Utilities Infrastructure Coordinator (Sewage and Water Treatment, Networks and Plants)

Location Afungi, Northern Mozambique

Rotation 4 weeks on / 4 weeks off

Work Environment Remote site, multicultural environment, contractor-managed operations

Role Overview

Act as the Company’s technical and operational representative, overseeing contractors responsible for Water Treatment Plants (WTP), Sewage Treatment Plants (STP), water and wastewater networks, and associated utilities.

Ensure that all operations and maintenance activities comply with contractual obligations, technical standards, environmental permits, HSE requirements, and plant performance targets.

The role focuses on contractor supervision, technical verification, performance monitoring, maintenance assurance, and contractual compliance, rather than directly performing operational or maintenance activities.

Key Responsibilities

Contractor Management and Contractual Compliance:

• Monitor contractor performance against contractual KPIs, SLAs, staffing requirements, competencies, response times, and plant availability targets.
• Verify compliance with approved procedures, method statements, HSE requirements, and reporting obligations.
• Identify and document non-conformances, direct corrective actions, and verify their close-out.
• Review and validate technical procedures, risk assessments, laboratory results, maintenance records, reports, and invoices.
• Recommend contractual interventions to the Facilities Manager when required.
• Lead contractor performance reviews and continuous improvement initiatives.

Sewage Treatment Plants (STP):

• Monitor treatment processes, including aeration, dissolved oxygen, MLSS, sludge management, clarification, membrane performance, disinfection, and sludge disposal.
• Ensure compliance with effluent discharge standards, environmental permits, design requirements, and manufacturer specifications.
• Review critical water quality parameters, including BOD, COD, suspended solids, ammonia, nitrates, faecal coliforms, residual chlorine, pH, and oil and grease.
• Analyse flows, treatment efficiency, hydraulic and organic loading, alarms, incidents, and laboratory trends.
• Identify and address process failures, peak loading, grease ingress, and other operational risks.
• Oversee treated effluent reuse and sludge management in accordance with permit conditions.

Water Treatment Plants (WTP) - Borehole and Groundwater:

• Monitor borehole yields, groundwater levels, pump performance, wellhead protection, rising mains, and groundwater quality.
• Verify treatment processes, including aeration, oxidation, iron and manganese removal, filtration, activated carbon, softening, pH correction, and disinfection.
• Monitor raw and treated water quality, including iron, manganese, hardness, fluoride, nitrates, sulphates, chlorides, TDS, turbidity, pH, and microbiological parameters.
• Ensure compliance with drinking water requirements, Company standards, environmental permits, and WHO drinking water guidelines.
• Oversee water sampling, residual disinfectant monitoring, storage tank inspections, tank cleaning, and Legionella risk controls.
• Manage water balances, demand forecasts, storage autonomy, and contingency supply arrangements.

Technical Diagnosis and Plant Integrity:

• Independently diagnose process, mechanical, and instrumentation failures.
• Investigate sludge bulking, nitrification failures, filter breakthrough, dosing problems, disinfection failures, and pump or blower performance issues.
• Inspect equipment, verify filter media condition, confirm instrument calibration, and assess maintenance quality.
• Cross-check contractor data and laboratory results against independent sampling and field measurements.
• Reject unsupported records and challenge inconsistent results.
• Direct corrective actions, stop non-compliant operations when necessary, and escalate serious deficiencies to the Facilities Manager.

Maintenance and Spare Parts Assurance:

• Verify implementation and quality of preventive maintenance programmes across all treatment plants and associated utilities.
• Monitor maintenance of pumps, blowers, dosing systems, membranes, filters, valves, instruments, electrical panels, and standby generators.
• Witness critical maintenance activities and verify completed work physically against maintenance records.
• Audit critical spare parts inventories and establish appropriate minimum and maximum stock levels.
• Monitor procurement lead times and ensure adequate stocks of chemicals, membranes, filter media, seals, lubricants, dosing pump components, and PPE.
• Verify the validity of instrument calibration certificates and ensure maintenance of sewer networks, grease traps, lift stations, and irrigation infrastructure.

Reporting, Audits and Environmental Compliance:

• Prepare daily and monthly reports covering water abstraction, production, treatment volumes, plant availability, capacity utilisation, water quality, effluent quality, chemical consumption, energy use, and corrective actions.
• Contribute to environmental performance reporting, incident tracking, and non-compliance management.
• Support abstraction and discharge permits, licences, and regulatory reporting.
• Provide technical evidence for internal inspections and external audits by lenders, regulators, and certification bodies.

HSE and Emergency Response:

• Enforce safe handling requirements for chlorine, acids, caustic products, coagulants, and polymers.
• Ensure compliance with confined-space entry, lockout/tagout, permit-to-work, and biohazard procedures.
• Lead toolbox talks and task risk assessments and participate in incident investigations.
• Maintain emergency response arrangements for chemical spills, overflows, contamination events, and potable water supply failures.

Qualifications and Experience

Education

• Bachelor’s degree or higher diploma in Civil Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Water and Wastewater Technology, or a related discipline.

Professional Experience

• Minimum 10-15 years of experience in water and wastewater treatment plant operations and maintenance.
• Proven hands-on experience operating, maintaining, and repairing treatment plants.
• Experience overseeing multiple WTPs and STPs operating simultaneously.
• Experience with packaged treatment plants serving remote camps with fluctuating populations and capacities of up to 1,500 m³/day.
• Practical experience treating borehole and groundwater to potable water standards, particularly iron and manganese removal and hardness control.
• Strong experience in process troubleshooting, mechanical fault diagnosis, plant integrity assessment, preventive maintenance, and critical spare parts management.
• Proven experience supervising O&M contractors, monitoring contractual KPIs, and enforcing contractual requirements.
• Experience in remote-site operations with long procurement lead times is essential.

Certifications

• Recognised water or wastewater treatment operator certification or equivalent national licence.
• NEBOSH International General Certificate or IOSH Managing Safely.
• ISO 14001 Internal Auditor certification is an advantage.

Technical and Regulatory Knowledge

• Environmental permits, discharge consents, and Environmental Management Systems.
• IFC standards and applicable environmental requirements.
• Process data analysis, performance monitoring, and root-cause investigation.
• HSE management and contractor compliance assurance.

Key Skills and Competencies

• Strong technical and analytical skills.
• Independent decision-making and troubleshooting capabilities.
• Contractor performance management and contractual enforcement.
• Excellent reporting, auditing, and documentation skills.
• Strong communication and coordination abilities.
• Ability to work effectively in a remote, multicultural, high-activity environment.

Language Requirements

• English Required.
• Portuguese An advantage.