Factory Maintenance and Facilities Manager (Food Industry) at Helderberg Personnel

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

Manage and troubleshoot basic technical systems, including:

• 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

Escalate specialist work to qualified technicians when required.
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

Performance will be measured against:

• 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.

Role Accountability

• 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.