JOB ADVERTISEMENT

Zambia Sugar Plc. is an ABF Group sugar company and is the leading sugar producer in Zambia. Its main activities are the growing of sugar cane, the production and marketing of sugar and other sugar downstream products.

The company invites applications from suitably qualified and experienced person to fill the following position in the Manufacturing Department to be based at Nakambala.

FACTORY OPTIMISATION ENGINEER – INSTRUMENTATION (x 1) PERMANENT

This position reports to the Factory Optimisation Manager. The successful candidate will be responsible for developing in-country medium- and long-term Optimization Strategy (by discipline) to optimize reliability, performance, quality and cost of production.

Key Performance Areas

• Develop initiatives that will deliver products at cost and quality levels that drive profitability
• Audit and analyze maintenance systems & processes with the aim of uncovering engineering related inefficiencies and identify reliability improvement opportunities
• Develop engineering maintenance & support plans (outside of scheduled maintenance) and monitor compliance to plans
• Reduce production losses caused by inefficient engineering systems by critically analyzing and maximizing the systems’ performance
• Conduct regular internal and external benchmarking exercises to identify and develop maintenance best practices and improvement opportunities with Group Specialization Team.
• Recommend improvements that ensure sustainability of engineering systems
• Provide expertise on day-to-day maintenance issues, support and advise on solutions
• Conduct deep root cause analyses of recurring problems, with support from Group Specialization Engineers as needed
• Set direction, implement and monitor continuous improvement by driving best practices within the discipline, and ensuring that suitable tools and techniques are being used.
• Develop preventative / pre-emptive maintenance initiatives (including improvement opportunities identified by CMMS and data analytics) to reduce costs and downtime in Country
• Build a strong technical team and talent pipeline for Optimisation through ongoing coaching, mentoring, guidance and technical training
• Manage and coordinate sharing of identified best practices, frameworks and minimum standards within function across entities and through the Head Office platform, and provide additional opportunities for problem identification and knowledge sharing
• Drive synergies with the group, effectively partnering with group counterparts to identify, share, trial and introduce optimisation innovations
• Establish and maintain effective relationships with key maintenance & engineering service providers
• Ensure technical standards and specifications are upheld and address deviations with maintenance and production teams
• Ensure onsite engineering drawing services are available to provide effective engineering support; ensure these drawings comply with Group best practices and standards
• Identify and monitor KPIs to track performance and flag any issues
• Promote and adhere to Illovo’s procedures, policies and guidelines, including, without limitation, those relating to SHERQ, Competition Law and Anti-Bribery and Corruption (ABC)
• Lead lifecycle management of PI Historian and Siemens PCS7 DCS systems, including standards, data integrity, backups, change control, upgrades and obsolescence planning.
• Act as site technical lead and specialist for automation, process control and historian systems, providing technical assurance, troubleshooting and guidance to Operations, Maintenance, Optimisation and Projects.
• Use PI Historian and PCS7 data to identify process improvement opportunities, dashboards, operating insights and performance optimisation initiatives.
• Drive embedding of the “Illovo Way of Optimisation” by implementing world class practices to optimise
• Develop Country’s Operational & Maintenance Optimisation strategy with a view towards long term growth, optimal efficiency and sustainability
• Identify and provide improvements to maximise availability of systems
• Provide specialised technical support to Country / site such that it is able to achieve its operational needs
• Ensure Country / site realise their Operational & Maintenance full potential and are aware of areas for improvement
• Champion preventative / pre-emptive maintenance initiatives to reduce costs and downtime
• Champion operational best practices to reduce production costs and optimise performance
• Adhere to group technical, risk and best maintenance practices standards, and management of technical governance requirements
• Promote cross-functional and stakeholder engagement & teamwork
• Effective external key supplier / external support services engagement
• Model Leadership behaviours, collaborating, partnering and communicating effectively within and between teams and support functions
• Promote a culture of consistently assessing risks and drive continuous improvement throughout operations
• Adhere to and promote SHERQ & Food Safety standards
• Promote and adhere to the business’ procedures, policies and guidelines, including, without limitation, those relating to SHERQ, Competition Law and Ant Bribery and Corruption (ABC).

Minimum Requirements

• Grade 12 Certificate
• Engineering Degree in respective discipline, ideally supported by further technical development
• Preferably 5+ years’ experience in manufacturing and a sound knowledge of factories
• Track record of technical leadership experience
• Good data analysis and interpretation skills
• Proven practical experience with PI Historian and Siemens PCS7 DCS systems, including troubleshooting, configuration support and lifecycle management
• Deep Root Cause Analysis skills and experience
• Strong communication skills (coaching, presentation, relationship management, influencing)
• Proven practical experience delivering process improvements using control-system data, plant analytics and cross-functional problem solving
• Strong understanding of current business processes and data systems including SAP4HANA
• Member of the Engineering Institute of Zambia.
• Suitably qualified applicants must provide certificates which have been verified by the Zambia Qualifications Authority (ZAQA).

Should you be interested in applying for this role, please submit your detailed CV, copies of relevant qualifications, registrations and ID/Passport for the attention of HR Business Partner

Email: [email protected]
Indicating “Application – Factory Optimization Engineer – Instrumentation” in the subject line.

Closing date for applications is 14th May 2026.

Applicants shall be required to complete pre-employment checks (qualification, credit, security, background, and medical assessments) as part of the recruitment process where applicable.

Should you not hear from us within 4 weeks after the closing date, please accept that your application was unsuccessful.