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Maintenance Manager

Maintenance Manager

Sappi Southern Africa
Country:  South Africa
City:  Ngodwana
Location:  Mill Ngodwana
Department:  Engineering
Posting date:  3 Oct 2025
Closing date:  17 Oct 2025

We are looking for a strategic and experienced Maintenance Manager to lead one of our mill engineering teams. This role ensures safe, cost-effective, and reliable plant performance through effective strategy, compliance, and continuous improvement.

 

Key Focus Areas:

  • Safety & Compliance: Ensure all maintenance activities comply with legal, regulatory, and company standards. Promote a culture of safety, conduct risk assessments, and enforce high standards of housekeeping and Behaviour-Based Safety practices.
  • People Leadership: Lead, mentor, and develop high-performing maintenance teams. Focus on talent development, performance management, and succession planning to build a resilient and skilled workforce.
  • Maintenance Management: Develop and execute maintenance strategies to maximize equipment reliability and availability. Oversee shutdown planning, installations, commissioning, and decommissioning of equipment while managing operational risks.
  • Financial Oversight: Manage maintenance budgets, control costs, and oversee contractors and vendors. Participate in long-term financial planning and capital projects to support sustainable plant operations.
  • Continuous Improvement: Identify opportunities to enhance plant performance and implement reliability improvement programs. Drive innovation and manage change effectively to ensure long-term operational excellence.

 

Requirements:

  • Mechanical or Electrical Engineering degree (NQF 7)
  • Government Certificate of Competence (Factories)
  • 8–10 years’ maintenance management experience (pulp & paper industry advantageous)
  • Management qualification (advantageous)
  • Professional engineer registration (advantageous)

 

Competencies:
Strong leadership, resourcefulness, situational adabtility, technical expertise, financial acumen, resilience, problem-solving skills, and a continuous improvement mindset.

We are looking for a strategic and experienced Maintenance Manager to lead one of our mill engineering teams. This role ensures safe, cost-effective, and reliable plant performance through effective strategy, compliance, and continuous improvement.

 

Key Focus Areas:

  • Safety & Compliance: Ensure all maintenance activities comply with legal, regulatory, and company standards. Promote a culture of safety, conduct risk assessments, and enforce high standards of housekeeping and Behaviour-Based Safety practices.
  • People Leadership: Lead, mentor, and develop high-performing maintenance teams. Focus on talent development, performance management, and succession planning to build a resilient and skilled workforce.
  • Maintenance Management: Develop and execute maintenance strategies to maximize equipment reliability and availability. Oversee shutdown planning, installations, commissioning, and decommissioning of equipment while managing operational risks.
  • Financial Oversight: Manage maintenance budgets, control costs, and oversee contractors and vendors. Participate in long-term financial planning and capital projects to support sustainable plant operations.
  • Continuous Improvement: Identify opportunities to enhance plant performance and implement reliability improvement programs. Drive innovation and manage change effectively to ensure long-term operational excellence.

 

Requirements:

  • Mechanical or Electrical Engineering degree (NQF 7)
  • Government Certificate of Competence (Factories)
  • 8–10 years’ maintenance management experience (pulp & paper industry advantageous)
  • Management qualification (advantageous)
  • Professional engineer registration (advantageous)

 

Competencies:
Strong leadership, resourcefulness, situational adabtility, technical expertise, financial acumen, resilience, problem-solving skills, and a continuous improvement mindset.

Sappi is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment regardless of race, colour, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status. At Sappi, we encourage and support vaccination.

Sappi is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment regardless of race, colour, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status. At Sappi, we encourage and support vaccination.

ABOUT SAPPI

Sappi is a leading global provider of everyday materials made from woodfibre-based renewable resources. As a diversified, innovative and trusted leader focused on sustainable processes and products, we are building a more circular economy by making what we should, not just what we can.

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