Exciting Career Opportunity: Machine Specialist at International Breweries Plc

Are you a skilled engineer or technical specialist looking to elevate your career with one of Nigeria’s most historic and respected manufacturing companies? International Breweries Plc is seeking a highly motivated and qualified Machine Specialist to join its dynamic production team. This is your chance to work with an industry leader in the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) sector and contribute to the success of legendary brands like Trophy Lager.

About International Breweries Plc

Incorporated in December 1971 by its founder and first Chairman, Dr. Lawrence Omole, International Breweries Plc has grown from a local brewery into an absolute powerhouse in the beverage industry. The company commenced production of its flagship product, Trophy Lager, in December 1978 with an initial capacity of 200,000 hectoliters per annum. Following a massive surge in demand, the company completed a major expansion in 1982 to reach a capacity of 500,000 hectoliters annually, later listing on the Nigerian Stock Exchange in April 1995. Today, they remain dedicated to maintaining world-class production standards.

The Role: Machine Specialist

The primary purpose of this role is to maintain, repair, and optimise plant machinery and associated systems. As a Machine Specialist, you will be key to ensuring maximum plant availability and exceptional product quality at a minimal operational cost, without compromising on stringent industrial safety standards.

Key Roles and Responsibilities

Your responsibilities will span critical areas of production, plant maintenance, and quality control:

1. Operational Support

Provide specialist support to shift-based teams during active operations, including standby and day-shift coverage.
Act as the functional technical expert in advanced troubleshooting and problem-solving.
Offer clear guidance, mentoring, and technical coaching to operators and artisans regarding machine operations and fault-finding processes.
Assess operator capabilities and actively participate in regional or central plant optimization trials.

2. Plant Maintenance

Contribute insights to maintenance planning meetings to identify and clarify required work.
Execute tasks during planned, routine, and opportunity maintenance windows according to schedules set by the Maintenance Planner.
Update the Maintenance Planner when scheduled tasks cannot be completed to help reschedule and prioritize work.
Accurately complete all maintenance-related administration tasks, including updating SAP databases.
Participate in postmortem reviews to discuss learnings, challenges, and opportunities from recent maintenance runs.

3. Problem Solving & Performance Analysis

Collaborate with fellow team members to resolve complex, spontaneous machine issues.
Analyze overall machine performance, perform detailed loss and waste analyses, and develop targeted action plans to boost efficiency.
Escalate unresolved high-level issues to the Engineering Controller for direction.

4. Housekeeping and Safety

Prioritize safe operations, ensuring unsafe practices are quickly identified, highlighted, and corrected.
Adhere to structured work instructions and official company policies.
Maintain a clean, organized work environment using established 5S principles.

Key Attributes and Competencies

Physical Fitness: Comfort working in a physically demanding, fast-paced plant environment.
Self-Management: Strong initiative and a bias for action.
Analytical Mindset: Exceptional problem-solving skills and attention to detail.
Communication: Good interpersonal skills and a collaborative team spirit.
Flexibility: Readiness to work scheduled standby shifts.

Minimum Requirements

Education: Minimum of an N6 Engineering qualification.
Certification: Certified Trade Test qualification in Mechanical, Electrical, Millwright, or Instrumentation.
Foundational Studies: Matric with a strong background in Mathematics and Science.
Experience: Minimum of 2 years of active experience in an FMCG (Fast-Moving Consumer Goods) environment.
Advantageous: Prior experience in a packaging plant environment is highly preferred.