Vegetation Management Director

Dairyland Power Cooperative; Rushford (MN); On-site; USD 93,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

Life insurance

401K

Retirement pension

Paid time off

Holidays

Job summary

MiEnergy Cooperative is hiring a Vegetation Management Manager to lead strategic vegetation programs across Allamakee-Clayton and Heartland cooperatives. You will align safety, reliability, and community engagement while managing crews, contractors, and data systems.

The role emphasizes oversight of budgets, performance metrics, OSHA/NESC/ANSI/DOT compliance, and collaboration with Engineering & Operations to improve system reliability.

Qualifications

• Associate degree in Forestry, Arboriculture, Environmental Science or ISA certification is required.
• ISA or Utility Arborist certification with 5+ years of line clearance/vegetation management experience preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead MiEnergy’s, Allamakee-Clayton’s and Heartlands Vegetation Management Programs, ensuring safe, reliable line clearance operations across all service territories.
• Develop and execute long-term vegetation management strategies to reduce outages and improve system reliability.
• Manage vegetation contractors, including contract performance, billing review, and compliance with safety, environmental, and quality standards.
• Supervise and support the Vegetation Management Crew while providing leadership to contractors and field teams.
• Oversee vegetation management systems and tools to plan, schedule, track, and report program activities.
• Establish and monitor performance metrics (e.g., cycle completion, outage reduction, safety, and productivity) to drive continuous improvement.
• Conduct field audits and inspections to ensure adherence to OSHA, NESC, ANSI, DOT, and environmental regulations.
• Partner with Engineering & Operations departments to integrate vegetation data into system planning and reliability efforts.
• Lead risk tree assessment and line patrol initiatives to proactively identify and mitigate vegetation-related hazards.
• Develop and manage the annual vegetation management budget, ensuring cost effective use of resources.
• Support contractor procurement processes, including development, bid evaluation, and contract administration.
• Serve as the escalation point for complex member concerns, delivering thoughtful and professional resolutions.
• Lead community outreach and education efforts related to tree planting best practices and vegetation management programs.
• Promote a strong culture of safety, accountability, and continuous improvement across all vegetation management activities.

Skills

GIS

MS Office

Tree biology

Education

Associate Degree in Forestry/Arboriculture/Environmental Science

ISA Certification

Utility Arborist Certification

Job description

MiEnergy Cooperative is hiring a Vegetation Management Manager to lead strategic vegetation programs across Allamakee-Clayton and Heartland cooperatives. You will align safety, reliability, and community engagement while managing crews, contractors, and data systems.

The role emphasizes oversight of budgets, performance metrics, OSHA/NESC/ANSI/DOT compliance, and collaboration with Engineering & Operations to improve system reliability.