Maintenance Manager

Position Summary Reporting to the Plant Manager, the Maintenance Manager is responsible for leading all maintenance and reliability activities at Ice River Springs’ Grafton bottling facility, a high-speed beverage operation. This role oversees a focused maintenance team supporting daily production, preventative maintenance, and on-call response within a food-grade manufacturing environment. The Maintenance Manager is a key member of the site leadership team and is accountable for driving equipment reliability, ensuring safe maintenance execution, and supporting uninterrupted production. This role requires a confident, experienced maintenance leader who is comfortable balancing strategic oversight with hands-on technical involvement when required. Key Responsibilities Leadership & People Management Lead, coach, and develop the site maintenance team, including licensed trades, a Maintenance Lead Hand, and shift technicians. Set clear expectations around safety, performance, accountability, and work quality. Conduct regular performance management, coaching, and development planning for direct reports. Support recruitment, onboarding, training, and retention of maintenance personnel in partnership with HR and site leadership. Ensure effective communication across shifts, including daily priorities, handovers, and escalation of issues. Maintenance Operations Oversee all mechanical and electrical maintenance activities supporting high-speed bottling and packaging equipment. Ensure preventative maintenance (PM) programs are properly planned, executed, and documented through the CMMS. Maintain a hands-on presence as required, particularly during PM days, breakdowns, shutdowns, or limited coverage scenarios. Provide leadership during equipment failures, guiding troubleshooting efforts and escalation to minimize downtime. Coordinate and manage external contractors and OEMs for specialized repairs, inspections, and servicing. Participate in an on-call rotation to support after-hours maintenance needs. Reliability & Continuous Improvement Drive improvements in equipment reliability through root cause analysis (RCA) and corrective action implementation. Partner with Operations, Engineering, and Continuous Improvement teams to reduce downtime and improve asset performance. Monitor maintenance KPIs such as PM compliance, downtime trends, and work order backlog. Support standardization of maintenance practices and documentation appropriate to a smaller site environment. Safety, Quality & Compliance Ensure compliance with all Health & Safety, Environmental, and Food Safety regulations. Maintain strict adherence to Lockout/Tagout (LOTO) and other safe work practices. Participate in safety audits, incident investigations, and risk assessments. Partner with Quality to ensure maintenance work supports food-grade and packaging quality standards. Planning, Budgeting & Administration Collaborate with the Plant Manager on maintenance planning, cost tracking, and budget development. Manage maintenance inventory, spare parts, and tools to ensure operational readiness. Lead daily and weekly maintenance coordination discussions with Operations. Ensure accurate CMMS documentation, work order completion, and PM reporting.     Education, Skills & Experience Licensed trade (Millwright or Electrician) strongly preferred. Minimum 5+ years of maintenance leadership experience in food & beverage, beverage bottling, or high-speed packaging environments. Demonstrated experience leading maintenance teams in an automated manufacturing environment. Strong mechanical and electrical troubleshooting capability. Experience managing preventative maintenance programs and CMMS systems (e.g., Fiix, SAP PM, eMaint). PLC and automation exposure preferred. Strong communication, organizational, and people leadership skills. Working knowledge of Canadian regulatory requirements (ESA, MOL, food safety standards).   Working Environment & Physical Demands Regular presence on the production floor is required. Frequent walking, standing, climbing stairs/ladders, and exposure to noise, humidity, and moving equipment. Ability to perform hands-on maintenance activities and inspections as required. Participation in an on-call rotation is required; local or near-local residence is strongly preferred.   Salary: $110-125K/year to start