Senior Forester (Reference 297/2013)

Advertiser: Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries

Location: King William’s Town

Directorate: Forestry Management (Eastern Cape)
Salary: R212 106 per annum

Requirements:
Applicants must be in possession of a National diploma or Bachelor’s (B.Tech) degree in Forestry (you are required to furnish a credit certificate and /or statement of results). Knowledge of and experience in the forestry environment, rural development, institution building, conservation and management of indigenous forests and woodlots as well as the National Forests Act, 1998( Act 84 of 1998) (NFA), the National Veld and Forest Fire Act, 1998 (Act 101 of 1998) (NVFFA) and other environmental legislation. Good leadership, report writing and communication (verbal and written) skills. Computer skills in MS Office software (Word and Excel). A valid driver’s licence and the willingness to travel.

Duties:
The incumbent will be responsible to manage indigenous forests sustainably. Implement forest protection by ensuring that weed infestation is under control. Ensure that fire protection is executed. Implement fire protection plans and participate in the development of a fire plan. Develop and implement alien invader plant control plans and law enforcement. Recreation management by ensuring the development and maintenance of recreation infrastructure. Infrastructure management by ensuring the development and maintenance of infrastructure (buildings, roads, water supply systems and sanitation). Biodiversity management and conservation by developing and implementing the rehabilitation plan for degraded areas (forests and wetlands). Woodlot management by establishing and maintenance of the Public Finance Management Act, 1999 (Act 1 of 1999) (PFMA) structures to inform committees, draw up constitution and facilitate forestry related projects. Participate in the Integrated Development Plan (IDP) process. Implement legislation and policies. Human resource and general administration as well as management of natural resource usage.

Enquiries: Mr. T. Ngamile, tel. 043 604 5400

It is the Department’s intention to promote equity through the filling of posts, according to the set Employment Equity targets. To facilitate this process successfully, an indication of race, gender and disability status is required.

Applications:
Applications may be posted to URS Response Handling, P O Box 11506, Tierpoort, 0056 or submitted electronically via email: daff@ursonline.co.za or via fax: 086 654 1824 or online: www.ursonline.co.za or deposited in the URS Response Handling boxes at any one of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries’ offices indicated below. Enquiries: URS Response Handling, tel. 012 811 1900
Pretoria: Reception, Agriculture Place, 20 Steve Biko Street (formerly Beatrix Street), Arcadia, Pretoria, Gauteng.
Cape Town: Reception (Ground Floor), Foretrust Building, 3 Martin Hammerschlag Way, Foreshore, Cape Town, Western Cape.
Stellenbosch: Reception (Support Building), Quarantine Station, Polkadraai Road, Stellenbosch, Western Cape.
Pietermaritzburg: Reception (5th Floor), Old Mutual Building, 185 Longmarket Street, Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal.
King William’s Town: Reception (Ground Floor), Old SABC Building, 2 Hargreaves Avenue, King William’s Town, Eastern Cape.
Nelspruit: Reception (2nd Floor), 27 Brown Street, (Building), Nelspruit, Mpumalanga.
Makhado: Reception (Ground Floor), Magistrates Building, 103 Landros street, Makhado, Limpopo
Mthatha: Reception (3rd Floor), PRD Building, 2 Sutherland Street, Mthatha, Eastern Cape

Note:
Applications must be submitted on a Z83 form (click to download pdf form), obtainable from any Public Service department which must be signed (an unsigned form will disqualify an application) and should be accompanied by a recently updated, comprehensive CV as well as copies of all qualification(s) [Matric certificate must also be attached] and ID-document and Driver’s licence [where applicable]. Non-RSA Citizens / Permanent Resident Permit Holders must attach a copy of his / her Permanent Residence Permit to his/her application. Should you be in possession of a foreign qualification, it must be accompanied by an evaluation certificate from the South African Qualification Authority (SAQA). Failure to submit all the requested documents will result in the application not being considered. Correspondence will be limited to short listed candidates only. If you have not been contacted within three (3) months after the closing date of this advertisement, please accept that your application was unsuccessful. Suitable candidates will be subjected to a personnel suitability check (criminal record check, citizenship verification, financial/asset record check, qualification/study verification and previous employment verification). Successful candidates will also be subjected to security clearance processes. Where applicable, candidates will be subjected to a skills/knowledge test. Successful candidates will be appointed on a probation period of twelve (12) months. The Department reserves the right not to make appointment(s) to the advertised post(s). Applications submitted via email, fax or online must include the post title and reference number in the subject line and a scanned, signed Z83 form (an unsigned Z83 form will disqualify an application) together with all relevant documents as indicated above. Persons with disability are encouraged to apply.

