Maintenance Planner - Primary Processing

MAINTENANCE PLANNER – Primary Processing

Red Stag Timber, New Zealand’s largest sawmill, is a privately owned leader in structural timber production employing over 450 staff and contractors.  Located just 10 minutes south of Rotorua CBD, this site-based role offers convenient access to forests, lakes and a variety of outdoor activities.

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced Maintenance Planner to join our Primary Processing team. Reporting to the Sawmill Maintenance Co-ordinator, this role is integral to ensuring maintenance activities are effectively planned and coordinated to maximise plant reliability, equipment availability and operational performance.

As the key link between Operations and Maintenance, you will be responsible for developing and coordinating planned maintenance activities, ensuring work is thoroughly planned, appropriately resourced, safely executed and continuously improved. You will work closely with maintenance tradespeople, supervisors and operations personnel to optimise maintenance schedules, coordinate shutdown activities and support continuous improvement initiatives across the sawmill.

Accurate and timely management of maintenance information within the Computerised Maintenance Management System (CMMS) is an essential part of the role. Experience with preventative maintenance programmes, reliability practices and equipment diagnostics will be highly regarded.

To be successful in this role, you will ideally have:

• Extensive heavy industrial maintenance experience.
• Proven experience planning both routine maintenance and major shutdown work.
• A sound understanding of preventative maintenance and reliability principles.
• Experience using a CMMS to plan, manage and record maintenance activities.
• Intermediate to advanced Microsoft Excel skills.
• Excellent organisational, communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to work collaboratively across maintenance and operations teams.

Applicants must hold a New Zealand recognised Level 4 or Advanced Trade Certificate in Mechanical Engineering (Fitter/Turner) and have a minimum of five years' industrial maintenance experience.

We offer competitive remuneration for the right candidate, together with the opportunity to join a high-performing maintenance team supporting one of New Zealand's largest and most technically advanced timber manufacturing operations.

The successful applicant will be required to complete a pre-employment medical assessment, drug and alcohol screening, and reference checks.

Please note:  You must hold NZ Residency to apply for these roles.

Applications including a CV and details of relevant qualifications should be received by Sunday 27th September 2026