ASSISTANT MAINTENANCE PLANNER

Sea Harvest; Wes-Kaap; On-site; ZAR 350,000 - 550,000; Full time

Job summary

Sea Harvest seeks an Assistant Maintenance Planner to support planning across production facilities at Saldanha Bay. You will drive scheduling efficiency, ensure data integrity in the CMMS, and help implement maintenance best practices to uphold plant reliability and operational continuity.

You will coordinate with engineering teams, manage work orders, and help prepare reports for leadership. A background in maintenance within fisheries or food manufacturing is valued.

Qualifications

• Grade 12/ Matric (NQF 4).
• Post-matric qualification in Maintenance Management, Engineering, or related technical field; OR a recognized Trade Test (Red Seal Advantageous).
• Minimum 2 years' experience in a maintenance or plant engineering environment.
• Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint – intermediate to advanced level.
• Working with a CMMS (e.g., SAP PM) is required.
• Experience in the fisheries or seafood processing industry is preferred.
• FMCG or food manufacturing background is advantageous.
• Exposure to SAP PM or equivalent ERP maintenance module.
• Familiarity with RCM or TPM principles.
• Experience coordinating planned shutdowns.
• Experience with Power BI.

Responsibilities

• Assist the Maintenance Planner in developing, coordinating, and managing work orders across facilities and site services.
• Support the weekly and monthly maintenance scheduling process to ensure timely execution.
• Ensure accurate job plans, parts lists, and labour requirements in the CMMS.
• Track planned vs actual maintenance and flag deviations for corrective action.
• Assist in coordinating shutdown and project planning with production schedules.
• Build and maintain dashboards and reports to track KPIs.
• Support continuous improvement of maintenance strategies and data quality.
• Coordinate with engineering teams to source spares and manage resources.

Skills

Self-driven

Analytical thinking

Attention to detail

Data proficiency

Under pressure

Willingness to work extra hours

Effective communication

Proactive

Education

Grade 12 / Matric (NQF 4)

Post-matric qualification in Maintenance Management or Engineering (Trade Test advantageous)

Tools

CMMS

Microsoft Excel

Power BI

Job description

ASSISTANT MAINTENANCE PLANNER

Sea Harvest is a proudly South African integrated fishing and food processing company, delivering quality seafood and food products to local and international markets. We are committed to sustainability, innovation and the development of our people.

An exciting opportunity exists for a suitably qualified and experienced Assistant Maintenance Planner to join our team.

DEPARTMENT ASSET CARE

SITE / LOCATION Saldanha

REPORTING TO MAINTENANCE PLANNER

EMPLOYMENT TYPE PERMANENT

CLOSING DATE 13 NOVEMBER 2026

ROLE OVERVIEW

To support the Maintenance Planning function across production facilities and site services at Saldanha Bay- driving scheduling efficiency, data integrity, and the implementation of maintenance best practices that underpin plant reliability and operational continuity

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

PLANNING & SCHEDULING SUPPORT

• Assist the Maintenance Planner in developing, coordinating, and managing work orders across production facilities and site services
• Support the weekly and monthly maintenance scheduling process to ensure work is executed efficiently and on time
• Ensure accurate job plans, parts lists, and labour requirements are captured and maintained in the CMMS
• Track planned vs actual maintenance performance and flag deviations for corrective action
• Assist in coordinating shutdown and project planning activities in line with production schedules

DATA INTEGRITY & REPORTING

Take ownership of the accuracy and completeness of maintenance data within the CMMS- asset registers, work histories, and preventive maintenance (PM) job plans

• Build and maintain Excel-based dashboards and reports to track maintenance KPIs including backlog, schedule compliance, and equipment availability
• Conduct regular audits to identify gaps, duplications, and inaccuracies in the maintenance system
• Generate weekly and monthly reports for the Maintenance Planner and Engineering leadership

MAINTENANCE BEST PRACTISE

• Assist in embedding maintenance planning and scheduling standards across site
• Support the development, review, and continuous improvement of preventive maintenance strategies
• Identify opportunities to improve planning processes, data quality, and system usage
• Provide historical maintenance data to support Root Cause Analysis (RCA) and failure investigations

ENGINEERING TEAM SUPPORT

• Liaise with engineering technicians, artisans, and supervisors to coordinate the execution of planned work
• Track spares and materials requirements to ensure planned work orders are adequately resourced
• Assist with contractor coordination, permit-to-work documentation, and compliance record-keeping
• Provide general administrative and planning support to the engineering teams as required

QUALIFICATIONS & REQUIREMENTS

• Grade 12/ Matric (NQF 4)
• Post-matric qualification in Maintenance Management, Engineering, or related technical field; OR a recognized Trade Test (Red Seal Advantageous)
• Minimum 2 years' experience in a maintenance or plant engineering environment
• Microsoft Excel and Power point- intermediate to advanced level
• Working experience with a Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS)
• Experience in the fisheries or seafood processing industry
• FMCG or food manufacturing background
• Familiarity with SAP PM or equivalent ERP maintenance module
• Exposure to Reliability-Centered Maintenance (RCM) or Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) principles
• Planned Shutdown coordination
• Experience with power BI

KEY COMPETENCIES

• Self-driven and results-oriented- sets the pace without being told
• Strong analytical ability; comfortable turning raw data into decisions
• Meticulous attention to detail; committed to first time-right output
• High proficiency with data - spreadsheets, databases, and reporting tools
• Able to work under pressure in a fast-paced production environment
• Willing to put in the hours when operational demands require it
• Effective communicator across technical and non-technical teams
• High sense of urgency with a proactive, can-do attitude