Civil Engineering & Construction
15 Sept
Plant & Equipment Manager – Ghana
Accra, United Kingdom
GHS 450K - GHS 600K
Job Title: Plant & Equipment Manager – Ghana
Industry: Construction / Civil Engineering & Infrastructure
Location: Ghana
Salary: GHS 400,000 – GHS 550,000 gross per annum, depending on experience
Role Purpose
Our client, a well-established construction and infrastructure organisation operating in Ghana, is seeking an experienced Plant & Equipment Manager to lead its plant, equipment and fleet function.
The role is responsible for ensuring that plant, vehicles, workshops, stores, fuel systems and operating teams provide safe, reliable, cost-effective and compliant support to projects and operating facilities.
The successful candidate will manage day-to-day assets within delegated authority while providing sound technical advice and well-supported recommendations on fleet strategy, major repairs, replacement, capital expenditure and asset disposal.
Reporting & Team Leadership
The Plant & Equipment Manager will report to the senior executive responsible for the Construction Division and will directly lead the Workshop Manager, Fleet
Supervisor, Store Keeper, Fuel Controller and Plant Operators.
The role will also provide management oversight to mechanics, auto electricians, welders, drivers and fleet coordinators through their respective supervisors.
The position will work closely with Operations, Project Management, Procurement & Logistics, Finance & Administration, Technical/Commercial, EHS/Quality and Human Resources teams.
Key Responsibilities
1. Plant, Equipment & Fleet Leadership
Translate business and project requirements into clear plant, fleet, workshop, stores and fuel priorities.
Maintain appropriate policies, procedures, controls, service standards and accountability across the function.
Lead regular reviews of fleet readiness, maintenance performance, utilisation, cost and operational risk.
Provide objective technical advice to senior management and promptly escalate material technical, safety, asset and capacity risks.
2. Asset Strategy & Fleet Planning
Maintain a current fleet strategy covering required capacity, asset mix, ownership versus hire, replacement, refurbishment, standardisation and disposal.
Forecast plant and vehicle requirements with Operations and project teams against approved programmes, production targets and tender pipelines.
Prepare business cases using utilisation, condition, reliability, life-cycle cost, residual value and operational risk.
Provide recommendations on major capital purchases, leases, overhauls and asset disposals.
3. Availability, Utilisation & Deployment
Allocate serviceable plant, vehicles and operators across projects and operating facilities in line with approved priorities.
Maintain daily visibility of asset location, status, availability, utilisation, operating hours/kilometres and idle time.
Coordinate mobilisation, demobilisation and asset transfers with Operations, Logistics, project and site teams.
Identify and escalate capacity gaps or competing project requirements.
4. Preventive & Corrective Maintenance
Establish manufacturer-aligned preventive maintenance, inspection, lubrication and component-replacement schedules for maintainable assets.
Plan labour, workshop bays, tools, spare parts and downtime to maximise planned maintenance and minimise emergency breakdowns.
Control defect reporting, diagnosis, work orders, quality checks, testing and return-to-service authorisation.
Analyse repeat failures, conduct root-cause reviews and ensure corrective actions are properly implemented and closed.
5. Workshop Management
Lead the Workshop Manager and ensure safe, orderly and productive workshop operations.
Establish work priorities, repair standards, productivity targets and quality controls for mechanics, auto electricians, welders and specialist contractors.
Ensure workshop tools, lifting equipment, diagnostic devices, welding facilities and infrastructure are properly inspected, maintained and fit for purpose.
Control major repairs, rebuilds and outsourced work through clearly defined scopes and acceptance criteria.
6. Fleet & Transport Management
Ensure the safe scheduling and control of drivers, fleet coordinators, light vehicles, trucks, buses and support vehicles.
Maintain appropriate dispatch, journey, driver, licence, inspection, service, tyre, accident and recovery records.
Monitor routing, idling, speeding, misuse, unauthorised journeys and overall transport efficiency.
Ensure vehicles and drivers satisfy applicable project, insurance and statutory requirements before deployment.
7. Plant Operations & Operator Competence
Deploy Plant Operators only to equipment for which they are appropriately trained, assessed, authorised and medically fit where required.
Maintain operator competency matrices, familiarisation records, daily checks, logbooks and refresher-training plans.
Enforce appropriate start-up, operation, shut-down, parking, security and defect-reporting practices.
Investigate equipment misuse, avoidable damage and recurring operator-related failures and implement corrective action.
8. Fuel Management & Control
Maintain secure systems for the receipt, storage, issue, transfer, measurement and reconciliation of fuel and lubricants.
Use appropriate calibrated controls, authorised issue records and asset-level consumption analysis.
Investigate abnormal consumption, losses, contamination, stock variances and suspected diversion promptly.
Ensure material discrepancies are reported and appropriate corrective action taken.
9. Stores, Spare Parts & Inventory
Maintain controlled custody of spare parts, tyres, filters, lubricants, tools and plant consumables.
Establish appropriate minimum and maximum stock levels based on criticality, usage, lead time and equipment standardisation.
Control receipt inspection, storage, preservation, authorised issue, returns, stock counts and obsolete-stock reviews.
