Operations & Maintenance Manager

Vanderlande Industries B.V.; Fatih; On-site; TRY 900,000 - 1,500,000; Full time

Job summary

Vanderlande Industries B.V. is seeking an experienced Operations & Maintenance Manager to oversee the baggage handling system at Istanbul Airport.

You will formulate strategy, improve performance, and mentor a 24/7 team to ensure high-quality service delivery and contract compliance. The role requires 10+ years in management, a strong background in automated handling systems, and English plus Turkish language skills to liaise with multinational stakeholders.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in engineering (Technical, Electrical/Mechanical, Industrial).
• 10+ years of team lead/management experience.
• Background in automated handling systems or capital goods; airports/baggage handling a big plus.
• Proven experience as operations and maintenance manager or similar; familiarity with management, business, and financial principles.
• Excellent leadership, communication, and networking skills.

Responsibilities

• Oversee operational systems, processes, and infrastructure with improvement opportunities.
• Manage day-to-day operations at a 24/7 airport; lead continuous improvements.
• Hire/train staff and ensure staff availability and coaching.
• Monitor KPIs and financial performance; report to stakeholders.
• Collaborate with sales, service managers, and vendors.

Skills

Leadership

Strategic thinking

Operations management

Baggage handling

Contract management

Vendor management

Team mentoring

Regulatory compliance

English & Turkish

Education

Bachelor's or Master's in Engineering

Job description

Job Title Operations & Maintenance Manager

Operations & Maintenance Manager Istanbul Airport – Istanbul, Turkey

Are you looking to develop your career in operations and maintenance of the baggage handling systems in airports, and satisfy your ambitions at a company where you can aspire to new heights, enjoy personal growth, and thrive on achievement? At Vanderlande, we are seeking passionate and ambitious people, capable of making a positive impact on the quality of our service delivery to our customer by ensuring a high-performance baggage flow operation for the entire airport, while developing a prosperous career in a fast-paced international environment.

Your position

As Operations & Maintenance Manager, you will oversee operational and maintenance activities for the entire baggage handling system. You will formulate the strategy, improve performance, and secure compliance. You should be ready to mentor your team members, find ways to increase quality of customer service and implement best practices across all levels.

Duties include hiring and training employees and managing day-to-day operations at a 24/7 airport operations, as well as leading the continuous process improvements.

You will be responsible for the day-to-day operation, customer satisfaction, contract management, maintenance management, continuous improvement, people and reporting.

The role requires general management of local service operations & maintenance team, being responsible for the execution of the service contract, and being the contact person towards the customer for all operational and technical issues.

Your responsibilities

• Overseeing operational systems, processes, and infrastructure while looking for opportunities of improvement or revision.
• Anticipating and tracking operational and tactical risks and providing strategic solutions.
• Managing day-to-day business of the operations and maintenance department while balancing the responsibilities of various business lines such as business analysis, vendor, and risk management.
• Working with sales teams to help set and meet daily and quarterly goals as required.
• Playing a significant role in long-term planning, project status reporting, and implementing change control processes.
• Working closely with the Service Manager on other special planning and departmental projects.
• Overseeing and reporting the weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual metrics.
• Identifying the trends and assessing the opportunities to improve processes and execution.
• Completing reasonability testing and information validation prior to circulating findings and recommendations to key stakeholders.
• Collaborating with other back-office team members to ensure seamless business execution, reinforcing positive morale, and upholding company values.
• Ensuring staff availability, hiring, onboarding, and ongoing coaching / support for the professional development of the team members during the entire employee lifecycle.
• Establishing and maintaining credible, professional relationships with clients, internal business lines, and external vendors.
• Staying up to date on industry regulations, trends, and technology.
• Working closely with management team to ensure all operational, administrative, and compliance functions within the firm are being properly executed in accordance to regulatory-based best practices.
• Proactively looking for continuous improvement opportunities and ways to increase customer satisfaction, closely following up the continuous improvement projects and ensuring successful delivery.
• Monitoring both the KPI’s, and the financial aspects & profitability of the business, formulating the necessary strategic and operational objectives around these.

