Production Manager (Maintenance) (Kent)

South East Water UK; Detling; On-site; GBP 50,000 - 61,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Excellent Stakeholder pension

5 weeks holiday + bank holidays

Flexible annual leave policy

Paid volunteering days

Cycle to work scheme

Health cash plan

Life assurance

Wellbeing related benefits

Job summary

South East Water UK is seeking an experienced Production Manager (Maintenance) to lead a team of electrical and mechanical technicians within the drinking water sector. You will oversee reactive and planned maintenance, ensure safe, compliant operations, and drive continuous improvement across sites in Kent.

Reporting to the Operations Manager, you will manage budgets, coordinate with planners, and participate in standby duties.

Qualifications

• Proven experience in leading a multi-skilled maintenance team.
• Management qualification or courses completed.
• Strong numeracy and literacy with good report writing.

Responsibilities

• Oversee planned and reactive maintenance across sites.
• Coordinate with schedulers and planners for resources.
• Embed safety culture and manage a team of technicians.
• Analyse performance, ensure regulatory compliance, optimise operations.
• Set and manage the operational budget and identify financial risks.
• Participate in after-hours standby and incident response.

Skills

Team leadership

Budget management

Project coordination

Communication skills

Education

Management qualification

Secondary education with numeracy/l literacy

Tools

SCADA

PLC

Job description

Summary

Are you an experienced maintenance leader looking for a role with real purpose? At South East Water, we are looking for a Production Manager (Maintenance) to provide effective leadership to a team of Electrical and Mechanical technicians working within the drinking water industry.

Your primary focus will be successfully managing both reactive and relevant planned maintenance programmes throughout the Water Supply Kent department. In this key operational role, you will ensure the continuous delivery of a top-quality, safe and reliable service to our customers. This requires meticulous oversight of all electrical and mechanical assets, strict adherence to safety protocols, and proactive planning to minimise downtime and service disruptions.

Main Responsibilities

• Maintenance & Strategy: Oversee the delivery of planned and reactive maintenance activities across all sites. You will also assist in developing and refining the maintenance strategy, processes, and procedures.
• Scheduling & Collaboration: Manage the scheduling and prioritisation of key maintenance activities working closely with the Production Work Scheduler. Work closely with the Maintenance Planner to source specialist equipment and contractors to support the maintenance programme.
• Safety & Team Leadership: Embed and maintain a strong health and safety culture across the team, ensuring safe work practices are always followed. You will manage, develop, and managing approximately 6 Maintenance Technicians through one-to-ones, appraisals, and briefs.
• Performance & Compliance: Support Production Managers in analysing site performance, reliability, and water quality to ensure regulatory compliance and optimise operations.
• Budgeting: Set and manage the operational budget, including forecasting spend and identifying financial risks and opportunities.
• Incident Response: Participate in an out-of-hours standby rota, taking the lead on production activities and escalating issues during operational incidents.

You’ll need

• A good standard of secondary education demonstrating strong numeracy and literacy skills, alongside a management qualification or completed management courses.
• Proven experience in managing and leading a team. You must have excellent communication skills and be able to motivate, coach, and develop a multi-skilled technical team to achieve performance and safety targets.
• The ability to understand, interpret, and manage processes controlled by SCADA and PLCs. You also need knowledge of maintaining, diagnosing, and repairing industrial electrical and mechanical plant, including pumps, motors, variable speed drives, valves and switchgear.
• A solid background in managing electrical and mechanical maintenance activity, as well as experience managing an operational budget.

Must hold a valid Driving License and be prepared to participate in standby duties as part of a fluid role.

Grow a career with a meaningful purpose.

We know the communities we serve are diverse. We recognise creativity comes from diversity not similarity. That’s why we are enthusiastic about creating inclusion across age, race, gender, ethnicity, religion and identity. You will experience our dedication to equal opportunities and fair treatment for all: through your recruitment, employment and career progression with South East Water.

Benefits package

• Excellent Stakeholder pension scheme, up to 10% employer contribution.
• 5 weeks holiday plus bank holidays per annum, increasing to 6 weeks with length of service.
• Flexible annual leave policy to buy or sell holiday leave.
• Paid volunteering days.
• Cycle to work scheme.
• Health cash plan.
• Life assurance.
• Wellbeing related benefits.

What can you expect from your recruitment?

• It is necessary for you to have the legal right to work in the UK when you begin employment with South East Water.
• Additionally, as part of the employment offer, you will need to pass background, identity, and employment referencing checks.

South East Water kindly asks that recruitment agencies refrain from submitting CVs to our employees or associates without explicit invitation from our HR Resourcing team. CVs sent on a speculative basis will not be acknowledged and will not assume any responsibility for fees or commissions in the event that we hire a candidate who applied directly or subsequently introduced by an instructed agency.

Compensation package

Upto £55,180. Plus car allowance £6,492 and standby allowance