Director of Maintenance

Our client, located in Alberta’s industrial heartland, is a major industrial operator with significant assets. The company is known for its operational scale, technical complexity, and commitment to safe, responsible, and reliable production.

THE IDEAL CANDIDATE

The ideal candidate is an experienced maintenance leader with a strong track record in large, complex industrial or processing environments. They are a strategic thinker capable of translating long-range objectives into executable plans, while also remaining deeply connected to frontline realities. Known for building high-performance cultures, they are collaborative, communicative, and adept at navigating cross-functional environments.

The successful candidate brings business acumen, sound judgment, and the ability to lead change, foster innovation, and continuously improve reliability, safety, and cost outcomes. They thrive in dynamic settings and can confidently guide diverse technical teams through both stability and periods of operational challenge.

POSITION SUMMARY

This is an outstanding opportunity for an experienced maintenance professional to provide strategic and operational leadership across all maintenance functions for a complex, continuously operating site. This high-impact role is responsible for shaping and delivering the maintenance strategy, strengthening asset reliability, optimizing cost performance, and building a skilled and engaged workforce.

The Director will lead the development of maintenance plans that support production goals, ensure regulatory compliance, and embed a culture of safety and continuous improvement. This is an exceptional opportunity for a forward-looking maintenance leader to influence site performance and drive meaningful organizational development.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

- Provide strategic leadership for all site maintenance operations, including development and annual refresh of maintenance business plans aligned with site and corporate objectives.

- Ensure safe, reliable, and cost-effective execution of maintenance activities, fostering a strong “zero harm” culture.

- Build and sustain an optimized organizational structure, driving high engagement, effective communication, and a culture of accountability.

- Lead the development and management of maintenance budgets, ensuring alignment with production plans and long‑range planning cycles.

- Serve as the site’s technical authority for maintenance practices, ensuring engineering standards and prudent risk assessment govern all work execution.

- Champion a risk‑based maintenance philosophy (e.g., RCM, RBI) to ensure maintenance work is optimized and only performed when required to mitigate critical failure, regulatory or safety risks.

- Champion asset management principles and maintenance best practices to maximize equipment availability and lifecycle performance.

- Develop, standardize, and institutionalize core maintenance business processes (Work Identification, Planning/Scheduling, Execution, History Management) to drive predictable, efficient and cost‑effective performance. Advance continuous improvement through lean methodologies, innovation, and best‑practice adoption.

- Articulate the maintenance strategy and performance with clarity and precision to the Senior Leadership Team and other stakeholders, ensuring full alignment and support for key investment and operational decisions.

- Collaborate closely with cross‑functional departments to ensure coordinated planning and efficient execution.

- Inculcate a culture of operational discipline within frontline trade supervisors and crews, focusing on adherence to standardized work procedures, quality of execution, and rigorous closure of work orders.

- Provide leadership, mentorship, and talent development for a large multidisciplinary team across maintenance operations, planning, construction, turnaround activities, and support services.

- Cultivate highly effective and collaborative relationships with team members and internal/external partners to foster a positive, productive, and stable work environment.

- Provide after‑hours leadership support for operational emergencies as required.

QUALIFICATIONS & REQUIREMENTS

- Degree in Engineering or a related technical discipline; additional certifications in maintenance, reliability, or asset management are an asset.

- Significant experience leading maintenance functions within large, complex, union or non‑union industrial operations.

- Demonstrated ability to develop, execute and continuously optimize risk‑based maintenance strategies and multi‑year business plans.

- Strong understanding of maintenance best practices, reliability concepts, and continuous improvement methodologies.

- Proven ability to lead large, diverse teams across multiple disciplines with a focus on driving operational rigor, accountability, and technical excellence.

- Experience operating within rigorous safety, compliance, and regulatory environments.

- Skilled communicator and relationship‑builder with the ability to influence across functions, and to articulate complex technical and business cases clearly to senior executive leadership.

- Experience collaborating within a union environment is preferred.

- Strong change management abilities with a track record of driving cultural and operational improvements.

- Capable of effective crisis management and confident decision‑making under pressure, particularly concerning operational risk and asset integrity.

- Comfortable working with complex organizational structures and managing competing priorities.

COMPLIANCE

Final candidates for this position will undertake a Criminal Records Check.

INCLUSIVITY

Our client is proud to be an equal opportunity employer that is committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

A highly competitive compensation and benefits package, commensurate with skills and experience, will be discussed with qualified candidates.

CONFIDENTIALITY

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To apply, please submit a cover letter and resume in confidence to:

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