Job Description
- Provide operational leadership for Plant Health’s Somerset West site.
- Ensure excellence in productivity, quality, maintenance and overall operational performance in line with world-class manufacturing practices.
- Continuously analyse, improve and document operational systems and processes.
Lead and develop multidisciplinary teams across production, engineering, maintenance, SHEQ and support services, with a strong emphasis on compliance, contamination control and asset care
Security and contractor oversight:
- Manage site security and ensure contractors comply with company standards and applicable regulatory requirements.
Production:
- Ensure safe and efficient production aligned with customer requirements.
- Champion contamination control practices.
- Maintain high standards of sanitation and cleanroom management.
- Drive OEE improvements, yield optimisation, and downtime reduction.
Maintenance & Engineering:
- Lead a proactive, world-class maintenance program that ensures maximum equipment availability and asset longevity
- Implement and manage preventive, predictive and corrective maintenance strategies.
- Ensure maintenance activities are fully aligned with cleanroom processes and practices.
- Drive continuous reliability improvements.
- Manage maintenance and CAPEX budgets and planning
- Manage commissioning of projects or plant modifications
SHEQ and Regulatory Compliance:
- Lead implementation and adherence to SHEQ policies and applicable legislation (e.g. OHSAct, NEMA, transportation etc.)
- Implement and drive Zero harm strategy and safety awareness programmes to strive for Zero Harm to people, environment and assets.
- Manage and ensure that employees are aware of and are well trained for emergency situations that may arise on site.
- Actively participate in internal and external audits, incident investigations, root cause analysis etc.
- Ensure timeous close-out of actions emanating from non-conformances.
Financial Management:
- Prepare and manage site operational budgets (OPEX and CAPEX) to achieve financial objectives.
- Identify and implement cost optimization opportunities without compromising safety, quality, or compliance.
- Develop and monitor key performance indicators to track progress against operational goals.
People & Team Leadership
- Lead a multidisciplinary team, including Team Leaders and Specialists across production, quality, engineering and support services.
- Ensure structured training and development of the team.
- Promote a culture of accountability, collaboration, continuous improvement and operational discipline.
- Foster cross-functional alignment and teamwork across departments
Projects:
- Lead CAPEX projects, including but not limited to new equipment installations, utilities upgrades and plant modifications.
- Ensure effective commissioning, validation, and SOP alignment for all new assets.
Qualifications & Experience
Minimum education Grade 12 with Maths and Science
Tertiary - Degree in Chemical Engineering or equivalent(essential); Post graduate diploma in Management/Leadership advantageous
Experience:
Minimum of 5 years post-qualification hands on experience in a “clean” environment e.g. biological site, pharmaceutical, dairy, etc.
Minimum of 5 years’ experience in a managerial role.
Possess sound knowledge of the Occupational Health and Safety Act and in-depth knowledge of NEMA, transport regulations and all other relevant Acts and associated regulations.
Knowledge of agrochemical production and products related to the agricultural chemical industry advantageous.
Experienced in Union engagement
Technically adept with broad engineering and maintenance knowledge
Proficiency in MS Office - preferably at the intermediate level.
Working knowledge of Syspro
Broad knowledge of Security controls and systems
Ability to operate in a multi-disciplinary environment
Knowledge of SHEQ Management Systems e.g. ISO requirements/standards essential