Plant Manager - New Energy from Waste

Astute Technical Recruitment Ltd is seeking a Plant Manager for a new Waste-to-Energy facility in Irvine, UK. The role involves overseeing safe and compliant operations, leading a team, managing budgets, and ensuring adherence to environmental regulations. Candidates should have 10-15 years of experience in power generation or Energy from Waste, with strong leadership and operational skills. A relevant engineering degree is preferred.
Astute's Power Team are working with the developers of a major Waste-to-Energy power generation project in Scotland. As part of the operational leadership structure for the facility, we are looking to recruit a Plant Manager to take responsibility for the safe, efficient and compliant operation of the site.

The new build facility, located in Irvine, North Ayrshire, when complete can produce ~17MW of power through the incineration of ~180,000 tonnes of waste per year. This project is expected to shortly enter commissioning phase and be operational in 2027.

The Plant Manager will lead plant operations, maintenance coordination and overall operational performance while ensuring the facility operates in full compliance with environmental permits and regulatory requirements.

If you're interested and have the right skillset then please apply.

Responsibilities and duties of the Plant Manager role:
Reporting to the Project Director, you will be responsible for:
• Overall management of the Energy from Waste facility, ensuring safe, efficient and compliant operations
• Leading and developing a team of operators, technicians and engineers
• Ensuring the plant operates in compliance with environmental permits, legislation and company HSE procedures
• Overseeing plant operations and maintenance across key systems including waste handling, boiler & combustion systems, steam turbine generator, flue gas treatment and balance of plant
• Monitoring plant performance and KPIs including waste throughput, generation output and plant availability
• Managing operational budgets and coordinating planned outages and maintenance activities
• Liaising with regulators, grid operators and waste suppliers where required
• Driving continuous improvement and optimisation of plant performance

Professional qualifications
We are looking for someone with the following:
• Ideally qualified with a Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical, Electrical or Chemical Engineering (or equivalent)
• HNC / HND / ONC Engineering qualifications will also be considered with relevant experience
• IOSH or NEBOSH would be advantageous

Personal skills
The Plant Manager role would suit someone who has:
• 10-15 years' experience within power generation or Energy from Waste facilities
• At least 5 years' experience in a senior leadership or plant management role
• Strong knowledge of power plant operations, maintenance and asset management
• Experience managing multidisciplinary engineering and operational teams
• Excellent knowledge of UK health, safety and environmental legislation
• Strong stakeholder management skills and experience working with regulators and external partners
• A proactive approach to operational improvement and performance management

Salary and benefits of the Plant Manager role
• Highly competitive salary (ask for further details)
• Bonus Opportunity
• Pension
• Comprehensive benefits
• Opportunity to join a brand new Energy from Waste Plant

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Astute People are acting as an employment agency in relation to this vacancy. We do not discriminate on the grounds of age, race, gender, disability, creed or sexual orientation and comply with all relevant UK legislation. We encourage applications from individuals from all backgrounds but candidates must be able to demonstrate their ability to work in the UK. Astute is also committed to the government's Disability Confident Employer initiative. We endeavour to get back to everyone, however, if you have not heard anything after 7 days, please consider your application unsuccessful.