Harvesting and Marketing Director

Esplendor Florestal is an Angolan sustainable forestry company backed by the Angola Sovereign Wealth Fund. It is developing plantations to restore degraded landscapes, create a domestic timber supply and support Angola’s green economy. The initiative has planted millions of trees and combines commercial forestry with biodiversity restoration and carbon capture. It also generates rural employment, develops local skills, supports community services and plans expanded nursery capacity for future planting programmes.

Esplendor Florestal has engaged Verterra as their technical and strategic forestry partner. Verterra Ecological Engineering is an Australian consultancy combining science, engineering and practical land management to deliver sustainable environmental and commercial outcomes. Its expertise includes landscape rehabilitation, forestry, soil and water management, agriculture and natural capital.

About the role

The Harvesting and Marketing Director is responsible for planning and delivering harvesting operations and timber sales, ensuring safe, cost-effective extraction and maximised value realisation.

The role integrates operational harvesting with market engagement, logistics, product quality and revenue performance.

Key dimensions of the role

Harvest Planning and Operations

• Develop and execute annual and quarterly harvesting plans aligned with inventory, age class and market demand.
• Oversee harvesting operations (felling, extraction, loading) to ensure safety, efficiency and quality.
• Coordinate road access and maintenance activities, landing design and equipment utilisation.
• Ensure compliance with environmental and operational standards.

Logistics and Supply Chain

• Manage haulage, transport and delivery scheduling to optimise costs and reliability.
• Coordinate with buyers, depots and processing facilities.
• Monitor stock levels, dispatch volumes and supply commitments.

Marketing and Sales

• Identify and secure timber off-take agreements and new markets (sawlog, pulp, biomass).
• Negotiate pricing, contracts and delivery terms.
• Monitor market trends, pricing benchmarks and demand shifts.
• Build relationships with customers and industry participants.

Financial Performance

• Develop and manage harvesting and logistics budgets and cost controls.
• Track cost per m³ harvested, transported and sold.
• Maximise revenue through product mix, timing and market selection.

Compliance

• Attain appropriate licences and documentation required to facilitate harvest and transport operations.
• Ensure full compliance with all log inventory, tracking requirements and payments of royalties.

Contractor and Team Management

• Manage road construction and maintenance crews and contractors to ensure cost effective and reliable access to harvest sites.
• Manage harvesting and transport contractors, including performance, safety and compliance.
• Lead and develop internal harvest and haulage teams and supervisors.

Health, Safety and Environment

• Ensure safe systems of work across harvesting and transport operations.
• Implement HSE procedures, audits and corrective actions.
• Minimise environmental impacts (soil, water, residual stand damage).
• Implement road and harvest area restoration actions as required.

Reporting and Systems

• Maintain accurate harvesting, production and sales records.
• Report on volumes, costs, revenues and operational performance.
• Support integration with inventory and planning systems.

Skills and qualifications

Essential

• Degree in Forestry, Forest Engineering, or related field
• Significant experience in harvesting operations and timber marketing
• Strong commercial and negotiation capability
• Experience managing contractors and logistics
• Fluency in English and proficiency in Portuguese

Desirable

• Experience in emerging markets (e.g. Africa)
• Knowledge of plantation systems and roading
• Exposure to export markets or industrial processing

Personal Attributes

• A hands-on and credible operational leader
• Calm, disciplined and solutions-focused
• Commercially astute and performance-oriented
• Respectful, culturally aware and relationship-driven
• Highly organised and comfortable with complexity
• Committed to building systems, people and long-term enterprise value
• Motivated by both practical delivery and strategic growth

Don’t meet every single requirement? Research shows that individuals from underrepresented groups are less likely to apply for roles unless they meet every listed qualification. At Millar Cameron, we are committed to supporting our clients in building diverse and inclusive teams. If you’re enthusiastic about this role but don’t meet every requirement, we still encourage you to apply - you could be exactly what our client is looking for, either for this position or another.

Please note that due to the high volume of applications we receive, we are only able to respond to candidates who are shortlisted for the next stage of the process. We sincerely appreciate your interest and the time taken to apply.

Since 2007 Millar Cameron has specialised in sourcing leadership and keyperson talent across a number of industries, including agribusiness, international development, industrial, consumer, financial and professional services, private equity, and technology, media and telecommunications. Our mission and purpose is to positively contribute to the development of Africa, and other emerging markets, through the provision of people.