Don’t come for an easy career. Stay for a rewarding one.
Santos is a global energy company committed to increasingly cleaner energy and fuels production, with operations across Australia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste and North America.
We are currently PNG’s largest single investor and most active explorer, operating all the country’s producing oil fields and holding an extensive appraisal and exploration portfolio. Our aspirations and strategies reflect our genuine commitment to making a meaningful contribution to the lives of Papua New Guineans.
At Santos, our commitment is to be a global leader in the transition to cleaner energy and clean fuels, by helping the world decarbonise to reach net-zero emissions in an affordable and sustainable way.
Santos is one of Australia’s biggest domestic gas suppliers, a leading Asia Pacific LNG supplier and is committed to supplying the critical fuels such as oil and gas in a more sustainable way through decarbonising projects such as the Moomba CCS project.
For more than 65 years, Santos has been working in partnership with local communities, providing local jobs and business opportunities, safely and sustainably developing its natural gas resources, and powering industries and households.
The Markham Valley Afforestation/Reforestation (MVAR) project is managed by PNG Biomass Limited, a subsidiary of Santos. MVAR project is one of Santos’ flagship nature-based carbon initiatives, located in the Markham Valley, Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea.
Spanning a 160-kilometre corridor, the project cultivates mixed native tree species to create a biodiverse conservation forest on previously degraded grasslands. With a ten-year history and a target to sequester over eight million tonnes of CO₂, MVAR is at the forefront of Santos’ climate transition strategy.
What you’ll do:
We are seeking an experienced and technically strong Silviculture Lead to oversee all plantation establishment, Nursery and management activities across the MVAR project.
Based in Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea, you will lead a large operational team and drive excellence across safety, production, quality and cost performance. This is a senior leadership role for a proven forestry professional who thrives in remote, complex environments and is committed to delivering results.
As Silviculture Lead, you will lead all silviculture operations across plantation establishment, maintenance and management programs. Your key responsibilities include:
1. Safety & Risk Leadership- Belive in Zero
- Accountable for championing and embedding our Believe in Zero culture to achieve incident-free operations.
- Own HSE, security and fire management: ensure procedures, emergency response plans, training, equipment readiness and compliance are in place and audited.
- Lead incident investigations, risk assessments, and safety governance reporting.
2. Operational Excellence & Planning
- Own and deliver annual, monthly, long-term and 5-year plantation management plans and operational schedules.
- Accountable for all silviculture operations: site selection, land preparation, planting, fertilizing, weeding, pruning, thinning, inventory and trials to achieve >85% survival and growth targets.
- Conduct strategic site inspections, enforce forestry best practice, and drive quality assurance across all compartments.
- Ensure all activities are delivered safely, on time, within budget and to Gold Standard quality standards.
3. Financial & Resource Management
- Full accountability for silviculture budgets, cost forecasting, work orders, procurement and resource utilisation.
- Drive cost optimisation, productivity improvement and operational efficiency initiatives.
- Oversee mechanical services, nursery supply, and contractor resourcing.
4. People Leadership
- Lead, coach and develop a large operational team including Supervisors, Operators and Local Field Crews.
- Build workforce capability through training plans, competency assessments, coaching and succession planning.
- Set clear KPIs, conduct performance reviews and foster a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.
5. Stakeholder, Governance & Reporting
- Lead strategic engagement with customary landowners, communities, contractors and government stakeholders to secure social license to operate.
- Collaborate with Forest Technical Services, Mechanical, Community Affairs and Sustainability teams.
- Own Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) – develop, review, implement and ensure 100% acknowledgement and enforcement.
- Ensure compliance with Company policies, PNG Forestry regulations, Environmental Management System and Gold Standard Principles & Criteria.
- Prepare and present high-quality weekly/monthly operational and board-level reports.
What You'll Bring
To be successful in this role, you will have:
- Bachelor's Degree or higher in Forestry, Natural Resource Management or related field.
- Demonstrated experience in plantation forestry/silviculture, with experience in a senior leadership role managing large remote teams.
- Deep technical expertise in tropical plantation establishment, growth dynamics, maintenance and production systems.
- Proven track record operating within Gold Standard-certified or equivalent frameworks.
- Demonstrated expertise in operational planning, large-scale budgeting, cost control and contractor management.
- Exceptional stakeholder engagement – proven ability to build trust with PNG customary landowners and communities.
- Strong leadership, people development and change management capability.
- Ability to work in remote field conditions.
- Advanced analytical, problem-solving and reporting skills.
- Advanced Microsoft Office skills – professional reports and presentations.
- Valid PNG Class 6 (or equivalent) Driver's Licence.
What you’ll get:
Here, you’ll be amongst high-calibre people and get to work on industry-leading projects. We don’t shy away from solving tough problems at pace. We like it that way. You can expect to be challenged and supported; to learn and grow.
As a subsidiary of Santos, we’re committed to creating a workplace where everyone can thrive. This means a place that is safe; where you are valued and respected, and your contribution is recognised and appreciated. Join us, and you’ll play a role in this too.
What you’re part of:
Our purpose is to restore degraded and underutilised grassland and sequester carbon to help create a better world for everyone.
Everywhere you turn, you will be part of a team contributing to that single uniting purpose. Because it is not only what you plant, but how you grow it — you will also contribute to improving the living standards of the communities across the Morobe Province of Papua New Guinea, building enduring and respectful relationships with landholders that serve a generation. It is about each of us, and all of us — together.
How to Apply
Applications must be submitted via the online recruitment system before COB 02 11 2026.
A requirement of this role is that you will need to have in place the legal work rights for PNG to apply.