Regional Maintenance Manager - Water and Wastewater Operations

Smart4Energy is seeking a Regional Maintenance Manager for Water and Wastewater Operations in South Africa. This strategic leadership role involves overseeing maintenance and asset management across multiple sites, ensuring operational reliability, and implementing modern practices. Responsibilities include developing maintenance strategies, leading technical teams, and driving technology adoption. The ideal candidate will have a relevant engineering degree, GCC certification, and extensive experience in maintenance and asset management.
A leading water and wastewater services provider is seeking an experienced Regional Maintenance Manager to lead maintenance and asset management activities across multiple operations in the Western Cape.

This is a strategic leadership role responsible for driving operational reliability, implementing modern asset management practices, and ensuring the efficient operation of critical electrical, mechanical, and instrumentation infrastructure across water and wastewater facilities.

Role Overview

The Regional Maintenance Manager will provide technical leadership and maintenance support across operational contracts and projects, covering water treatment works, wastewater treatment facilities, pump stations, dewatering plants, and associated infrastructure.

The successful candidate will be responsible for developing maintenance strategies, improving asset performance, leading technical teams, and driving the adoption of technology-enabled maintenance systems to enhance reliability and operational efficiency.

Key Responsibilities:

Asset Management & Maintenance Strategy

Lead the development and implementation of asset management policies, strategies, and objectives.Drive maintenance excellence and reliability improvement initiatives across multiple sites.Ensure maintenance systems support optimal plant and equipment performance.Operational Leadership

Lead and mentor maintenance teams while fostering a culture of safety, accountability, and continuous improvement.Ensure compliance with maintenance procedures, contractual obligations, and safety standards.Support operational teams in minimizing downtime and improving equipment availability.Reliability Engineering & Technology

Drive implementation and optimisation of Computerised Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS).Champion predictive and condition-based maintenance practices, including:Vibration analysisInfrared thermographyAsset lifecycle managementDigital maintenance systems.Conduct root cause analyses and implement corrective actions to improve reliability.Compliance & Governance

Conduct monthly GMR 2.1 plant inspections and audits.Ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and engineering standards.Develop and maintain maintenance audits, reports, and corrective action plans.Projects & Continuous Improvement

Oversee maintenance-related upgrade and improvement projects.Support implementation of new electrical, mechanical, instrumentation, and control systems projects.Facilitate collaboration between sites and engineering teams to drive knowledge sharing and operational excellence.Supplier & Resource Management

Coordinate with suppliers, contractors, and service providers.Manage maintenance resources, spares, and materials to ensure operational continuity.Maintain high levels of service delivery and client satisfaction.Minimum Requirements

BEng, BSc Engineering, or equivalent qualification in Mechanical or Electrical Engineering (Mechanical preferred).Government Certificate of Competency (GCC - Factories) in Mechanical or Electrical Engineering (mandatory).Minimum 7 years' post-graduate experience in maintenance, operations, asset management, and project execution.Proven experience managing large-scale Electrical, Mechanical & Instrumentation (E,M&I) installations.Key Skills & Experience

Asset management and maintenance strategy development.Reliability engineering and condition monitoring.CMMS implementation and optimisation.Planned maintenance and project management.Strong leadership, coaching, and mentoring capability.Excellent analytical, planning, and problem-solving skills.Strong communication and stakeholder management abilities.