Ensure physical inventory is reconciled to approved records and investigate material variances.
10. Safety, Compliance & Technical Assurance
Implement applicable EHS and quality requirements for plant, transport, workshops, lifting, recovery, energy isolation, fire prevention, environmental protection and waste management.
Ensure statutory inspections, roadworthiness, licences, insurance, certificates and permits remain current.
Participate in incident investigations and implement required technical corrective actions.
Exercise authority to ground, quarantine or withdraw unsafe, unserviceable or non-compliant plant and vehicles.
Permit equipment to return to service only after satisfactory rectification has been verified.
11. Cost Control & Commercial Performance
Prepare and control approved operating budgets covering maintenance, fuel, tyres, spare parts, workshop, transport and equipment hire.
Track maintenance cost per operating hour or kilometre, downtime cost, labour productivity, fuel efficiency, inventory value and external-repair expenditure.
Validate plant-related work, receipt and technical performance before payment certification.
Identify cost-saving opportunities that protect safety, reliability and asset life.
12. Procurement, Suppliers & Hired Equipment
Define technical specifications, scopes, inspection criteria and service levels for equipment, parts, fuel, tyres, maintenance and rental requirements.
Lead technical evaluation and acceptance while partnering with Procurement on sourcing and commercial processes.
Inspect hired equipment and verify relevant operator, insurance, maintenance and statutory documentation before use.
Monitor vendor quality, warranty recovery, turnaround times and contract/service performance.
13. Asset Records & Life-Cycle Management
Maintain accurate technical files and asset-register information covering ownership, identity, location, condition, operating hours/kilometres, maintenance, inspection and repair history.
Support physical verification, insurance, claims, valuation and audit activities with reliable documentation.
Control asset transfers and provide technical input into refurbishment, sale, cannibalisation and disposal decisions.
Ensure approved disposals are appropriately controlled and documented.
14. Performance Reporting & Continuous Improvement
Produce concise management dashboards covering availability, utilisation, downtime, maintenance compliance, cost, fuel, stores, safety and major risks.
Maintain reliable CMMS or fleet-management system data and validate source records before reporting.
Benchmark equipment and workshop performance and implement approved productivity and technology improvements.
Track agreed decisions and corrective actions through to completion.
Qualifications & Experience
Bachelor’s degree or HND in Mechanical Engineering, Automotive Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Plant Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Construction Plant Management or a related technical discipline.
Relevant manufacturer, fleet-management, maintenance-planning, heavy-equipment or professional engineering certification would be advantageous.
Minimum 10–15 years’ progressive experience in plant, fleet, workshop or heavy-equipment management, including at least five years in a senior multi-site management role.
Demonstrated responsibility for construction plant, vehicles, workshops, maintenance planning, operators, drivers, stores, fuel and external service providers.
Strong experience within roads, civil engineering, infrastructure, quarry, asphalt, concrete or comparable heavy-industry operations is highly desirable.
Experience operating in Ghana or a comparable West African environment would be advantageous.
Technical & Commercial Capability
The successful candidate should demonstrate strong practical knowledge of diesel engines, transmissions, hydraulics, electrical systems, earthmoving equipment, trucks, lifting equipment and workshop practices.
The individual should also have strong knowledge of preventive and predictive maintenance, reliability, tyres, fuel, lubrication, inventory control and warranty administration, together with advanced diagnostic, root-cause analysis, workshop-planning and technical-evaluation capability.
Strong budgeting, life-cycle costing, supplier management and negotiation skills are required, alongside proficiency in CMMS, fleet-management systems, telematics, Excel and management dashboards.
A working knowledge of relevant Ghanaian transport, roadworthiness, insurance, statutory inspection, environmental and occupational-safety requirements is also importanPersonal Attributes
The ideal candidate will demonstrate:
High integrity, discipline and personal accountability for organisational assets and resources.
A visible commitment to safety, equipment care and operational reliability.
Calm and decisive leadership during breakdowns and periods of competing project demand.
The ability to balance urgent operational requirements with safe operation, planned maintenance and asset longevity.
Strong collaboration across Operations, Finance, Procurement, EHS/Quality, HR and project teams.
Commercial awareness without compromising technical standards or controls.
A strong commitment to developing people, preventive maintenance culture and continuous improvement.
Key Performance Measures
Performance will be assessed across areas including:
Fleet availability and utilisation – equipment readiness, productive use, idle time and deployment efficiency.
Maintenance and reliability – planned-maintenance compliance, overdue services, breakdown frequency, repeat failures and repair turnaround.
Cost control – maintenance cost per operating hour/kilometre, budget performance and external-repair expenditure.
Fuel and inventory management – fuel consumption, reconciliation accuracy, inventory accuracy, critical stock availability and variance control.
Safety and compliance – statutory inspections, licences, equipment grounding, incidents and corrective-action closure.
People competence – operator and driver authorisation, training completion and equipment-misuse incidents.
Project service – response times, mobilisation reliability and internal stakeholder satisfaction.
Remuneration
GHS 450,000–600,000 gross per annum, depending on experience and overall suitability for the role.