Industrial Wastewater Site Operations Lead

Industrial Wastewater Treatment | Operations & Maintenance

Location: Western Region, approximately 150 km from Jeddah

The Site Operations Lead is responsible for managing the end-to-end operation and maintenance of industrial wastewater treatment plants and associated systems. The role provides leadership across safety, plant performance, mechanical and electrical maintenance, process optimization, team capability, customer management, budget control, and contractual delivery. The treatment scope includes MBR, DAF, RO, TSE RO, UF, ZLD, MVR/MEE, STP, ETP plants, softeners, and pretreatment systems.

Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities

1.       Safety leadership and Goal Zero: Own the safety performance of the site O&M team. Build a Goal Zero culture and ensure plant, equipment, safety, and environmental incidents and near misses are promptly reported, investigated through root-cause analysis, and closed with effective corrective and preventive actions.

2.       Plant operations and maintenance: Lead the safe, reliable, and efficient operation and maintenance of industrial wastewater and water treatment facilities, including process, mechanical, electrical, and instrumentation systems, in line with approved procedures and contractual requirements.

3.       Maintenance and spare-parts management: Develop and implement preventive, predictive/condition-based, time-based, and breakdown maintenance programs. Establish equipment-criticality plans and manage critical spares, inventory levels, and maintenance readiness to maximize plant availability.

4.       Process optimization and water quality: Monitor plant performance and water-quality results, troubleshoot process deviations, and implement optimization and continuous-improvement initiatives to improve reliability, treatment efficiency, recovery, energy use, chemical consumption, and compliance.

5.       Contract, KPI, and customer management: Establish and regularly review operational and maintenance KPIs in accordance with the O&M contract. Maintain effective communication with the client, Location Head, senior engineering management, peers, and supporting maintenance-system groups.

6.       Budget and cost control: Prepare, administer, and control the annual O&M budget. Ensure manpower, maintenance, spares, chemicals, and improvement activities are delivered within approved budgets and agreed timelines without compromising safety or performance.

7.       Procedures, planning, and work control: Prepare and maintain SOPs, process checklists, maintenance standards, and operating instructions. Prioritize and schedule work based on safety, plant criticality, equipment availability, production needs, and the skills and number of available personnel.

8.       People leadership and capability development: Recruit, onboard, train, coach, motivate, delegate to, and monitor direct reports. Set clear performance standards, conduct performance reviews, identify development needs, and ensure all O&M personnel are competent to perform safely, efficiently, and effectively.

9.       Performance reporting and digital systems: Issue accurate monthly reports to the Senior Engineering Manager covering safety, water quality, plant availability, maintenance performance, budget status, improvement actions, and key contractual KPIs. Use SAP, MS Office, MS Project, and other applicable systems to plan, document, analyze, and report work.

10.    Technical problem solving and continuous improvement: Apply strong process, mechanical, and electrical knowledge to identify problems, evaluate options, manage risk, and implement sustainable solutions. Maintain current technical and industry knowledge and promote teamwork, trust, and cross-functional cooperation.

Minimum Qualifications and Experience

·       Education: Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or a closely related engineering discipline.

·       Experience: Minimum 10 years of hands-on experience in the operation and maintenance of industrial wastewater treatment plants and systems, including MBR, DAF, RO, TSE RO, UF, and ZLD.

·       Leadership: Demonstrated experience leading multidisciplinary operations and maintenance teams and managing direct reports in an industrial site environment.

·       Technical capability: Strong understanding of industrial wastewater treatment processes, water-quality principles, equipment criticality, mechanical and electrical maintenance, troubleshooting, and root-cause analysis.

·       Systems knowledge: Working knowledge of SAP or a comparable CMMS/ERP system, together with proficiency in MS Office and MS Project.

·       Location: Role based in Western Region, approximately 150 km from Jeddah. The successful candidate must be able to work regularly at the site.