Mechanical Supervisor / Mechanical Lead

Key Responsibilities

• Lead preventive, predictive, corrective and breakdown maintenance across the plant.
• Oversee maintenance of hammer mills, roller mills, pellet mills, mixers, conditioners, conveyors, elevators, flakers, expanders, cookers, extractors, DTDC, pumps, gearboxes, bearings, fans, blowers, heat exchangers and related plant equipment.
• Conduct breakdown analysis, troubleshooting and Root Cause Analysis (RCA), and implement permanent corrective actions.
• Develop and maintain preventive and predictive maintenance schedules.
• Monitor equipment condition and identify potential failures before breakdown.
• Plan and maintain critical mechanical spares and equipment history records.
• Supervise fitters, technicians, welders, fabricators and contractors to ensure productivity, workmanship and adequate manpower availability.
• Manage equipment installation, alignment, fabrication, modification, commissioning and improvement projects.
• Coordinate with Production, Electrical, Procurement, Stores and HSE teams to support uninterrupted plant operations.
• Support shutdown planning, execution and equipment start-up.
• Ensure strict compliance with LOTO, Permit-to-Work, hot-work, confined-space and other plant safety requirements.
• Monitor maintenance costs and identify opportunities for improved maintenance efficiency.
• Drive improvement in MTBF, MTTR, plant uptime and equipment reliability.
• Prepare maintenance KPIs, downtime analysis, maintenance reports and continuous improvement plans.

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical Engineering from a recognized institution; OR
• Diploma in Mechanical Engineering supported by strong relevant plant maintenance and equipment reliability experience.
• 5–8+ years' relevant mechanical maintenance experience within a process plant environment.
• Supervisory or managerial maintenance experience is preferred.
• Experience within Animal Feed, Solvent Extraction, Oilseed Processing, Edible Oil or similar process manufacturing environments will be a strong advantage.
• Candidates should meet applicable Kenyan professional registration requirements where required.

Technical Competencies

Candidates should demonstrate strong hands-on knowledge of:

• Rotating equipment.
• Pumps, gearboxes and bearings.
• Conveyors and material-handling systems.
• Hydraulic and pneumatic systems.
• Equipment installation and alignment.
• Fabrication and welding.
• Preventive and predictive maintenance.
• Breakdown troubleshooting and RCA.
• Critical spare-parts planning.
• Maintenance planning and scheduling.
• Contractor and technical-team supervision.
• Plant shutdown management.
• Maintenance cost control.
• LOTO and Permit-to-Work requirements.