Utilities Infrastructure Coordinator

Duties

• Answering to the Facilities Manager – Waste, Utilities and Camp Services and the Site Services Lead Manager, the main activities of the Utilities Infrastructure Coordinator (Sewage and Water Treatment, Network and Plants) include: to act as the company's representative for the day-to-day technical and operational control of the water treatment plant (WTP) and sewage treatment plant (STP) operations and maintenance contractor; ensure contractors deliver services in full compliance with contractual requirements, approved procedures, method statements, staffing levels, competency requirements, licensing obligations, plant availability targets, response times, reporting obligations, and spare parts commitments; monitor contractor performance against contractual KPIs and service level agreements (SLAs); identify, document, and formally address all contractual deviations and non-conformances; direct corrective actions and verify close-out of contractor deficiencies; provide the facilities manager with supporting evidence and recommendations for contractual interventions when required; review and validate contractor procedures, risk assessments, technical reports, performance reports, laboratory reports, operational records, and invoice submissions before approval
• Participate in contractor performance reviews and continuous improvement initiatives; monitor contractor KPIs and service performance against contract requirements and report deviations; verify and control process performance at each sewage treatment plant, covering aeration and dissolved oxygen, MLSS and sludge age, food to microorganism ratio, sludge return and wasting, clarifier or membrane performance, disinfection, and sludge dewatering and disposal; ensure STP services comply with design and operational requirements, effluent quality and discharge standards, environmental permits, manufacturer’s specs covering BOD, COD, suspended solids, ammonia, nitrates, fecal coliforms, residual chlorine, pH, and oil and grease
• Review and analyze process and performance indicators including flows, loads, removal efficiency, alarms and incidents; review laboratory results, identify trends and deviations, and trigger corrective actions; manage hydraulic and organic loading against design capacity, including peak occupancy, shock loads and grease or chemical ingress from kitchens, workshops and washdown areas; oversee sludge routes and any treated effluent reuse for irrigation, dust suppression or flushing, in line with permit conditions; oversee wellfield management, covering borehole yield and drawdown monitoring, rest and rotation of boreholes, submersible pump condition and performance, rising mains, wellhead protection and sanitary seals, and groundwater quality trending
• Verify contractor control of the groundwater treatment train, covering aeration and oxidation, iron and manganese removal, coagulation and clarification where fitted, multimedia and sand filtration, activated carbon, softening or hardness control where required, pH correction, disinfection and contact time; monitor and act on the raw and treated water parameters relevant to groundwater, being iron, manganese, hardness, fluoride, nitrate, sulphate, chloride, total dissolved solids, turbidity, pH and microbiological quality; ensure WTP services comply with operational requirements, environmental permits, company rules, and WHO guidelines for drinking water quality; oversee residual disinfectant across the network, storage tank inspection, cleaning and disinfection cycles, the sampling program, and legionella risk control; manage water balance, demand forecasting against site personnel on board, storage autonomy and contingency supply arrangements; diagnose process and equipment faults independently of the contractor, covering sludge bulking and settleability, nitrification failure, filter breakthrough and short circuiting, dosing and disinfection failure, pump and blower performance loss, and instrument drift; technically assess the integrity of the contractor's plant and workmanship: open and inspect equipment where warranted, verify filter media condition and bed depth, confirm calibration and correct installation of instruments, inspect completed maintenance before plants return to service, and confirm that parts and chemicals used are of the correct specification; cross-check contractor process data and laboratory results against independent sampling and field measurement; challenge results inconsistent with observed plant condition or loading and reject records that cannot be substantiated; where contractor performance, competence or integrity is in doubt, intervene technically: direct process corrections, stop non-compliant operations and require rework, escalating the contractual consequence to the Facilities Manager; verify that the contractor executes the preventive maintenance program to plan and to standard across all plants, covering blowers, pumps, dosing systems, membranes and cartridges, filter media replacement and backwashing, valves and actuators, control systems and instrumentation for dissolved oxygen, pH, ORP, turbidity, chlorine, flow and level, electrical panels and standby generators; witness and sign off critical maintenance activities and audit maintenance records and job cards against work physically verified rather than accepting paperwork at face value
• Maintain and challenge the contractor's critical spares list, verify physical stock against the list, set and monitor minimum and maximum levels, and track re-order triggers against remote-site lead times; verify that chemicals, membranes, filter media, dosing pump spares, seals, lubricants and personal protective equipment are in place and within shelf life and escalate any shortfall before it becomes an availability or compliance risk; ensure calibration and verification of all process and laboratory instrumentation is in date and certificated; verify routine inspections and maintenance activities for sewer networks, grease traps, lift stations, irrigation infrastructure, and associated utility assets
• Produce daily and monthly utilities reports covering volumes abstracted, produced and treated, plant availability, capacity utilization against design, water quality and effluent results, chemical and energy consumption, exceptions and corrective actions; consolidate data and contribute to weekly and monthly site environmental, incident, deviation and non-compliance reporting; support abstraction and discharge permits, licenses and regulatory reporting, and provide evidence to internal inspections and audits and to external audits by lenders, authorities and certification bodies; enforce chemical safety for chlorine, acids, caustic, coagulants and polymers, together with confined space entry, lockout and tagout, permit to work and biohazard controls; lead toolbox talks and task risk assessments, participate in incident investigations, and maintain emergency response arrangements for spills, overflows, contamination events and loss of potable water supply

Requisites

• Bachelor's degree or higher diploma in Civil, Environmental, Chemical or Mechanical Engineering, or in Water and Wastewater Technology
• Minimum of 10 to 15 years' experience in operations and maintenance of Sewage Treatment Plants and Water Treatment Plants and networks
• A hands-on maintenance and process background is mandatory. The candidate must have personally operated, maintained and repaired treatment plant and must be able to diagnose process and mechanical faults and assess plant integrity without Contractor support
• Demonstrated responsibility for several Sewage Treatment Plants and Water Treatment Plants operating concurrently, including packaged plants serving remote camps with fluctuating populations, at capacities up to 1,500 m3/day
• Practical experience treating borehole and groundwater to potable standard, including iron and manganese removal and hardness management. Seawater desalination experience is not a substitute for this requirement
• Demonstrated experience owning maintenance assurance and critical spare parts management on a remote site with long procurement lead times
• Experience of Operations and Maintenance from the Contractor’s is preferred side against contractual KPIs, including enforcement of contractual clauses
• Recognized water and wastewater treatment operator certification, Treatment or Wastewater Operations, or an equivalent national license NEBOSH International General Certificate or IOSH Managing Safely. ISO 14001 Internal Auditor is an asset
• Working knowledge of environmental permits, discharge consents, Environmental Management Systems and IFC standards. Ability to analyze process data and make inferences from it
• Good communication skills (English is required, while Portuguese is an asset)
• Ability to work in a remote, multicultural and high-activity site environment

Benefits

• The possibility of working in a Company that offers salary conditions compatible with the level of experience and level of responsibility of the role, as well as opportunities for personal development

Notes

• Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted