Sevenoaks area, KwaZulu-Natal: A well-established farming and packhouse operation requires a hands-on Maintenance Manager / Packhouse Technician. The successful candidate will be based full-time in the packhouse during season to ensure maximum uptime and product flow and will manage general farm maintenance during the off-season.
Key responsibilities
Packhouse (in-season)
- Ensure reliable operation and uptime of packhouse equipment through preventative maintenance, planned servicing, and rapid breakdown response.
- Maintain and troubleshoot equipment such as graders/sizers, conveyors, motors/gearboxes, belts/bearings, packing/printing systems, scales, box making equipment, pumps, fans and general mechanical systems.
- Assist with cold room and refrigeration support (fault-finding, basic maintenance, contractor coordination).
- Maintain maintenance logs, daily/weekly checklists, and spares usage records; support audit readiness.
- Enforce safe work practices (lockout/tagout principles, PPE, safe guarding) and maintain a clean, food-safe maintenance environment.
Farm (off-season)
- General farm maintenance planning and execution across infrastructure, workshops, pumps, irrigation-related mechanical components, buildings and equipment.
- Coordinate servicing and basic repairs of tractors, implements and farm equipment; manage minor fabrication/welding tasks.
- Manage contractors where required (electrical, refrigeration, civil), ensuring quality, safety and timelines.
- Maintain maintenance schedules, job cards, and parts/spares control.
Minimum requirements (non-negotiable)
- Minimum 3 years’ relevant experience in packhouse/food processing maintenance and/or farm maintenance.
- Strong mechanical aptitude with proven fault-finding ability under time pressure.
- Competence in general maintenance including basic electrical fault finding, welding/fabrication and equipment servicing coordination.
- Computer literate (maintenance logs, checklists, email/WhatsApp reporting).
- Strong communication skills (able to report issues clearly and work with operations teams).
- Valid driver’s licence.
Advantageous / preferred
- Trade qualification (e.g., Millwright/Fitter/Electrician) or relevant tertiary qualification in Agriculture/Engineering-related field.
- Refrigeration/cold room exposure.
- Packhouse/food industry experience with audit/compliance systems (e.g., HACCP/BRCGS/GlobalG.A.P/SIZA—where applicable).
- Experience supervising assistants/contractors and managing spares stock.
Personal attributes
- Practical, hands-on, calm under pressure and solutions driven.
- Able to work extended hours during peak season and respond to occasional after-hours breakdowns.
- High attention to safety, cleanliness and detail in a food-handling environment.
ONLY short-listed candidates will be contacted.
