Maintenance Manager

Crofters is growing and we are seeking an energetic, reliable & flexible team player to join our Team. Here’s your chance to join a highly skilled team of professionals at one of North America’s pioneering brands in the organic food movement Crofters Food Ltd, known in the grocery aisles as Crofters Organic Fruit Spreads, is the leading manufacturer of organic jams, jellies and fruit spreads in North America. Headquartered in picturesque Parry Sound, Ontario, about two hours north of Toronto, we manufacture a vast array of fruit-based spreads sold in stores across Canada, the United States, and select international markets. From the way we source our fruit, to the way we carefully manufacture our products using forward-thinking sustainable processing techniques, to our innovative, health-conscious formulations, every aspect of our operations receives the care and attention they deserve. A small but mighty team, with the support of a US-based private equity firm, join us as we look to aggressively scale our business on our mission to become one of the leading organic food brands in North America.

**Position Overview**:
This position is responsible for overseeing and managing all aspects of the maintenance department reporting into the VP of Operations. This includes ensuring safety and compliance, developing and implementing a comprehensive maintenance strategy, leading a team of maintenance personnel, optimizing equipment reliability, managing supplier/vendor relationships, driving continuous improvement, and providing insightful reporting and analysis. The maintenance manager plays a crucial role in maintaining a safe, reliable, and productive maintenance department within the organization. All production supporting maintenance employees and Maintenance Coordinator report directly into the Maintenance Manager.

**General Responsibilities**:

- Follow all GMP’s, HACCP, and Health and Safety policies outlined by Crofter’s Organic.
- Set an example for all employees by working in a safe manner, abiding all H & S policies and procedures and using proper PPE in the required areas of the plant.
- Define maintenance goals and objectives aligned with overall business objectives.
- Establish key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure maintenance effectiveness (i.e. Daily Work Order schedule completion, PM completion, planned vs unplanned WO’s, overtime, etc.).
- Monitor work order progress and provide necessary support and guidance.
- Collaborate with other departments to minimize disruptions and maximize equipment availability.
- Create long-term maintenance plans, including preventive/predictive maintenance schedules and equipment replacement strategies in collaboration with the Maintenance Coordinator.
- Focus on developing a predictive maintenance plan including incorporating new technology to assess and flag in advance when maintenance parts are beginning to fail.
- Support the implementation of capital investment projects being driven by the Technical Services Manager with maintenance staff when needed.
- Promote a culture that builds, operates and maintains plants that are operationally sound, safe and reliable. Implement leading reliability excellence practices and assertively raise the performance of the department by monitoring key performance indicators (i.e. equipment down time, operator safety indexes, etc).
- Hire, train, evaluate, and discharge staff as needed.
- Develop training and operating procedures as needed / directed.
- Coach staff on the Company’s performance expectations and provide on-going performance feedback.
- Analyze equipment performance data to identify trends and areas for improvement to develop strategies and initiatives to enhance equipment uptime and efficiency.
- Evaluate and select maintenance service providers and equipment suppliers.
- Monitor vendor performance and quality of work for parts purchased.
- Generate reports on maintenance activities, equipment performance, downtime, and costs.
- Use data-driven insights to identify trends, issues, optimize resource allocation and drive improvement initiatives.
- Develop, own, and manage the maintenance department's R&M budget.
- Forecast expenses and optimize resource allocation to maximize efficiency and cost-effectiveness.
- Accountable for spare parts inventory strategy in order to provide high availability of parts using industry KPI’s.
- Strong ability to multitask everyday items with a commitment to following up and adhering to timelines.
- Utilize existing CMMS program to the maximum extent possible to drive organization and efficiency gains.
- Other duties and responsibilities as assigned by the VP of Operations.

**Experience, Qualifications, and Educational Requirements**:

- Bachelor’s degree in a relevant technical field (e.g., Engineering, Maintenance Management, or a related field is considered an asset.
- 7+ years of experience in a maintenance role within a fast-paced food manufacturing environment.
- Proven