Job Overview

Wärtsilä is hiring a Plant Manager O&M in Lagos. Requires 10 years’ power plant O&M experience and Wärtsilä gas/HFO plant management experience.

Plant Manager – O&M at Wärtsilä Marine

Location: Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria
Job Type: Full Time
Qualification: BA/BSc/HND, MBA/MSc/MA
Experience: 10 years
Job Field: Engineering / Technical, Manufacturing

About the Plant Manager – O&M position

Wärtsilä is recruiting a Plant Manager – O&M to lead operations, maintenance, and site administration at a power plant in Victoria Island, Lagos.

This is a senior leadership position for an experienced power-generation professional. The successful candidate will be responsible for plant performance, maintenance reliability, safety, customer satisfaction, cost management, and the leadership of a multidisciplinary team.

A particularly important requirement is previous managerial experience with a multi-engine Wärtsilä gas/HFO engine plant. Candidates should therefore review this requirement carefully before applying.

What the role involves

The Plant Manager will report to the Agreement Manager and take overall responsibility for the plant’s operational and maintenance activities.

Key responsibilities include:

• Lead day-to-day plant operations and maintenance activities.
• Oversee the teams responsible for plant operations and maintenance.
• Manage site administration activities.
• Maintain a strong focus on customer satisfaction and plant performance.
• Monitor plant KPIs in line with the applicable agreement.
• Identify opportunities to improve plant performance and reliability.
• Estimate, control, and report direct operating costs.
• Plan and implement plant operations and maintenance activities.
• Maintain effective communication with operations and maintenance teams regarding equipment condition and plant performance.
• Identify areas where operational improvements can increase reliability and availability.
• Support the development of employees through training, competency development, and effective teamwork.

Safety and operational standards

Safety is a core part of the position. The Plant Manager will be responsible for implementing the plant safety policy and ensuring that operations follow established procedures.

The role also involves implementing applicable Wärtsilä Services procedures and Agreement Management processes in accordance with the company’s Code of Conduct.

The successful candidate should therefore be comfortable working in an environment where operational discipline, HSE standards, compliance, and equipment reliability are central to plant performance.

Budget and resource management

The position also carries financial and commercial responsibilities.

The Plant Manager will:

• Prepare operational plans and budgets.
• Monitor and control plant-related costs.
• Prepare financial and operational reports for management.
• Support day-to-day agreement management activities.
• Optimise inventory levels for maintenance parts and supplies.
• Ensure required resources are available for current and planned maintenance activities.

Strong financial and commercial understanding is specifically identified as a key requirement for the position.

Team leadership and development

The successful candidate will lead a multidisciplinary workforce and help develop the technical and professional capabilities of plant personnel.

This includes supporting:

• Competency development
• Technical training
• Teamwork
• Performance improvement
• Effective ways of working
• Employee motivation and accountability

Good leadership will be particularly important because the role combines technical plant management with people, customer, and commercial responsibilities.

Required qualifications

Applicants should have a Bachelor’s degree in one of the following areas:

• Mechanical Engineering
• Electrical Engineering
• Power Engineering
• A related engineering discipline

A Master’s degree or MBA is an advantage.

Experience required

The position requires a minimum of 10 years of experience in power plant operations and maintenance.

Candidates should also have:

• At least 3 years of managerial or leadership experience in power generation.
• Experience managing operations and maintenance activities in a power-generation environment.
• Experience with a multi-engine Wärtsilä gas/HFO engine plant in a managerial capacity.

The Wärtsilä plant experience is specifically stated as a must-have requirement, making it one of the most important points applicants should demonstrate clearly in their CV.

Skills and competencies

The employer is looking for a candidate with a combination of technical, commercial, and leadership capabilities.

Important requirements include:

• Strong financial and commercial understanding
• Budget management experience
• Customer-facing and stakeholder-management skills
• Strong leadership and people-management ability
• Power plant operations and maintenance expertise
• Asset reliability knowledge
• Strong HSE awareness
• Operational best-practice knowledge
• Excellent communication and reporting skills
• Problem-solving ability
• Experience with CMMS
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office
• Fluency in written and spoken English

What to highlight in your CV

This is not a role where a generic engineering CV is likely to communicate your suitability clearly.

Applicants should make their power-generation O&M experience easy to identify. In particular, highlight:

• Types of power plants you have managed
• Engine technology and plant configuration
• Wärtsilä experience, where applicable
• Years spent in O&M
• Previous managerial responsibilities
• Plant capacity or operational scale, where relevant
• Maintenance and reliability responsibilities
• HSE leadership
• Budget and cost-control responsibilities
• Customer and stakeholder management
• CMMS experience
• Major operational improvements you have delivered

Do not claim Wärtsilä gas/HFO experience if you do not actually have it, since the vacancy identifies this as a mandatory requirement.

How to apply

Interested and qualified candidates should apply through the official Wärtsilä Careers platform.