Reference number: 297/2013

Closing date: 30 August 2013



WRITE A BRILLIANT CV

The first thing to remember is that we are not writing an essay. We need to convey as much relevant information as possible and not exceed 3 to 4 pages. Your CV should cover the following:

Your personal information:

  • Name and surname
  • Phone number
  • Email address
  • Physical address
  • Postal address
  • Languages
  • Driver's license

    Points to remember: It is essential that your cellphone needs to be on in case anyone phone. Make sure that you have a professonal message on your phone in case you miss a call. If you only have a home phone number then everyone living with you need to be aware of the fact that you are waiting for a call. Place a pen and paper next to the phone in casy there is a message. Do not give your spouse's cellphone number unless you will be able to speak to the caller immediately. Is your email up and running? Does the P O Box belong to you or someone else? If it belongs to (e.g.) your parents they need to be aware that you might get important information. It is not necessary to disclose your age, gender, height, weight, marital status or religion. If you do not have an email address then set one up through Hotmail or Yahoo. And as tempting as what it might do not have your macho_man@hotmail.com address on your CV. Try and register one with your name and surname only.

    Educational information:

    Start with the most recent achievement / qualification and work your way back. List the degree, diploma, matriculation or standard achieved as well as the year and institution. Then move on the one just before that (e.g. first your degree and then matric). There is no need to list all the subjects you took (unless it is relevant). However, it is crucial to list all your qualifications - whether they were from academic institutions or not.

    It is important to list all of your achievements while studying, e.g. competitions won, awards received, provincial colours achieved, orders of merit.

    List all the leadership positions you served in, e.g. class prefect, captain of a team, chairperson of a committee.

    End this section of with your extracurricular activities that you participated in, e.g. sport, hobbies.

    Points to remember: The older you are the less important your school information will become. For instance: You might only want to mention that you matriculated, where and when and one or two major achievements. It is also not necessary to show your grades or marks achieed. It is also best to leave out any information on political activities or other controversial topics. However, if you know that the recruiter is looking for someone who participated in certain political groups then you might want to mention it.

    Work experience:

    Start with the most recent position and work your way back. List the title of the position, the name of the company and your length of service. Below this you can give a description of your duties (in bullet-point format). It is also important to list any projects that you worked on. Be specific and use numbers where possible, e.g. Managed 32 staff members and a R1 million budget.

    It is again important to list all of your achievements while working, e.g. competitions won, awards received.

    List all the leadership positions you served in, e.g. managerial or supervisory roles, chairperson of a committee.

    End this section of with any additional things that you use to do for the company, e.g. editor of the company newsletter, organiser of the year end function.

    Points to remember: Always look at the information and ask whether it is relevant. There is no need to supply the contact details of previous employers nor the reason why you left their employment.

    Computer skills:

    The ability to work on a computer has developed into a key skill. List all the programs that you are able to work with as well as your proficiency level.

    Courses:

    List all the courses, workshops, seminars, etc that you attended only if it is relevant to the position you are applying for and if you haven't mentioned it before. It is always a good idea to list the topic, institution, facilitator / guest speaker and date.

    Activities and Interests:

    Remember that most people enjoy listening to music, going to the movies, socialising with friends, reading, etc. Unless you do someting special, or relevant to the position, rather leave this section out.

    References:

    Mention that "References are available on request". It is important that your references are aware of the fact that they might be contacted.