Bakery Maintenance Leadership and Asset Management Role

Premier FMCG is recruiting an experienced Maintenance Manager to join its BRB Watloo Bakery in Waltloo, Gauteng. This permanent, onsite leadership role is responsible for managing the site maintenance team and ensuring all bakery assets are maintained effectively using Premier maintenance systems, within budget and in compliance with legal and safety requirements.

The Maintenance Manager plays a critical role in supporting continuous bakery operations, driving equipment reliability, and promoting a high-performance culture aligned with the Premier way. This opportunity is ideal for technically skilled maintenance professionals with bakery experience who are ready to lead teams and manage complex plant operations.

About the Role

The Maintenance Manager is accountable for planning, organising, and executing maintenance activities across the bakery plant to ensure equipment reliability and production continuity. The role requires close collaboration with production and bakery leadership teams to ensure equipment performance supports quality product output.

In addition to technical oversight, the Maintenance Manager must lead team development, manage budgets, and implement continuous improvement initiatives. The role also requires strong compliance awareness to ensure adherence to food safety, health and safety, and statutory regulations.

This position demands strong leadership, engineering expertise, and operational planning capability within a fast-paced FMCG environment.

Maintenance Leadership and Team Development

The Maintenance Manager must foster a high-performance culture within the maintenance team through competency-based recruitment, training, and development initiatives.

Coaching, mentoring, and performance management must be implemented to enhance team capability and productivity.

Effective communication must be maintained through Invocoms and meetings to align maintenance objectives with operational priorities.

A safe and supportive working environment must be ensured in accordance with Premier standards.

Strong teamwork and accountability must be promoted to achieve maintenance targets and operational goals.

Preventative Maintenance and Equipment Reliability

Adherence to the preventative maintenance plan and system must be ensured in collaboration with the Bakery Manager.

Maintenance procedures must be executed according to Premier standards to maintain equipment reliability and minimise downtime.

Baking equipment parameters must be monitored to ensure optimal performance and product quality.

Equipment exceptions and variations must be identified, with root cause analysis conducted to implement corrective actions.

Support must be provided to production teams to ensure uninterrupted operations and consistent product output.

Compliance, Safety and Quality Assurance

Full statutory compliance with health and safety, food safety, and OSHACT requirements must be maintained.

Training, audits, and corrective actions must be conducted to ensure adherence to safety and quality standards.

Maintenance practices must align with regulatory requirements and company SOPs to ensure operational integrity.

Collaboration with production teams ensures that equipment performance supports quality baking processes.

Cost Control and Continuous Improvement

The Maintenance Manager must support cost-effective operations by identifying opportunities for efficiency improvements and cost savings.

Benchmarking and best practice identification must be used to drive continuous improvement initiatives.

Budget management is essential to ensure maintenance activities align with financial targets and resource constraints.

Effective management of spares, consumables, and tools must be implemented to minimise downtime and maintain operational readiness.

Planning, Resource Management and Operational Support

Resources must be planned and organised to support preventative maintenance, breakdown response, project execution, inspections, and audits.

The Maintenance Manager must ensure maintenance schedules align with production requirements and operational priorities.

Project support and day-to-day maintenance activities must be coordinated to achieve performance targets within budget.

Collaboration with cross-functional teams supports continuous operations and operational excellence.

Qualifications and Experience

Qualified Artisan (Electrician or Millwright).

N4 in Electrical Engineering.

Chamber of Baking process certificate.

N6 Electrical Engineering may be required depending on statutory plant requirements.

5–7 years’ experience as a Maintenance Manager in a bakery environment.

3–5 years’ mechanical engineering experience.

3–5 years’ experience working with plant-related PLC and robotics systems.

MS Office proficiency.

Experience with asset management systems such as C-works or Pragma.

Project management experience and knowledge of Lean Six Sigma or related methodologies.

Skills and Competencies

Knowledge of bakery process quality requirements and standards.

Strong management and leadership capability.

Understanding of raw material functionality and quality, particularly flour.

Food safety knowledge and compliance awareness.

Financial acumen supporting budgeting and cost control.

Performance management and disciplinary process knowledge.

Planning and organising skills to support maintenance execution.

Employment Details

Position: Maintenance Manager
Reference Number: PRE260216-4
Company: Premier FMCG
Department: Maintenance
Site: BRB Watloo (206)
Location: Waltloo – Gauteng
Employment Type: Permanent
Closing Date: 23 February 2026

This role provides an opportunity to lead bakery maintenance operations while contributing to equipment reliability, production efficiency, and operational excellence within the FMCG industry.

Apply for Maintenance Manager – Premier FMCG

Candidates who meet the above requirements and have proven bakery maintenance leadership experience are encouraged to submit their application before the closing date.

👉 Apply for Maintenance Manager – Waltloo

Applications close on 23 February 2026.

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