Maintenance Planner – Manufacturing/GMP Environment

About the role

The Maintenance Planner will coordinate all maintenance activities for a GMP‑regulated manufacturing plant in Cape Town. Working at the intersection of engineering, production and procurement, the role aims to maximise equipment reliability while minimising production downtime.

Key responsibilities

• Develop and maintain preventive maintenance (PM) plans for all plant equipment.
• Create weekly and shutdown schedules, converting work requests into complete job packs (labour, parts, tools).
• Manage the CMMS (SAP/Pragma or similar), generate and close work orders, and produce reports on downtime, MTBF, MTTR and PM compliance.
• Scope jobs, define labour hours, required skills, materials and ensure parts availability before work starts.
• Plan and coordinate plant shutdowns and major projects using Gantt charts and critical‑path scheduling, liaising with contractors and internal teams.
• Analyse breakdown data, support root‑cause analysis and drive continuous improvement of maintenance strategies.
• Ensure all activities comply with GMP, ISO and internal quality and safety standards, maintaining accurate documentation and audit trails.

Required profile

• National Diploma or Degree in Mechanical, Electrical or Industrial Engineering, or a qualified artisan (Millwright/Electrician).
• 3‑5+ years of experience in maintenance planning within manufacturing (FMCG, Pharma, Biotech or industrial).
• Strong knowledge of CMMS platforms, preferably SAP or Pragma.
• Proficient in Excel and data‑driven reporting.

Required skills

• CMMS (SAP, Pragma)
• Preventive maintenance planning
• Excel reporting
• Gantt chart scheduling
• Data analysis (downtime, MTBF, MTTR)