General Manager/Senior General Manager - Mechanical

Job Summary

Provide strategic leadership and overall direction for the mechanical maintenance function, ensuring the reliability, availability, integrity and optimal performance of mechanical equipment and systems across the cement plant.

The role is responsible for developing and executing effective maintenance and reliability strategies, driving preventive and predictive maintenance practices, optimising maintenance costs, managing major shutdowns and equipment overhauls, and ensuring mechanical activities are executed safely and efficiently in support of production targets and the company's operational objectives.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership and direction for all mechanical maintenance, reliability and equipment performance activities across the plant.

• Develop, implement and continuously improve the plant's mechanical maintenance and reliability strategy in alignment with operational and business objectives.

• Drive equipment reliability and availability through effective preventive, predictive, condition-based and corrective maintenance programmes.

• Monitor the performance and condition of critical mechanical equipment and ensure timely interventions to minimise equipment failures and unplanned downtime.

• Lead mechanical maintenance planning for major plant equipment, including crushers, raw mills, kilns, coolers, cement mills, conveyors, fans, compressors, pumps and material-handling systems, as applicable to the plant configuration.

• Provide leadership for major shutdowns, equipment overhauls and maintenance projects, ensuring effective planning, resource deployment, execution, safety and cost control.

• Review plant performance and maintenance trends to identify recurring equipment failures, reliability gaps and opportunities for operational improvement.

• Champion root cause analysis (RCA), failure analysis and other reliability improvement initiatives to eliminate recurring equipment problems.

• Establish and monitor key maintenance performance indicators, including equipment availability, reliability, maintenance cost, schedule compliance, planned versus unplanned maintenance and asset utilisation.

• Ensure effective utilisation of the Computerised Maintenance Management System (CMMS) for maintenance planning, work-order management, equipment history and performance monitoring.

• Develop and manage the mechanical maintenance budget, ensuring effective control of operating expenditure, maintenance costs, manpower and capital expenditure.

• Work closely with Production, Electrical, Instrumentation, Process and other functions to optimise plant performance and coordinate maintenance interventions.

• Provide technical leadership for mechanical modifications, equipment upgrades, replacement programmes and capital improvement projects.

• Oversee mechanical spare-parts planning and optimisation, ensuring availability of critical spares while maintaining effective inventory and cost control.

• Ensure compliance with applicable HSE requirements, engineering standards, maintenance procedures and safe work practices across all mechanical maintenance activities.

• Build the capability of the mechanical maintenance team through coaching, mentoring, succession planning, technical development and performance management.

• Promote a culture of safety, operational excellence, reliability, accountability and continuous improvement within the mechanical function.

• Support the development, review and implementation of mechanical maintenance procedures, technical standards and equipment maintenance documentation.

• Provide periodic reports and recommendations to senior plant management on mechanical equipment performance, reliability, maintenance expenditure, major risks and improvement initiatives.

• Perform any other duties as assigned by the Deputy Plant Director (Operations & Maintenance) or other designated management authority.

Key Requirements

Education

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent in Mechanical Engineering or a closely related engineering discipline.
• A postgraduate qualification in Engineering, Maintenance Management or Business Administration would be an added advantage.
• Relevant professional engineering membership/certification would be an advantage.

Experience

• Extensive progressively responsible experience in mechanical maintenance, equipment reliability and asset management within a cement manufacturing environment, including significant experience in senior maintenance leadership.
• Strong hands-on and leadership experience in maintenance of major cement manufacturing equipment and execution of major shutdowns/overhauls.
• Demonstrated experience managing multidisciplinary technical teams, maintenance budgets and plant reliability improvement initiatives.