Job Description Your New Job Our client, a leading manufacturing firm in the food industry, is seeking a Maintenance Manager to join their team in Co. Waterford. This is a full-time, permanent position where you will lead the on-site Maintenance function and drive engineering excellence across performance, reliability, and cost control. You will manage a large engineering team and contractors while delivering on KPIs related to planned maintenance, reactive repairs, continuous improvement, and capital projects. Key Duties & Responsibilities: Provide strong leadership and operational direction for the Maintenance function across a large-scale production site. Cascade and deliver performance targets and key objectives defined at both site and Group level. Oversee planned preventative maintenance (PPM) schedules to minimise downtime and improve equipment longevity. React swiftly and effectively to unplanned breakdowns, ensuring minimal disruption to production. Monitor maintenance costs, operate within defined budgets, and seek authorisation for expenditure in line with Group policies. Allocate and manage internal and external resources (including contractors) based on capability, skill, and specialism. Manage contractor relationships, overseeing SLAs, cost control, and quality of service with regular communication to the Site Operations and Group Engineering Managers. Lead maintenance improvement initiatives to reduce equipment failure rates and increase plant reliability. Drive compliance with food safety standards during all engineering activity. Ensure KPIs are accurately measured, tracked, analysed and improved through actionable plans. Lead a culture of continuous improvement through modern engineering and maintenance practices. Develop and manage team rosters and shift cover plans to meet production needs. Own the Engineering Stores function, ensuring spare parts availability and stock control systems are optimised. Liaise with Procurement on ordering, stock levels, and repair part availability. Lead and participate in site visits, audits and inspections, ensuring maintenance processes meet all required standards. Ensure all departmental documentation, reports and work orders are completed in full and on time. Build a high-performing, motivated engineering team through regular performance reviews, coaching and development. Ensure team compliance with SOPs, HACCP, health & safety, training, and quality systems. Represent the engineering function at site management meetings, providing updates and driving cross-functional collaboration. Own and submit all Capex requirements related to engineering and support site-wide capital projects. Host weekly engineering meetings with clear action tracking and resolution planning. What Are We Looking For? 5+ years experience in a senior engineering or maintenance management role within a manufacturing environment (ideally food or FMCG). Time-served or third-level qualification in Mechanical or Electrical Engineering (or a related discipline). Demonstrated experience managing large engineering teams and external contractors. Track record of delivering large-scale technical projects in complex industrial settings. Strong knowledge of planned maintenance systems, engineering best practices, and reliability strategies. Proficient in performance analysis, KPI management, and cost control. Excellent communication, leadership, and interpersonal skills. Strong people management capabilities, able to mentor, coach, and inspire high performance. Proactive mindset with the ability to prioritise tasks and manage multiple workstreams. Strong IT literacy, including maintenance management systems, MS Office, and reporting tools. Apply for this job now by emailing your WORD formatted CV By applying, you are giving consent for Matrix Recruitment to contact you about this job. We collect your data for recruitment purposes only and will retain it for the duration required as outlined in our privacy policy. All CVs are kept confidential and will not be submitted to any clients without your knowledge and permission. Please note that due to the expected high volume of applications we can only reply to applicants suitable for the position. We Value Your Trust.