Your profile

• You hold Bachelor/master’s degree in engineering (Technical, Electrical/Mechanical, Industrial).
• You have >10 years of team lead/management experience.
• You have background in automated handling systems, the capital goods industry and/or system integration business (experience in busy airports and / or in baggage handling system operations is a big plus).
• You have a proven work experience as operations and maintenance manager or similar role, with familiarity with management, business, and financial principles, and reporting.
• You are a natural leader (combination of people & technical skills), with strong influencing skills.
• You are an entrepreneur, people manager and good communicator, who can develop long term business relationships and/or networks.
• You are used to work with 3rd party service providers as sub-contractors.
• Knowledge of service contracts is an advantage.
• Language skill: You have excellent English and Turkish language skills.
• You have the drive for continuous improvement.
• You are a reliable and valued liaison between Vanderlande Industries and the customer.
• You have the 24/7 attitude, planning your day is essential.
• You have the ability to think and act on a long-term basis (5 years) – build, plan, and execute.
• You have the commercial drive to identify and pursue opportunities.
• You are safety orientated with knowledge or training to influence staff to avoid, detect and resolve safety hazards via purchased solutions or enacting procedures.

Personal skills

• Self-confidence / Independence
• Customer-orientation / Service provision
• Persuasiveness / Excellent communicational skills at all levels
• Making Choices
• Resilience (Organizational)
• Sensitivity
• Leadership ability
• Outstanding organizational skills
• Maintaining relationships

Our company

Vanderlande is the global market leader for future-proof logistic process automation at airports – from London Heathrow to Singapore Changi – and in the parcel market, for main players such as UPS and FedEx. Furthermore, we are also a leading supplier of solutions for warehousing giants, including one of the largest e-commerce leaders providing logistics, payments, hardware, data storage, and media solutions, which seamlessly integrate innovative systems, intelligent software and life-cycle services.

If you aspire to a position of responsibility – and want to make a difference by facilitating the delivery of what matters most to consumers, passengers and businesses – then the next step on your path to global opportunities is to join Vanderlande.

As part of our network and unique culture of freedom and flexibility, you will be connected to our dedicated people, build strong relationships and rise to the challenge of industry-leading projects.

You will grow, take ownership and make every day better as you continue on the road to success with your spirit of adventure – and fulfil your ambitions for personal development through our Academy.

Vanderlande will give you the necessary knowledge, tools and support, so that together we have the confidence and ability to exceed our customers’ expectations in over 100 countries.

To achieve our collective goals, you will have a hands‑on role working in a positive environment to deliver tangible, state‑of‑the‑art products and improve the competitiveness of our highly visible customers.

As an integral part of our team, you will have the enthusiasm and be driven to reach our destination before your next journey with Vanderlande begins…

Diversity & Inclusion Disclaimer

Vanderlande is an equal opportunity employer. Qualified applicants will be considered without regards to race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

Every day, millions of people rely on Vanderlande without even knowing it. From baggage checked in at the airport to parcels on their way to someone’s doorstep, our automation solutions help keep the world moving.

Vanderlande designs, delivers, and supports automation technology, operational software, and lifecycle services for leading airports and parcel operations worldwide. Across more than 100 countries, our customers rely on us to keep their operations moving reliably, efficiently, and sustainably.

Behind every solution are the people who make it happen. At Vanderlande, how we work matters just as much as what we deliver.

Our values, Every Day Better, We Care, and Team Play, guide how we collaborate, support each other, and create value for our customers.

Here, you can work with colleagues across disciplines and cultures, contribute to work that makes a difference, and build your future in an organisation that invites you to grow. Explore what is possible at Vanderlande and discover how you can make an impact. Aspire. Grow. Achieve. Together.