Manager, Forestry Maintenance & Operations Save job Remove saved job

Job Summary

Reporting to the Manager of Forestry, you’ll oversee the care and maintenance of trees, and Forestry assets across streets, parks, and City-owned properties. You’ll lead both in-house crews and contractors to deliver top-quality arboricultural and boulevard vegetation management services—balancing proactive and reactive maintenance, emergency response and preparedness, and long-term sustainability. From managing contracts and ensuring quality control to driving innovation and continuous improvement, your work will directly enhance the beauty, safety, and environmental health of our community.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Directing and leading the planning and delivery of arboricultural and boulevard vegetation management services by the unit in a safe, efficient, and effective manner.
• Overseeing planning, coordination, scheduling and supervision of contractors, personnel, equipment, supplies, and materials to ensure the most efficient and effective use.
• Setting strategic direction, priorities, targets and objectives for the unit, including milestones, timelines, and performance measures, consistent with corporate goals.
• Overseeing the planning, development, tendering, and administration of contracts.
• Overseeing Forestry’s emergency response and preparedness for extreme weather events and critical incidents affecting forestry assets.
• Acting as Incident Commander and leading incident response teams.
• Managing, motivating, mentoring, and training assigned staff, including recruitment and hiring, scheduling, assigning, and reviewing of work.
• Authorizing and coordinating standby, overtime, and leave requests.
• Determining staff training and development needs, along with monitoring and evaluating staff performance.
• Providing coaching, performance management, and taking disciplinary action when necessary.
• Developing, recommending and administering the annual operating and capital budget for the unit.
• Ensuring that the unit’s expenditures are controlled and maintained within approved budget.
• Developing and implementing strategic plans, policies, procedures, service standards, service level agreements, and strategic initiatives.
• Evaluating operational effectiveness and efficiency, monitors performance, and foster a culture of continuous improvement and operational excellence.
• Ensuring the timely delivery of quality customer service and resolutions to service requests, complaints, and inquiries from the public, elected officials, or other City staff.
• Developing, preparing, and submitting correspondence, reports, briefing notes, memoranda, and presentations for leadership and Council.
• Cultivating effective working relationships with internal and external partners, including members of Council, staff, other departments, divisions, and sections, and the public.
• Representing the Division at public meetings, committees of Council, inter-divisional, and inter-departmental meetings.
• Directing, participating and/or contributing to working groups, committees, task forces, and project teams.
• Developing and fostering a strong culture of health and safety, ensuring compliance with all applicable legislation and policies (i.e. Occupational Health and Safety Act).
• Ensuring quality of work and services meets legislated, corporate, departmental, divisional, and section standards.

Skills and Qualifications

• Post-secondary degree/diploma (Master’s Degree would be an asset) in urban forestry, arboriculture, environmental science or related discipline.
• 5-7 years experience in urban forestry and arboricultural operations in a municipal setting, including a minimum of 5 years of supervisory experience
• Certification as a Certified Arborist and Tree Risk Assessment Qualification with the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA). (ISA Certified Arborist Municipal Specialist or ISA Board Certified Master Arborist would be an asset.)
• Must hold a valid Ontario Class G Driver’s License or higher with an acceptable driving record.
• Must be willing to obtain a recent driver’s abstract at your own expense
• Participation in the Forestry on-call program, including working overtime and providing coverage for statutory holidays as required in accordance with operational requirements