Maintenance Supervisor
About the role
The Maintenance Supervisor leads the safe, effective, and disciplined execution of maintenance activities during afternoons and midnight shifts to ensure reliable plant operations across manufacturing, processing, packaging, utilities, and wastewater treatment (where applicable).
This role owns the “who, when, and how well” of maintenance execution—driving schedule compliance, high-quality workmanship, and continuous improvement while developing a skilled, engaged maintenance workforce.
The Supervisor partners closely with Maintenance Planning, Production, CI, and Engineering to reduce unplanned downtime, improve asset reliability, and support Kerry’s food safety, quality, and safety standards on Afternoon and Midnight shifts. This role is critical for communication with the day shift maintenance supervisor. They need to have good turnover and communication of emerging issues/risks, mitigation plans, and priorities.
Key responsibilities
Maintenance Execution & Schedule Control: Own execution of the weekly maintenance schedule, assigning work orders to appropriate trades and shifts for corrective WOs, PMs, and rebuilds. Drive strong schedule compliance, minimizing break-ins except for validated emergencies or production-critical events. Coordinate daily with Day Maintenance Supervisor, Production, Utilities, and Wastewater Treatment (if applicable) to align maintenance activity with operational needs. Provide real-time problem solving during job execution to avoid delays and rework.
Preventive & Predictive Maintenance: Lead execution of planned, corrective, and reactive maintenance work. Ensure preventive maintenance (PM) tasks and technical PMs are completed as scheduled. Support efforts to improve mean time between failures (MTBF) and reduce urgent and reactive work. Participate in reliability initiatives, equipment upgrades, and continuous improvement projects. Provide specific information on failures that have extended downtime to aid in support on RCFAs.
Field Leadership & Team Development: Spend 60–75% of time in the field, coaching and supporting mechanics, electricians, utilities, and other trades. Audit work quality, adherence to standard job plans, and craftsmanship standards. Identify skill gaps and support training, mentoring, and professional development of the maintenance team. Foster a culture of ownership, accountability, and teamwork aligned with Kerry Values.
Technical Oversight: Provide technical leadership across mechanical, electrical, pneumatic, hydraulic, and utility systems (e.g., boilers, refrigeration, compressed air). Assist with troubleshooting complex equipment failures impacting safety, quality, and/or production.
Safety, Quality & Compliance: Champion a safety-first culture, ensuring compliance with Kerry safety standards, LOTO, permit requirements, and safe work practices. Ensure maintenance work complies with food safety, GMP, environmental, and regulatory requirements. Reinforce proper chemical handling, housekeeping, and documentation standards.
CMMS / SAP PM Discipline: Ensure all work orders are accurately executed, confirmed, and closed in SAP PM/CMMS by end of shift. Maintain strong data quality to support planning, scheduling, and reliability analysis. Provide any insights to improve job plans, parts readiness, and schedule integrity.
Performance Management & Continuous Improvement: Monitor and report on key performance indicators such as PM compliance, urgent work reduction, downtime drivers, and backlog health. Support maintenance projects and equipment improvement initiatives. Drive continuous improvement in maintenance processes, reliability practices, and team effectiveness.
Qualifications and skills
Engineering degree or extensive technical experience in a manufacturing environment.
Strong working knowledge of mechanical, electrical, pneumatic, hydraulic, and utility systems.
Proven experience leading maintenance teams in planned and reactive maintenance execution.
Experience using CMMS / SAP PM or similar systems.
Strong safety leadership mindset and problem-solving skills.
Leadership & Behavioural Expectations
Demonstrates Kerry Values: Courage, Ownership, Enterprising Spirit, Inclusiveness, and Open-Mindedness.
Leads with presence on the floor and accountability for results.
Communicates clearly with hourly teams, peers, and leadership, when needed.
Balances urgency with discipline to deliver sustainable reliability improvements.