Maintenance and Engineering Manager at Dawn Meats · Kildare

Overview

Company: Dawn Meats

Location: Kildare town Co. Kildare

Job Title: Maintenance and Engineering Manager

Contract Type: Permanent, Full time.

Role Summary:

The successful candidate will support the site business through the management of an efficient and effective engineering function. This involves implementing the KPIs determined at site level with regards to planned and preventative maintenance, reaction time to breakdowns, cost control etc. Furthermore, to deal with unforeseen work and ensure the appropriate deployment of resources including contractors within agreed budgets.

Responsibilities

The successful candidate will be based at our Kildare production facility in Co. Kildare and will have the following responsibilities:

• Cascade and deliver the key business objectives and performance targets set at both Group and site level for the Maintenance function.
• Lead and manage the day-to-day operations of the Maintenance team, including planning, prioritising and scheduling work to meet production requirements with minimal disruption.
• Provide strong leadership to the site engineering team, including coaching during breakdowns, overseeing critical repairs and ensuring the team has the capability to respond effectively to planned and unplanned activity.
• Develop and implement proactive maintenance strategies, including a robust preventative maintenance programme, to improve plant reliability and minimise downtime and costly breakdowns.
• Monitor and control maintenance expenditure in line with budgetary requirements, ensuring appropriate approvals are obtained in accordance with Group policies.
• Optimise the use of internal resources and external contractors, including managing third-party contracts, monitoring performance, costs, and service levels, and ensuring ongoing value and satisfaction.
• Ensure all maintenance activities are carried out in full compliance with food safety, quality standards, and site procedures (including SOPs, HACCP, and associated requirements).
• Drive a culture of continuous improvement by promoting best practice, addressing non-conformances, and implementing corrective actions to achieve high performance standards.
• Establish and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs), ensuring accurate reporting, analysis, and the implementation of action plans to address any performance gaps.
• Maintain comprehensive documentation of maintenance activities, including reports, work orders, schedules and compliance-related records.
• Lead and support site audits and visits as required, ensuring the site is well prepared and relevant stakeholders are effectively briefed.
• Manage engineering stores and spare parts inventory, ensuring optimal stock levels and implementing best-practice systems to control risk and availability.
• Work closely with Group Procurement to ensure the timely sourcing of spare parts, materials and tools.
• Develop and submit engineering-related CAPEX proposals and act as the principal site contact for Group Engineering projects.
• Promote effective communication across the engineering team and wider site leadership, including holding regular engineering meetings with documented actions.
• Support the development, performance and engagement of the maintenance team through training, coaching and regular feedback, ensuring compliance with company policies and legislative requirements.
• Collaborate with site utilities management to ensure optimal performance and cost efficiency across services such as electricity, water, air and refrigeration.

Qualifications

The ideal Candidate will have or demonstrate:

• 5+ years’ recent experience within a similar role in an Engineering environment, preferably within the food manufacturing industry.
• Time served in a mechanical or electrical discipline, or third level qualification in Engineering.
• Previous experience of managing a large engineering team
• Recent experience of delivering large projects in a complex industrial and technical environment with a working knowledge of project management techniques
• Excellent communication skills, accompanied by leadership and interpersonal skills.
• Strong people management skills with the ability to build, mentor and motivate
• Highly motivated and proactive with the ability to multitask
• IT literate

INDLP