Required: A degree (or equivalent) in engineering from a recognised university and recognised by Kenyan certifications and mandatory regulations.
Advantageous: Registration with the Engineers Board of Kenya as a Professional Engineer, or as a Graduate Engineer working towards it.
Advantageous: Maintenance or reliability certification (CMRP, RCM, TPM); project management certification; a recognised safety qualification; a master's degree in engineering, engineering management.
Minimum 8 years post-qualification in engineering and maintenance within industrial, agro-industrial or estate operations, including at least 4 years leading a multi-trade department of 20 or more staff.
Responsibility for a site that runs continuously, where breakdowns translate directly into lost production. Aquaculture, agriculture, horticulture, floriculture, food processing and agro-processing all qualify.
Assets spread across distance rather than concentrated in a single plant, and supply lines long enough that spares must be planned rather than bought on demand.
A preventive maintenance programme built and delivered: asset register established, schedules set, spares policy defined, and a measurable reduction in unplanned downtime achieved.
Direct accountability for a maintenance budget, covering forecasting, variance reporting and supplier negotiation.
Kenyan operating experience, or the demonstrated ability to work within Kenyan regulatory, labour and supply conditions.
Engineering Knowledge — Breadth across the following, with the judgement to reason about unfamiliar systems, evaluate proposed solutions and direct trade specialists
Power generation and electrical distribution: prime and standby generation, load management, protection and fault-finding.
Pumping and water systems: pump selection and duty, reticulation, filtration and drainage.
Refrigeration and cold chain: refrigeration principles, cold room and transport performance, temperature control for food safety.
Mechanical plant and fleet: diesel engines, hydraulics, transmissions and lifting equipment.
Welding, fabrication and structural repair.
Marine assets: the ability to lead a specialist marine team and acquire the domain quickly.
Systems and Organisational Skills
ERP: ERPNext or a comparable ERP or CMMS — asset master data, work orders, requisitions, stock and maintenance history — configured around departmental practice.
Projects: Planning and resourcing multi-stage work, delivering installations and upgrades to time and budget, and coordinating with Construction and external contractors.
Measurement: Command of how availability, repair time, failure intervals and cost per asset are derived from primary data, and the discipline to report only figures that reconcile.
Budgeting: lifecycle costing, depreciation and payback, with the ability to make a capital case in financial terms.
Personal Competencies
Perspective: Directs attention across the whole site to what carries the greatest consequence, and anticipates failure while managing daily demand.
Leadership: Grants real authority to supervisors and builds capability within the team.
Judgement: Decides on the available evidence and is clear about assumptions.
Communication: Carries credibility with directors and technicians alike.
Integrity: Imposes structure and sustains it; reports accurately and owns departmental performance.
Commitment: Willing to be based at a remote lakeside site and available to the operation.
GK
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