Maintenance Manager

This role oversees all maintenance, mechanical reliability, and capacity assurance functions for a beet sugar processing facility. The position is responsible for budget creation and management, personnel selection and development, and overall leadership of the maintenance organization.

The ideal candidate will bring strong technical expertise, proven management capabilities, and the ability to lead a team toward peak workforce effectiveness and plant performance. This leader must be confident challenging outdated maintenance practices, enforcing standards, and holding teams accountable to reliability-focused behaviors.

Essential Responsibilities

• Demonstrate and promote the company's Core Values: Safety Leadership, Integrity, Openness & Trust, Teamwork, Entrepreneurship, and Social Responsibility.
• Model exceptional safety behaviors and collaborate with the plant to achieve a zero‑injury workplace.
• Lead all Maintenance Department functions, including Supervisors, Engineers, Planners, and Technicians.
• Partner with plant and corporate leaders to maintain safe, stable, and efficient operations.
• Manage the CMMS (SAP‑HANA) to coordinate preventive, corrective, and planned maintenance activities.
• Ensure the CMMS remains the authoritative source for asset hierarchy, BOMs, PMs, job plans, failure codes, scheduling, backlog management, and maintenance history.
• Direct root cause failure analyses (RCFA) for recurring or critical issues and ensure corrective actions are integrated into CMMS processes.
• Develop and oversee preventive, predictive, and condition‑based maintenance programs to maximize plant uptime and mechanical reliability.
• Prepare, manage, and control departmental budgets to meet performance and cost objectives.
• Identify and implement cost‑saving opportunities within the department and across the facility.
• Serve as the facility's liaison with property risk consultants and oversee fire protection system maintenance, inspections, and regulatory compliance.
• Maintain strong health, safety, and housekeeping standards within the department.
• Actively participate in plant safety, quality, and compliance programs.
• Stay informed on maintenance and reliability best practices through industry resources, seminars, and professional events.

Skills & Experience Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical or Maintenance Engineering preferred; equivalent experience in maintenance planning, management, and reliability systems will be considered.
• Certified Professional Maintenance Manager (APFE) preferred.
• 5 years of maintenance management experience, including implementation of best‑practice maintenance strategies.
• Experience in sugar beet/cane processing or sugar refining preferred.
• Knowledge of gas‑fired boilers, turbine‑driven power generation, electrical distribution systems, and associated regulations.
• Hands‑on experience with large industrial equipment (motors, pumps, gearboxes, rotating equipment, drums, kilns, conveyors, agitators, filtration systems, evaporators, tanks, centrifugals, etc.).
• Prior experience as a Plant Engineer, Maintenance Manager, or similar role in a complex, integrated, 24/7 industrial environment.