Our story goes back more than 150 years, to the chilly southern coast of Scandinavia. From our early success in Sweden and Denmark, we’ve grown into the world’s leading specialist producer of plant-based oils, employing more than 4,000 people across the globe.
We work with our customers to make the products you love even better. The oils we produce go into making your chocolate extra‑creamy or putting the crunch into your croissant. And it’s not just food — we work across industries to make products that are higher quality, healthier and better for the planet.
Everything we do is about Making Better Happen.
Location
This position can be based at any major AAK site.
About The Role
As Global Maintenance Manager, you will play a pivotal role in driving maintenance excellence across AAK's global manufacturing network. The position is responsible for defining and deploying a world‑class asset care strategy that enhances equipment reliability, optimizes lifecycle costs, and supports operational performance across all production sites. Working within AAK's Operational Excellence framework, you will establish standardized maintenance processes, governance routines, and best practices to build sustainable maintenance capabilities and improve asset performance. You will partner closely with site leadership teams, maintenance and engineering functions, and regional stakeholders to drive maintenance maturity, capability development, and the adoption of consistent ways of working across the organization. The role also serves as a key contributor to AAK's capital investment agenda, ensuring that maintainability, reliability, and lifecycle cost principles are embedded into capital projects and engineering initiatives. Through strong collaboration and influence in a global matrix environment, you will support the delivery of AAK's long‑term business strategy by improving operational reliability, reducing risk, and enabling sustainable growth. This is a highly visible global role that requires a strategic mindset combined with the ability to drive execution, build organizational capability, and foster a culture of continuous improvement across multiple regions and functions.
Responsibilities
* Develop and lead AAK's global Maintenance and Asset Care strategy, ensuring alignment with business objectives, the AAK Operating Model, and Operational Excellence principles.
* Establish, standardize, and continuously improve maintenance processes and ways of working across the global manufacturing network, including planning and scheduling, preventive and predictive maintenance, reliability engineering, and Daily Management Systems.
* Own and govern the global Maintenance Operating System, ensuring consistent execution through effective governance routines, performance management, KPI tracking, and integration with site management processes.
* Build organizational capability through the design and deployment of global maintenance training programs, role‑based development pathways, coaching initiatives, and certification frameworks.
* Lead the global rollout of Maintenance and Asset Care Excellence programs, including pilot implementations, phased deployment plans, and sustainable adoption across all regions.
* Define and manage a maintenance maturity framework, conducting site assessments, benchmarking performance, and developing structured improvement roadmaps with site leadership teams.
* Drive asset reliability and performance improvements through loss elimination, reliability‑centered maintenance practices, Root Cause Analysis (RCA), and continuous improvement initiatives focused on MTBF, MTTR, and OEE.
* Provide coaching, mentoring, and hands‑on support to maintenance and operational teams to strengthen capabilities, drive accountability, and embed new ways of working.
* Ensure full integration of maintenance excellence initiatives with TPM and Operational Excellence programs, particularly within Planned Maintenance and Autonomous Maintenance pillars.
* Monitor, analyze, and communicate maintenance performance metrics and trends to identify opportunities, prioritize actions, and demonstrate business impact.
* Lead or support strategic CAPEX and engineering projects, ensuring alignment with maintenance, reliability, and long‑term asset management objectives.
* Embed maintainability, reliability, operability, and lifecycle cost principles into project design, engineering reviews, procurement decisions, and project execution.
* Act as the global subject matter expert for asset care and reliability during major investment decisions, technical reviews, and project governance processes.
* Ensure effective project‑to‑operations handovers through robust commissioning, documentation, CMMS readiness, maintenance planning, spare parts strategies, and capability transfer to site teams.
* Partner closely with Engineering, Operations, Procurement, and Project Management teams to ensure capital investments deliver sustainable operational performance and business value.
* Drive standardization of equipment, maintenance practices, engineering solutions, and asset management approaches across the global manufacturing network where appropriate.
About You
* Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Electrical, Chemical, Industrial, or a related Engineering discipline; a Master's degree or relevant postgraduate qualification is advantageous.
* 10+ years’ experience in maintenance, reliability, engineering, and asset management leadership roles within complex manufacturing, process, or industrial environments, ideally with global or multi‑site responsibility.
* Proven success in developing and deploying maintenance and asset care strategies, operating systems, governance frameworks, and standardized ways of working across multiple sites and regions.
* Deep expertise in maintenance excellence methodologies, including TPM, reliability engineering, preventive and predictive maintenance, maintenance planning and scheduling, Root Cause Analysis (RCA), and loss elimination.
* Strong understanding of asset lifecycle management and best practices for maximizing asset reliability, availability, and total cost of ownership.
* Demonstrated ability to lead organizational change, build capability, and develop high‑performing teams through coaching, training, mentoring, and structured capability development programs.
* Experience driving Operational Excellence, continuous improvement, or business transformation initiatives within manufacturing, food, ingredients, chemicals, or other process‑based industries.
* Strong project management and engineering expertise, including involvement in major CAPEX projects, equipment installations, commissioning, and project‑to‑operations handovers.
* Ability to embed reliability, maintainability, operability, and lifecycle cost principles into engineering and capital investment decisions.
* Highly analytical, with the ability to leverage maintenance and operational data to identify improvement opportunities, drive performance, and support fact‑based decision‑making.
* Strong stakeholder management, communication, and influencing skills, with a proven ability to build credibility and drive alignment across global, regional, and site‑based teams.
* Experience working effectively within a global matrix organization, collaborating across functions, cultures, and geographic regions.
* Proficiency in CMMS platforms, maintenance performance systems, and asset management tools, with experience using data and KPIs to drive sustainable improvements.
* Fluent in English, both written and verbal; additional languages are considered an advantage in a global environment.
* Available to travel extensively, 50% of the time.
Benefits
* Join a pioneering company in specialty oils and fats, driving innovation and sustainability.
* In AAK you can work across 25+ countries, gaining international exposure and collaborating with a diverse team.
* AAK invests in your development with training, mentorship, and clear career paths.
* You will contribute to a greener world with AAK's sustainability‑focused approach.
* Join a diverse and inclusive workplace that values every individual's perspective and talents.
AAK prohibits discrimination based on race, color, sex, sexual orientation, age, national origin, physical or mental disability, religion, veteran status, and any other class of individuals protected from discrimination under state or federal law in any aspect of the access to, admission, or treatment of students in its programs and activities, or employment and application for employment.
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