Manager: Maintenance – Electrical Maintenance Manager

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES Electrical Maintenance & Technical Leadership - Manage and oversee electrical maintenance activities across the facility. - Provide technical leadership on electrical maintenance, fault finding and equipment reliability. - Take responsibility for 11 kV electrical substations and distribution networks down to 400 V. - Oversee and manage HT/MV and LV switching and electrical isolation practices. - Ensure effective maintenance of transformers, switchgear, protection systems and electrical distribution equipment. - Provide technical guidance and support to artisans and technicians. - Ensure electrical maintenance activities are executed safely, efficiently and in accordance with required standards and procedures. Maintenance & Reliability Management - Develop and implement effective preventive, predictive and corrective maintenance strategies. - Lead maintenance planning, scheduling and backlog management. - Drive Root Cause Analysis (RCA) and failure-elimination initiatives. - Identify opportunities to improve equipment reliability, availability and maintainability. - Reduce unplanned downtime and recurring equipment failures. - Develop, monitor and improve maintenance KPIs. - Drive the effective utilisation of CMMS or comparable maintenance management systems. - Establish maintenance strategies aligned with asset reliability and operational requirements. People Management & Leadership - Directly manage a technical team of approximately 25 to 40 employees, including technicians, artisans and artisan assistants. - Allocate work effectively and ensure appropriate utilisation of technical resources. - Set clear performance standards and maintain accountability across the team. - Develop technical competence and identify skills-development requirements. - Manage employee performance, including addressing poor performance and difficult employee situations. - Resolve conflict effectively and promote teamwork and professional conduct. - Build and maintain a high-performance maintenance culture. Safety, Compliance & Risk Management - Maintain a strong electrical safety and SHEQ culture. - Ensure compliance with electrical safety procedures and applicable site requirements. - Oversee risk assessments and safe electrical isolation practices. - Ensure appropriate permit-to-work procedures are followed. - Manage contractor safety and ensure contractors comply with required standards and procedures. - Promote a disciplined, procedure-driven approach to maintenance activities. MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS - BSc / BTech in Electrical Engineering. - Minimum 5 years experience in Electrical Maintenance Management. - Proven experience managing electrical maintenance teams. - Proven responsibility for 11 kV substations and electrical distribution networks down to 400 V. - Strong practical experience in HT/MV and LV switching and electrical isolation. - Experience with transformers, switchgear, protection systems and electrical distribution equipment. - Strong electrical fault-finding experience. - Demonstrated understanding of modern electrical maintenance, reliability and asset-management principles. - Proven experience implementing preventive, predictive and corrective maintenance. - Experience with maintenance planning, scheduling and backlog management. - Experience with Root Cause Analysis and failure elimination. - Demonstrated success in improving equipment reliability and reducing unplanned downtime. - Experience developing and implementing maintenance strategies and KPIs. - Experience using a CMMS or comparable maintenance management system. - Proven experience directly managing artisans, technicians and/or artisan assistants. - Strong people-management and performance-management capability. - Strong electrical safety, SHEQ and procedural discipline. ADVANTAGEOUS EXPERIENCE Preference will be given to candidates with experience in: - Mining - Power Generation - Petrochemical - Heavy Manufacturing - Chemical Processing - Utilities - Nuclear - Other complex or highly regulated industrial environments The following would also be advantageous: - GCC - Management qualification - Maintenance budget responsibility - Experience working within a highly regulated environment CANDIDATE PROFILE The successful candidate will demonstrate: - Strong technical credibility in electrical maintenance. - A practical, operational and hands-on approach. - Strong knowledge of MV/HT and LV electrical systems. - Proven maintenance and reliability leadership. - The ability to lead and develop a sizeable technical team. - Strong decision-making and problem-solving ability. - A clear and practical maintenance philosophy. - A strong focus on safety, compliance and procedural discipline. - A demonstrated track record of improving reliability, equipment availability and maintenance performance. - The ability to engage confidently with artisans, technicians, management and contractors. - A results-driven approach to maintenance and asset reliability. CANDIDATE CONSIDERATIONS Candidates whose experience is predominantly project-based, design-focused or administrative, without substantial hands-on electrical maintenance management experience, are unlikely to be suitable for this position. The successful candidate must be able to demonstrate meaningful practical experience in 11 kV/MV electrical systems, HT/MV and LV switching, maintenance management, technical team leadership and reliability improvement. Candidates should also be able to demonstrate: - Meaningful experience managing artisans and technicians rather than relying predominantly on contractors. - Experience managing a suitably sized technical maintenance team. - A clearly defined and practically applied maintenance philosophy. - Strong people and performance-management capability. - A demonstrable track record of improving equipment reliability and reducing failures. - Strong safety, compliance and procedural discipline. - Measurable improvements achieved through maintenance initiatives, rather than purely administrative responsibility. IDEAL CANDIDATE Technically credible + maintenance-focused + operationally hands-on + strong people leader + safety-conscious + reliability-driven + decisive. The successful candidate must be able to understand the technical problem, engage credibly with artisans and technicians, determine the appropriate maintenance intervention and lead the team in delivering sustainable results.