Head of Operations and Maintenance

About the Company

Since its establishment in 2008, Mulilo has grown into one of the leading Independent Power Producers (IPP) in Southern Africa. Mulilo is majority owned by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, the world’s leading private equity investor in renewable energy assets, through its New Markets Fund I. Mulilo has concluded numerous PPA's in both the Department of Mineral Energy's Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Programme (REIPPP) and with several large corporate energy users. Mulilo currently operates 450MW of wind and solar PV projects and has a further 500MW of projects under financial close. Having adopted a strategy that aligns with the company's long-term vision, Mulilo has accumulated a pipeline of projects exceeding 25GW, and is now positioned as a key player in the renewable energy sector. 

Mulilo places strong emphasis on its human capital and prides itself in providing a world class working environment for all its employees, thereby placing huge value on career progression and personal growth. 

Mulilo is guided by strong ethical principles and adheres to its environmental, social and governance responsibilities.  

About Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) 

Founded in 2012, CIP is the world’s largest dedicated renewable energy fund manager and a global leader in offshore wind. CIP currently manages over 30 billion Euro’s, with a target of having 100 billion Euros under management by 2030. The funds managed by CIP focus on investments in offshore and onshore wind, solar PV, biomass and energy-from-waste, transmission and distribution, reserve capacity, storage, advanced bioenergy, and Power-to-X. 

About this role

This is a qualified and skilled position requiring overall responsibility for managing the group’s O&M Management team to ensure all projects perform optimally and the O&M Contractors perform their obligations under the contract. This role includes setting up management systems, reporting to stakeholders, administrating O&M contracts, managing onsite personnel, overseeing procurement and logistics.

Key responsibilities 

• Manage the Operations and Maintenance (O&M) Support team.
• Ensure that each plant is operated in compliance with requirements of Project Documentation, Standards and Laws.
• Set and monitor appropriate KPI’s and Budget for the (O&M) Support activities and resources.
• Mentor, lead and manage members of O&M team
• Continuously improve systems and procedures based on experience.
• Plant Performance management and reporting
• Analyse and benchmark the performance of the fleet (reliability, availability, flexibility, O&M costs, ...).
• Define and implement metrics to measure operational and effective performance.
• Analyse incidents and Root Cause Analyses.
• Highlight performance gaps and propose recommendations. Set up action plans together with the Operator Companies and Project Companies for better performances.
• Shape and nurture a culture of rapid execution, excellence, innovation, security, reliability, and continuous improvement.
• Risk assessment and reporting
• Implementation and follow-up of actions needed to minimise risks and/or consequences. Development of the short and long-term strategy for the assets and O&M Department.
• Support Operator and Project companies to design and seek approval of plant improvements and investments.
• Evaluate the yearly and long-term budget and business plan of the Operator and Project Companies.
• Explore the latest technology advancements in green energy solutions, digitalization subjects and suggest the appropriate technologies to business leaders.
• Liaise with asset management teams for improvements and optimizations on renewable assets.
• Liaise with insurance technical teams for risk mitigation recommendation solutions and provide inputs to asset managers.
• Provide operating assets with technical and hands-on support and experience to ensure optimized technical solutions, covering re-engineering, run/repair/replace decisions, and component life extension.
• Organize and deliver Root cause Analysis on major events and share the learnings and experience feedback to rest of fleet and Mulilo Group
• Contribute to technical support solutions and analysis for insurance claims or assessment.
• Have a detailed understanding of the O&M contracts between Operator Companies and Project Companies.
• Establish a reporting calendar and ensure reporting to all stakeholders as required.
• Organize and ensure compliance to internal/external audits recommendations and actions as can be the case.
• Ensure that a culture of excellent Environmental, Health and Safety standards is applied and consistently maintained.

General Tasks (non-exhaustive)

• Ensure each asset fulfils obligations and exercises rights under O&M Agreement
• Manage key stakeholder relations with O& Contractors and third-party service providers.
• Manage and compile monthly stakeholder reports
• Prepare annual plans and budgets
• Maintain documents in line with the team's filing and project management system.
• Supporting the development team during bidding and financial close
• Visit project sites quarterly and as necessary.
• Represent Mulilo, as required, in other meetings, sub-committees, and formal structures.

Required skills and education background.

• Engineering degree, preferably Electrical.
• Minimum 5-10 years strong and proven technical experience in a South African infrastructure operation and maintenance environment.
• Proven track record of leading, managing and training high-performance maintenance teams.
• Knowledge and understanding of the OHS Act and applicable regulations.
• Knowledge and application of relevant compliance requirements with complex contractual entities.
• Detail oriented, with a drive to establish and follow processes.
• Understanding of renewable power plant system design, operation, maintenance, and key commercial and business drivers.
• Knowledgeable in the systems, processes and protocols guiding the operations and maintenance of renewable power plants and electrical systems.
• MS Office applications (Word, Excel, Power Point, Outlook, Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive).
• Willingness to travel.
• Professional Engineering Registration with ECSA or Government Certificate of Competence (GCC) advantageous
• Experience in the management of or the operation and maintenance of PV or wind facilities

Desirable attributes

The ideal candidate would have a passion for the Renewable Energy sector and personality traits would include a high level of diligence, determination, resilience, and agility.

Mulilo is an employer of choice and is offering an extremely competitive total remuneration package for this position.

Additional Information

Able to work overtime according to operational needs.

The position is based at the offices of the company, but travel may be required occasionally.