The Supervisory Board of the State Specialized Forest Enterprise «Forests of Ukraine» (hereinafter referred to as SE «Forests of Ukraine» or the Enterprise) announces the commencement of the competitive selection process for the position of Chief Executive Officer of SE “Forests of Ukraine».

SE «Forests of Ukraine» is one of the largest state-owned natural resource companies in Europe and a strategic enterprise of Ukraine, managing state forest resources while maintaining a balance between economic efficiency, environmental responsibility and the public interests of the state.

Established as part of the large-scale reform of Ukraine’s forestry sector, the Enterprise consolidated state forestry assets into a single national management system, laying the foundation for the introduction of modern corporate governance approaches, improved operational efficiency, digitalisation of processes and transparency in the use of state resources.

Alongside its commercial objectives, the Enterprise performs important state functions in the areas of environmental safety, protection of natural resources, forest fire prevention, support for the country’s defence capability and restoration of forest areas damaged by hostilities.

The Chief Executive Officer of SE «Forests of Ukraine» is a strategic leader of national scale, capable of effectively managing one of Ukraine’s largest state assets and one of the largest forestry companies in Europe.

The mission of the Chief Executive Officer is to ensure the effective functioning and strategic development of SE «Forests of Ukraine», combining a business approach to management with responsible delivery of the Enterprise’s public mission. The role holder ensures implementation of the strategy, efficient use of resources, development of a professional team, improved operational and financial efficiency, and the introduction of the principles of integrity and modern corporate governance.

• Managerial experience: a total of at least 5 years, meeting at least one of the following criteria:
  • As a Director, Member of the board or Head of a large functional area (Operations, Finance, Commercial Director, etc.) in a large company with complex territorial distributed management structure and/or international or regionally extensive structure;
  • As a Head of a central executive body or other senior leadership position in a state authority that involved management of significant resources, budget and extensive reporting structure.
  * Corporate and public sector experience are evaluated equally based on authority, scale, and results.
• Strategic experience: practical experience in the development and implementation of strategically significant projects for enterprises, institutions or organizations, central executive authorities, international organizations, and/or organizations responsible for the management or implementation of international projects aimed at enhancing operational efficiency and financial performance.
• Financial management: practical experience in managing budget and financial performance of an organization (for private sector candidates – management of enterprise profitability; for public sector candidates – budget management).
• Operational efficiency: confirmed experience in improving operational and/or financial efficiency and ensuring sustainable growth of activity results.
• Corporate standards: understanding of modern principles of corporate governance, compliance, internal control, risk management and anti-corruption.
• Stakeholder relations: understanding of interaction features with Supervisory Boards, government authorities, regulators, international organizations, financial institutions and other key stakeholders.
• ESG & Sustainable development: understanding of sustainable development principles, environmental responsibility, ESG approaches, and modern international practices in natural resource management.
• Crisis management: confirmed experience in crisis management, ensuring business continuity and making management decisions under conditions of uncertainty and increased risks.
• Team leadership: understanding of the principles of building high-performing leadership teams, developing leaders, succession planning, and implementing modern human resource management practices.
• Education and language: higher education at the Master’s degree level or Specialist’s educational and qualification level. Proficiency in the Ukrainian language (for citizens of Ukraine).

• Practical experience in implementing corporate governance principles, compliance frameworks, internal controls, risk management systems, and anti-corruption practices.
• Practical experience in implementing ERP systems, automating and digitizing key business processes, management reporting, and data-driven management.
• Practical experience in building high-performing management teams, developing leaders, creating a talent pipeline and introducing modern people management practices.
• Additional education in business or management; completion of international executive development programmes.
• Command of English.

The preliminary selection of candidates for the position of Chief Executive Officer of the Enterprise will be conducted with the involvement of the executive search firm TEDVISORS LLC.

Candidates who successfully pass the preliminary stages of the selection process may be invited to participate in subsequent assessment stages, which will include: interviews, evaluation of managerial and leadership competencies, presentation of their strategic vision for the development of the Enterprise, as well as a comprehensive review of their business reputation, integrity, and reliability.

Only candidates shortlisted for the subsequent stages of the competition will be notified of the outcome of the review and invited to continue participating in the selection process.

After the competitive selection process, the Supervisory Board of the State Specialized Forest Enterprise “Forests of Ukraine” will make a decision regarding the candidate to be appointed as General Director of the State Specialized Forest Enterprise “Forests of Ukraine”.