Group Manager, Maintenance Plant Operations

At LATICRETE International, we aim to be the leading construction brand trusted globally for high-performance tile and stone installation systems and building finishing solutions. Family-owned for three generations, we’ve been in business for 70 years and operate in over 100 countries. Our purpose is to improve the built world and the lives of those who build it through innovative, industry-leading products and a commitment to our employees, customers, partners, and global communities.

About the role

The Group Manager, Maintenance Plant Operations provides enterprise-aligned leadership for plant maintenance, reliability, and asset stewardship in support of safe, efficient, and uninterrupted manufacturing operations. This role establishes the site maintenance strategy, governance, and performance framework for preventive, predictive, and corrective maintenance; utilities and infrastructure reliability; shutdown and turnaround execution; and maintenance-related continuous improvement. The position translates business priorities, production requirements, and capital objectives into integrated maintenance strategies, resource plans, and asset care standards.

This role exercises broad judgment in maintenance prioritization, capital and repair planning, contractor governance, organizational capability, and resource deployment, with significant impact on equipment uptime, operational continuity, cost performance, compliance, and long-term site effectiveness.

Scope

• Team Size: Directly leads a small team and provides leadership for the Autonomous Maintenance (AM) program and Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) within the Maintenance World Class Manufacturing (WCM) pillar. Partners closely with site leadership to strengthen maintenance execution and asset care discipline.
• Site Responsibility: Collaborates with site leadership across the manufacturing network to support maintenance standards, autonomous maintenance practices, TPM execution, technical troubleshooting, and administrative follow-through tied to the Maintenance WCM pillar.
• Decision-Making Authority: Exercises broad decision-making authority for maintenance prioritization, outage response, repair versus replace recommendations, contractor use, workforce deployment, and selected capital and infrastructure actions within approved policies and financial parameters.

Responsibilities

• Maintenance Leadership and Asset Performance (30%):
  • Direct the maintenance function to deliver asset reliability, uptime, service responsiveness, and cost performance aligned with site and enterprise objectives.
  • Establish maintenance strategy, service standards, and governance for preventive, predictive, and corrective maintenance execution.
  • Evaluate asset risks, reliability constraints, and system vulnerabilities to protect operational continuity and long-term site capability.
• Maintenance Safety, Compliance, and Technical Stewardship (20%):
  • Provide leadership for maintenance safety, technical compliance, and work execution standards to ensure safe practices and regulatory adherence.
  • Ensure maintenance programs, contractor governance, utilities systems, and infrastructure activities align with internal standards, audit expectations, and applicable regulations.
  • Lead effective investigation, root cause analysis, and corrective action for equipment failures and reliability events.
• Maintenance Leadership Capability and Workforce Effectiveness (20%):
  • Lead a multi-level maintenance team and build organizational capability through coaching, succession planning, and development of technical and leadership skills.
  • Establish performance expectations, reinforce planning and scheduling discipline, and address capability or execution gaps.
  • Partner with HR and site leadership on workforce planning, technical talent development, and employee relations.
• Reliability, Planning, and Continuous Improvement (20%):
  • Lead reliability and maintenance improvement efforts to increase equipment performance and reduce unplanned downtime.
  • Translate business, production, and capital priorities into integrated maintenance plans, shutdown strategies, and asset investment recommendations.
  • Drive disciplined planning, scheduling, and cross-functional execution to improve maintenance productivity and asset availability.
• Financial Accountability and Cross-Functional Partnership (10%):
  • Provide stewardship of maintenance budgets by partnering with site leadership on repair and replacement spend, contractor services, and cost improvement actions.
  • Influence outcomes through effective partnership with production, engineering, quality, EH&S, supply chain, finance, and external service providers.
  • Recommend and approve maintenance resource deployment, repair priorities, and capital or infrastructure actions supporting plant stability and growth.

Requirements

• Education and Experience:
  • Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Industrial Maintenance, Operations, or a related technical field required; Master’s degree preferred.
  • 10+ years of progressive maintenance, engineering, reliability, or plant operations experience within a manufacturing environment, including leadership responsibility for multi-shift operations.
  • 5+ years of experience leading maintenance managers, supervisors, planners, technicians, or other technical teams in a complex manufacturing environment.
• Specialized Skills and Experience:
  • Demonstrated leadership in maintenance operations, asset reliability, maintenance planning, safety, and cost management.
  • Strong working knowledge of preventive and predictive maintenance programs, reliability methodologies, root cause analysis, and planning and scheduling practices.
  • Ability to interpret maintenance and reliability data, identify trends, and translate insights into asset performance and business action.
  • Strong communication, coaching, technical leadership, contractor management, and cross-functional collaboration skills.
  • Proficiency in Microsoft Office and familiarity with CMMS, ERP, maintenance planning tools, and plant systems preferred.

Skills

• Enterprise-oriented maintenance and reliability leadership
• Asset strategy, planning, and technical judgment
• Strategic decision-making and operational governance
• Continuous improvement, problem solving, and execution discipline
• Organizational leadership, talent development, and succession planning
• Cross-functional influence and enterprise partnership
• Accountability, resilience, and results orientation

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• 401k retirement plan
• Tuition reimbursement
• 13 paid holidays in addition to paid vacation and sick time
• Flexible spending accounts
• Life insurance, AD&D, and supplemental insurance

Schedule

Travel requirement: 50% (domestic and international, as applicable). Must have or be able to obtain a passport.

Physical Requirements

• Lift and/or carry a minimum of 50 pounds
• Push/pull 25 pounds
• Stand 50-75% of the day
• Sit 25-50% of the day
• Twist/bend 50-75% of the day
• Squat, climb, and/or crawl 20% of the day