Maintenance and Process Manager
Ballitore, Co. Kildare
Our client is a leading food and nutrition manufacturing organisation with a well-established operation in Ireland. They are seeking an experienced Maintenance and Process Manager to lead the maintenance and process optimisation functions at their Ballitore site.
Reporting to the Site Manager, this is a broad site-based engineering leadership position with responsibility for ensuring safe, reliable and efficient plant operation. The role combines maintenance leadership, equipment reliability, process optimisation and continuous improvement, making it particularly suited to an engineering professional who can operate across both technical and operational areas.
The Role
The successful candidate will lead the site's maintenance function, managing internal maintenance personnel alongside contractors and third-party service providers. They will develop and implement a proactive maintenance strategy, improve equipment reliability and ensure maintenance activities are planned and delivered to the required safety, quality and performance standards.
Alongside the maintenance remit, the role will act as the site's Process SME, leading process optimisation initiatives across manufacturing operations and using production and process data to identify opportunities to improve efficiency, quality and overall plant performance.
Key Responsibilities
Maintenance Leadership
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Lead the site's maintenance strategy, driving a proactive Preventive and Predictive Maintenance culture.
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Manage and develop the maintenance technician team, including training and technical competency development.
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Oversee reactive and preventative maintenance activities across internal teams, contractors and service providers.
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Drive improvements in equipment availability, reliability and efficiency.
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Own the site's CMMS, including maintenance planning, schedules and systems.
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Manage the Maintenance Department budget and associated expenditure.
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Conduct regular reviews of maintenance systems and implement reliability and continuous improvement initiatives.
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Ensure maintenance activities comply with Health & Safety, Quality and GMP requirements.
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Develop Project Initiation Requests and support the delivery of capital projects where required.
Process Improvement & Optimisation
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Lead process and plant optimisation across production, filling and packing operations, utilities and milk intake.
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Act as the site's Process Subject Matter Expert, providing technical support and leadership on production-related issues.
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Establish process performance standards and drive continuous improvement across manufacturing operations.
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Troubleshoot operational issues and identify opportunities to improve plant performance and KPIs.
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Analyse MES and process performance data, identifying trends and developing actionable recommendations.
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Work closely with Production and Quality teams to develop, test and implement process improvements.
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Lead and support process changes through the appropriate Change Control systems.
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Support the planning and execution of approved operational improvements.
Documentation, Compliance & Training
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Own process-related documentation, including SOPs, process documentation, logbooks and training materials.
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Complete and support Quality Management System activities including Change Controls, Event Reports and Root Cause Analysis investigations.
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Lead Change Control activities for designated process areas.
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Develop and deliver process and technical training programmes.
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Support employee development across process management, automation systems and MES platforms.
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Assess and develop the technical competency of new and existing employees.
What We're Looking For
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Third-level qualification in Engineering, Science or a related technical discipline.
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Experience in a maintenance leadership, supervisory or senior engineering position within food manufacturing, dairy, pharmaceutical or another regulated/process manufacturing environment.
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Proven experience managing maintenance activities, engineering teams and external contractors.
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Strong understanding of equipment reliability, preventive/predictive maintenance and maintenance best practice.
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Demonstrated experience with Root Cause Analysis and structured problem-solving methodologies.
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Experience applying Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, Continuous Improvement or Process Improvement techniques.
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Strong analytical capability, with the ability to interpret process and production data and translate findings into practical improvements.
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Strong technical and organisational skills with excellent attention to detail.
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Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to work effectively across Engineering, Production, Quality and other functions.
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Proven leadership capability and the ability to develop technical teams and bring people together around common objectives.
Desirable Experience
Experience with CMMS/PEMAC, MES, automation systems, process optimisation, utilities, filling/packing operations, CAPEX projects and formal Change Control processes would be advantageous.
This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced engineering professional to take ownership of both maintenance performance and process improvement within an established manufacturing operation.
