Head of Maintenance

The purpose of this position is to develop strategy and exercise effective leadership in the planning, development, and management of the Keolis MHI Dubai Metro Maintenance Department. This role will ensure effective delivery of contracted obligations and maintain a critical overview of all maintenance activities undertaken on the network, including reporting, and provide professional support and advice to the Engineering & Maintenance Director. The position includes achievement of contractual and internal KPI targets for safety, maintenance activities, service reliability, cleaning standards, supervision of maintenance contractors, environmental management, human resource management, financial targets, legal and stakeholder management.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Assume overall responsibility for ensuring infrastructure, Metro trains and other assets are safe for operations through the delivery of planned and reactive maintenance.
• Manage Level 1-5 maintenance activities for all maintenance activities for the Dubai Metro.
• To support the development and management of a robust strategy and annual plans to meet the contractual requirements and business targets.
• To ensure effective financial management is in place to achieve turnover, profit and cash targets, and to meet corporate and legal requirements.
• Build and develop the Maintenance Department staff at full strength, and coordinate resources including hiring and management of qualified maintenance managers, engineers, and technicians.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives with a focus on industrialisation of activities and increasing productive ‘touch time’ for engineers and technicians.
• Work in partnership with the Head of Engineering to ensure synergies are developed and that the strategic business and asset management plans are delivered.
• Provide strategic input to the Head of Engineering and the Engineering & Maintenance Director as required.
• Perform and carry out duties as instructed/directed by the Engineering & Maintenance Director.
• Manage the day to day interaction with internal support functions and external interface with contractors and outsourced contracts.
• Provide timely reports and updates to the Engineering & Maintenance Director.
• Support, review and advise Contractors on Keolis MHI maintenance activities.

KNOWLEDGE REQUIRED

• A seasoned senior manager with a minimum of 7 years in similar roles
• Experience in delivering rail asset maintenance, including:
• o Planning
• o Delivery
• o Safety
• o Optimisation
• o Budgets
• o Change
• Sustained experience in industrialisation and LEAN methodologies in a production environment.
• A thorough understanding of all aspects of safety issues related to railway operations.
• Knowledge and experience in Maintenance Management Systems (MMS) and reporting.

KEY SKILLS

• Must be a skilled manager in communicating, motivating and developing staff.
• Must be politically incisive in communicating effectively with government agencies, board members, clients, media/press, contractors and staff.
• Highly motivated and flexible to work in a time-sensitive environment to respond quickly and effectively to unanticipated high workloads, events and emergencies.
• Ability to think laterally and analyse and assess a range of information under pressure.
• Ability to multi-task and analyse situations promptly and without bias so as to determine the proper course of action or alternatives without jeopardising human safety, quality and the committed performance targets.
• Thorough understanding of all aspects of safety issues related to railway operations and maintenance.
• A developed understanding of the rail system basics such as driverless trains, moving block signalling systems, 3rd rail power supply distribution, platform screen doors, automatic gates and fare collection, permanent way, and control and communication systems.

EXPERIENCE

• A minimum of 10 years of Engineering and Maintenance Management experience.
• A proven track record of successfully leading a maintenance department in pressured environments, ideally within the rail industry.
• Must have demonstrable experience in building and developing strong teams.
• Must have 5 years commercial experience, managing third parties to deliver complex contracts.

EDUCATIONAL AND PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS

• Master’s or Bachelor’s degree in an electrical or mechanical engineering discipline, or equivalent experience.
• Ideally a Chartered Engineer or with the potential to achieve chartered status.
• Holds membership with a recognized engineering institution.