Operations and Maintenance Manager

About the role

eWATERservices is looking for an Operations and Maintenance Manager based in Nairobi to be accountable for every live water system in Kenya and the service its customers receive. The role covers infrastructure performance (uptime, water quality, non-revenue water), resolves customer issues in the field and keeps communities informed. It also oversees commissioning of new SmartTaps and their handover into operation, working closely with the Community Growth team. The manager leads a distributed field team of Service Delivery Officers, technicians and community ambassadors across several counties, growing to more than 30 people over the next twelve months.

Key responsibilities

• Set maintenance schedules, response standards and escalation routes, and drive continuous improvement to resolve recurring problems
• Oversee SmartTap commissioning and handover, including pre-handover quality checks and feeding lessons back to Engineering
• Own Kenya stock of SmartTap components and spares, keep records accurate, monitor usage and reorder in good time
• Recruit, train and manage the field team, supporting staff in remote locations and ensuring safe, accountable work
• Design and document the operating model, including maintenance standards, escalation, customer care and technician compensation
• Manage field expenditure and ensure each system's revenue covers its operating costs
• Run customer care, resolve issues quickly and handle vandalism and disputes with the Community Growth team
• Report system performance and service levels to the Country Director

Required profile

• 5+ years running distributed physical infrastructure or field networks (water utilities, energy, telecoms, agricultural supply chains or similar), responsible for asset performance, service levels and operating cost
• Extensive team management experience, ideally 10+ people across several sites, including remote staff, with a track record of hiring, setting targets and developing team leads
• Experience working with rural communities in Kenya
• Degree in engineering or a related field; water sector experience is an advantage
• Fluent in English and Kiswahili (written and spoken)

Required skills

• Proficiency with Excel/Google Sheets and operational software
• Comfortable configuring tools and using dashboards and live system data
• Technically grounded understanding of pumps, pipe networks, water treatment and metered systems