Utilities Manager

About the Opportunity

We are partnering with a well-established and growing manufacturer that plays a critical role in supplying essential materials to industries across North America. With a strong operational footprint, significant investments in reliability and continuous improvement, and a culture centered around safety and employee development, this organization offers the opportunity to make a lasting impact on plant performance and long-term business success.

As the Utilities Manager, you will be a key member of the site leadership team, overseeing the complex utility operations that support a large-scale manufacturing facility. This position offers broad responsibility across power generation, steam systems, water treatment, environmental compliance, reliability initiatives, capital projects, and operational strategy.

Position Overview

The Utilities Manager is responsible for leading all utility operations that provide critical services to the manufacturing facility, including steam generation, power distribution, water systems, and wastewater treatment. The successful candidate will drive operational excellence, safety performance, environmental compliance, reliability improvements, and cost optimization while developing high-performing teams and supporting the facility's long-term strategic objectives.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide leadership and oversight for utility operations, including boilers, turbines, steam systems, power distribution, and wastewater treatment facilities.
• Ensure compliance with all safety, environmental, and regulatory requirements while fostering a strong safety culture throughout the organization.
• Manage operational budgets and maintain accountability for financial performance within the utility department.
• Analyze utility consumption and operating costs to identify opportunities for efficiency improvements and cost reductions.
• Develop and execute strategic plans, capital projects, and continuous improvement initiatives to enhance operational performance.
• Lead utility equipment maintenance, planned outages, shutdowns, and start-up activities to maximize reliability and up time.
• Collaborate with site leadership to support plant-wide initiatives and long-range business objectives.
• Coach, mentor, and develop supervisors, engineers, technicians, and operations personnel while promoting a reliability-focused culture.
• Coordinate emergency response efforts and develop contingency plans to address service interruptions and equipment failures.
• Prepare technical reports, operational analyses, regulatory documentation, and capital project justifications.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Pulp & Paper Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
• Minimum 10 years of leadership experience managing utility, power generation, cogeneration, or turbine operations within an industrial manufacturing environment.
• Experience within paper, pulp, heavy manufacturing, chemical processing, power generation, or related industries is highly preferred.
• Strong technical knowledge of boilers, turbines, steam systems, power distribution, and utility infrastructure.
• Experience managing shutdowns, outages, start-ups, and reliability improvement initiatives.
• Demonstrated success leading organizational change, driving operational improvements, and developing teams.
• Strong financial acumen with experience managing budgets and capital expenditures.
• Excellent communication and leadership skills with the ability to influence stakeholders across all levels of the organization.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and data analysis tools such as Power BI is preferred.