Factory Maintenance and Facilities Manager (Food Industry)

Helderberg Personnel; Somerset West; On-site; ZAR 360,000 - 480,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Career progression

Job summary

Helderberg Personnel is seeking a Facilities & Maintenance Lead for our food production facility in Somerset West. You will take ownership of facilities, equipment and general maintenance, performing hands-on repairs and managing preventative maintenance programs to ensure safe, compliant operations.

You will coordinate external contractors, supervise a small cleaning/maintenance team, maintain records, and uphold HACCP, ISO 22000 and related food-safety standards while ensuring continuity of

Qualifications

• Hands-on maintenance experience in a factory setting.
• Strong electrical fault-finding knowledge.
• Mechanical and technical troubleshooting skills.
• Experience with preventative maintenance.
• Ability to manage contractors.
• Good computer literacy with inventory/production software.
• Strong problem-solving and time-management skills.
• Ability to work independently and take ownership.

Responsibilities

• Oversee factory facilities, infrastructure, equipment and maintenance.
• Perform hands-on maintenance, repairs and basic electrical fault-finding.
• Manage preventative maintenance schedules and servicing.
• Coordinate external contractors and technicians.
• Maintain accurate maintenance, repair and servicing records.
• Ensure the factory remains safe, functional for food production.
• Monitor pest, fire safety, cleaning and hygiene standards.
• Lead and train maintenance team of ~3 personnel.

Skills

Hands-on maintenance

Electrical fault-finding

Mechanical troubleshooting

Preventative maintenance

Contractor management

Inventory software

Problem solving

Time management

Independent worker

Job description

Key Responsibilities

Facilities & Maintenance

• Take overall responsibility for the factory’s facilities, infrastructure, equipment and general maintenance.
• Perform hands on maintenance, repairs and basic electrical fault-finding.
• Manage preventative maintenance schedules and equipment servicing.
• Identify potential problems early and implement practical solutions.
• Coordinate external contractors and specialist technicians where required.
• Maintain accurate maintenance, repair and servicing records.
• Ensure the factory remains safe, functional and suitable for food production.

Technical Systems

• Electrical systems and lighting
• CCTV, alarms, access control and biometric systems
• Cold rooms, freezers, blast chillers/freezers and refrigeration equipment
• Freeze dryers
• Generators and backup power
• Other factory technical systems

Food Safety, Hygiene & Compliance

• Maintain facilities and equipment to appropriate food-safety standards.
• Ensure maintenance activities do not create contamination risks.
• Support HACCP, GFSI, ISO 22000 and other applicable food-safety requirements.
• Manage facility-related corrective actions from inspections and audits.
• Ensure contractors comply with factory hygiene and food-safety requirements.

Pest & Fire Safety

• Manage the operational aspects of pest-control and fire-safety programmes.
• Liaise with service providers and follow up on inspections, servicing and corrective actions.
• Monitor pest-entry points, fire equipment, emergency exits, signage and emergency lighting.
• Maintain relevant records and certificates.

Cleaning & Housekeeping

• Manage and supervise the factory cleaning team of approximately three employees.
• Allocate cleaning duties and monitor standards, performance and attendance.
• Ensure cleaning schedules, deep cleans and hygiene procedures are followed.
• Ensure chemicals and cleaning equipment are used and stored correctly.
• Maintain required cleaning records.

Freeze-Dried Production

• Manage the day-to-day operation of the freeze-drying department.
• Supervise and instruct production staff.
• Prepare, load and unload freeze dryers and monitor production cycles.
• Troubleshoot equipment and process issues where possible.
• Ensure correct product handling, labelling, storage and traceability.
• Maintain accurate production, yield, loss and quality records.

Stock & Inventory

• Capture production and stock information accurately in the company’s inventory system.
• Record stock movements, production quantities and finished goods.
• Assist with stock counts and investigate discrepancies.
• Report shortages or discrepancies promptly.

Cold Chain

• Monitor freezers, cold rooms, blast chillers/freezers and refrigeration systems.
• Respond promptly to temperature deviations or equipment failures, including outside normal working hours when necessary.
• Protect stock during equipment failures and coordinate specialist repairs.
• Ensure temperature-monitoring systems remain operational.

Security & Factory Access

• Act as a factory key holder and manage opening and closing when required.
• Ensure the factory is secure and ready for operation.
• Manage alarms, CCTV, access control and biometric systems.
• Report and follow up on security issues.

Team Leadership

• Allocate tasks, provide clear instructions and monitor performance.
• Train employees and provide practical on-the-job guidance.
• Promote high standards of safety, food safety, housekeeping and accountability.
• Communicate effectively with management, employees, contractors and suppliers.

Required Skills & Experience

• Hands-on maintenance experience in a factory, manufacturing or similar environment.
• Strong practical electrical knowledge and fault-finding ability.
• Mechanical and technical troubleshooting skills.
• Experience with preventative maintenance and equipment servicing.
• Ability to manage contractors and service providers.
• Good computer literacy and willingness to learn inventory/production software.
• Strong problem-solving, organisational and time-management skills.
• Ability to work independently, prioritise urgent issues and take ownership

Key Performance Expectations

• Preventative maintenance and servicing completed on schedule.
• Reduced equipment breakdowns and downtime.
• Effective maintenance and facility standards.
• Strong food-safety, hygiene, pest and fire-safety compliance.
• High cleaning and housekeeping standards.
• Reliable freeze-dried production and accurate records.
• Accurate stock and production information.
• Effective cold-chain management.
• Functional security and technical systems.
• Effective team supervision and training.
• Proactive identification and resolution of problems.

This is a high-ownership role. The manager is expected to identify risks early, communicate issues promptly, find practical solutions and ensure outstanding actions are followed through to completion.

Where specialist or legally authorised work is required, the employee must arrange appropriate professional assistance and ensure the issue is resolved.

The role may require availability outside normal working hours for urgent machinery breakdowns, cold-chain failures or food-safety concerns.