety, quality, and financial targets are met while managing resources and guiding strategic direction.

The ideal candidate will have post-secondary education in engineering or a related field, along with significant management experience in the forest products industry. Relocation assistance is provided for candidates outside the area.

Qualifications

• 7–10 years of management experience within forest products.
• Solid budget and business-planning experience.
• Ability to lead change with multiple stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Ensure high safety standards are maintained.
• Manage productivity and cost reductions in operations.
• Lead budgeting and forecasting for the sites.

Skills

Analytical skills

Problem-solving

Leadership

Budget management

Education

Post-secondary education in Engineering or equivalent

Master’s or MBA (requirement)

Job description

Director of Pine Operations

Reports to the General Manager of Pine and Harwood Sawmills. Responsible for the operation and productivity of Pine Mills in Dixfield, Maine; Doaktown, New Brunswick; and the value‑added plant in Cobleskill, New York. The preferred location is Dixfield, Maine and relocation support will be provided for out‑of‑area candidates.

Responsibilities

Safety

• Maintain the highest standards of safety, providing strong leadership and ensuring the team follows all policies, procedures, and regulations.
• Become knowledgeable about high‑risk areas of the pine mills and ensure action plans are in place to mitigate risk.
• Chair the bi‑annual safety management review meetings at your sites.
• Ensure resources are deployed to meet improvement goals on your Safety Scorecard.

Strategy

• Participate in the development of the pine mills operations strategy.
• Identify resources required to meet the goals, including prioritizing CAPX requests.
• Ensure mill and value‑added managers understand their expectations, roles, and responsibilities to deliver on the business strategy and align site level activities with division goals.
• Identify talent internally and externally, develop succession plans for key roles, and develop high‑potential talent for future positions.

Operations

• Manage and identify opportunities to improve productivity, reduce cost, and maximize the quality, value, and recovery of wood products produced across the pine mills and the value‑added facility.
• Ensure a daily management system is in place and mills are delivering results.
• Engage with mill leadership teams to ensure sites exceed budgeted targets.
• Provide leadership on the maintenance audit, ensure it is implemented and improvement plans are in place to reach a 3.0 on Tier 1 measures, identifying resource requirements and synergies where possible.
• Prioritize high‑risk areas and allocate resources to address risks, establishing contingency plans.
• Provide clear direction and oversight of maintenance projects and prioritize work.
• Deploy continuous improvement resources where ROI is greatest.
• Oversee environmental audit, understand all risk areas, and ensure sites adhere to best practices.

Quality

• Engage managers to deliver on recovery and grade targets.
• Ensure customer delivery expectations are met.
• Ensure sites achieve a minimum of 3.0 on all areas of the quality audit; review audit parameters and adjust as required.
• Partner with Woodlands to link log quality with lumber value (stain, rot, etc.).
• Deal with customer complaints promptly, linking corrective actions to the quality audit.

Other Duties

• Lead budgeting for sites.
• Lead period forecasts and maintain +/-10% accuracy in forecast submissions.
• Maintain controls and processes to manage inventory accuracy, preventing gaps that could expose the company to theft or fraud.
• Utilize JDI systems and data to drive effective business decisions and improve profitability.

Qualifications

• Post‑secondary education in Engineering, Manufacturing, Operations Management, Business or equivalent; Master’s level education or willingness to complete an MBA with the company is required.
• 7–10 years of management experience within forest products.
• Solid budget and business‑planning experience.
• Superior analytical and problem‑solving skills.
• Ability to facilitate and lead change with multiple stakeholders, including business leaders and operators.
• Demonstrated ownership and capacity to manage multiple priorities in a fast‑paced environment.
• Driven, self‑starter with pragmatic thinking.
• Ability to use data to drive solutions.