Maintenance Manager- Refrigeration

1. Role Purpose

The Maintenance Manager leads the companys refrigeration service and maintenance function ensuring that all client refrigeration systems - cold rooms blast freezers supermarket display cases ice makers chillers and process refrigeration plants - are kept running reliably safely and cost-effectively. The role combines hands-on technical leadership with commercial responsibility for quotations client relationships and team performance.

2. Key Responsibilities

2.1 Team & Technician Management

• Lead supervise and develop a team of refrigeration technicians assistants and a service coordinator.
• Allocate jobs to technicians based on skill level location and workload; ensure even utilisation across the team.
• Run the daily morning toolbox talk weekly planning meeting and monthly one-on-ones.
• Approve timesheets overtime leave and field allowances; manage attendance and discipline in line with company policy and the Kenya Employment Act.
• Identify training needs and coordinate technical upskilling (refrigerant handling electrical safety
• Enforce the use of PPE and adherence and food-industry hygiene requirements on every site.

2.2 Planned Maintenance & Job Scheduling

• Develop and maintain the annual Planned Preventive Maintenance (PPM) calendar for every contracted client and site.
• Issue weekly job cards route plans and spare-parts lists to technicians; ensure jobs are closed out with completed reports photos and client sign-off.
• Manage the 24/7 breakdown call-out roster and ensure response and repair times meet contractual SLAs.
• Track service KPIs in the CMMS / job-card system: PPM completion rate mean time to respond (MTTR) mean time to repair callback rate.
• Coordinate with the projects/installation team on commissioning hand-overs and warranty work.

2.3 Quotations Estimating & Commercial Management

• Prepare accurate technical quotations for breakdown repairs retrofits equipment replacements and PPM contracts (annual bi-annual or quarterly).
• Cost jobs correctly: refrigerant parts consumables labour hours transport scaffolding/access sub-contractor input and a defensible margin.
• Negotiate prices and lead times with local suppliers and overseas OEMs (compressors condensing units controls refrigerant gases).
• Convert quotations into signed jobs and track quotation-to-order conversion rate.
• Support the finance team with progress invoicing retention release and debt collection on maintenance contracts.

2.4 Client & Expectation Management

• Act as the primary point of contact for all maintenance-contract clients - supermarkets dairies horticulture exporters hotels hospitals ice plants fishing/cold-chain operators.
• Carry out site visits quarterly contract review meetings and annual service reports for each key account.
• Set realistic expectations on response times lead times for imported parts and the cost of repairs versus replacement.
• Resolve client complaints and escalations promptly; investigate root cause and implement corrective action to prevent recurrence.
• Identify and pursue contract-renewal and up-sell opportunities (additional sites retrofits energy-efficiency upgrades refrigerant retrofits away from R22).

2.5 Spares Stores & Procurement

• Maintain a healthy stock of fast-moving spares (contactors fan motors expansion valves filter driers common compressors controls).
• Plan refrigerant procurement (e.g. R134a R404A R407C R290 R744/CO2) in line with Kenyas
• NEMA Ozone-Depleting Substances regulations and the companys F-gas / refrigerant log.
• Approve local purchase requisitions within delegated limits; track stock variance and obsolete stock.

2.6 Reporting Compliance & Continuous Improvement

• Submit a monthly maintenance report to the General Manager covering jobs completed revenue gross margin KPIs HSE incidents and key client issues.
• Ensure all work complies with manufacturer specifications Kenyan electrical regulations food-safety standards (HACCP where applicable) and environmental/refrigerant rules.
• Drive continuous improvement: standard service checklists technician performance dashboards spares standardisation energy-efficiency proposals.

3. Qualifications & Experience

3.1 Education & Certification

• Diploma or Higher Diploma in Refrigeration & Air Conditioning Mechanical Engineering
• Electromechanical Engineering or equivalent.
• Government Trade Test / NITA certification in Refrigeration & Air Conditioning.
• Certified refrigerant handling / safe-handling-of-refrigerants training.
• Valid Kenyan driving licence (Class B/C/E).
• Certificate of Good Conduct.

3.2 Experience

1. Minimum 3 years hands-on experience in commercial and industrial refrigeration with at least 3 years in a supervisory or service-management role.
2. Demonstrable experience working for a refrigeration contractor or service provider in Kenya or the wider East African region.
3. Proven experience servicing cold rooms blast freezers supermarket racks/condensing units ice machines and chillers; ammonia (NH3) or CO2 (R744) experience is a strong advantage.
4. Experience preparing and winning technical quotations and managing maintenance-contract clients.

3.3 Technical Knowledge

• Strong understanding of the vapour-compression cycle refrigerant properties electrical controls
• PLC/temperature controllers and basic refrigeration design.
• Comfortable reading P&IDs single-line electrical drawings and OEM manuals.
• Familiar with energy-efficiency leak-detection and refrigerant-recovery best practice.

3.4 Skills & Competencies

• Strong leadership and people-management skills; able to coach and hold technicians accountable.
• Commercially aware - confident with quotations costing margins and basic P&L.
• Excellent client-handling and communication skills in English and Kiswahili (written and spoken).
• Well-organised; able to plan ahead and juggle multiple sites jobs and priorities under pressure.
• Computer literate: MS Excel Word Outlook and a CMMS / job-card system.
• High personal integrity; honest reporting on parts labour hours and refrigerant usage.