Associate Director, Maintenance & Reliability

About the role

This newly created Associate Director position leads the maintenance and reliability function at a key European production site for a global regulated manufacturer. The role combines strategic leadership with hands‑on oversight of asset performance, planning and spare‑parts management.

Key responsibilities

• Lead and develop a multidisciplinary maintenance and reliability team.
• Define and execute preventative, predictive and corrective maintenance strategies.
• Improve asset reliability, equipment performance and long‑term maintenance planning.
• Implement reliability improvement programmes using RCA and FMEA methodologies.
• Own maintenance planning, scheduling and spare‑parts strategy through SAP PM/CMMS.
• Collaborate closely with Production, Quality, HSE and Engineering leadership.
• Contribute to strategic engineering decisions and succession planning at site level.

Required profile

• Strong leadership experience in maintenance and reliability within a manufacturing environment.
• Background in regulated industries such as pharmaceutical, biotech, food, chemical or similar.
• Proven ability to drive continuous improvement and culture change.
• Fluent communication in German and English.

Required skills

• SAP PM
• CMMS platforms
• Root Cause Analysis (RCA)
• Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA)

What we offer

• High visibility role with autonomy and long‑term career progression.
• Opportunity to shape team structure, culture and strategy.
• Collaborative international environment.
• Attractive location near the coast with competitive compensation and benefits.