Plant Maintenance Manager at Protege Professionals

Job Summary

• The Plant Maintenance Manager will oversee the maintenance operations of a new highly automated manufacturing facility, ensuring equipment reliability, safety, and operational continuity.
• He will reports to the Director of Operations, Africa, with a dotted reporting line to the Director of Automation for technical alignment.
• The ideal candidate will have a strong background in managing automated production systems, including mechanical, electrical and pneumatic components, machine control interfaces and industrial automation environments, excellent leadership and communication skills, with demonstrated ability to build, structure and enable a competent maintenance organisation, and a commitment to ensuring safety, reliability, availability and long-term functionality of the plant.

Job Responsibilities

• Ensure the implementation and sustainability of TPM-based maintenance strategies (AM, TPM, PPM).
• Develop and maintain a skill matrix, identify, develop and improve skills gaps among team members.
• nitially deliver hands-on technical training to the maintenance team and progressively define structure and oversee sustainable training and up skilling programs aligned with plant needs and operational maturity.
• Ensure effective management of engineering spares including critical spare strategy and inventory optimisation.  Vendor and contractor management.
• Develop and monitor maintenance budgets, including tracking expenses and identifying cost-saving opportunities.
• Ensure and champion HSE and ISO requirements.
• Develop and implement a maintenance program using the industry's best practices and emerging technologies in maintenance management.
• Provide technical oversight and guidance to ensure the smooth running of the plant.  Ensure delivery of weekly maintenance and availability targets/objectives
• Ensure equipment uptime and maximum utilization capacity.
• Evaluate performance against defined KPIs and objectives, providing feedback and coaching as needed.

Job Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Facilities Management, or related field; Master's degree preferred.
• Proven experience in maintenance management (minimum 8 years), preferably in an automated manufacturing or industrial environment.
• Strong technical knowledge of mechanical, electrical, and pneumatic systems.
• Solid technical background in mechanical, electrical, and pneumatic systems applied to automated production lines.
• Demonstrated experience in plant start-up, ramp-up or stabilization phases, with progressive transition to steady-state operations.
• Strong understanding of industrial maintenance KPIs, including equipment uptime, downtime, reliability and maintenance performance indicators.
• Proven ability to manage maintenance activities in complex and resource-constrained environments, ensuring operational continuity.
• Experience managing multidisciplinary teams and working in multicultural and cross-functional environments.  Familiarity with international safety standards and industrial compliance frameworks (HSE, ISO).
• Proficiency in maintenance management systems, reporting tools, and technical documentation.
• Ability to prioritize activities, manages multiple work streams, and makes sound technical and operational decisions.
• Willingness to be directly involved during initial phases while building a structured and autonomous local maintenance organisation.

Required Skills:

• Ability to work flexible shift patterns including night shifts.
• Excellent leadership and team management skills in industrial environments.  Commitment to continuous learning and professional development.
• Solid technical understanding of automated production systems (mechanical, electrical and pneumatic).  Ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines.
• Ability to read/interpret electrical, mechanical drawings for maintenance supervision and troubleshooting.  Detail-oriented with a focus on quality and safety.
• Maintenance budgeting and cost control.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including troubleshooting and root cause analysis.  ISO/HSE compliance management.
• Vendor and contractor management.
• Maintenance management méthodologies (PPM, TPM).
• Knowledge of machine safety procedures in automated environments.
• Effective communication and interpersonal skills across technical and operational teams.