Plant Manager

Talent Profile - Plant Manager 
Swissta Water Purification & Bottling Plant | Lubumbashi, DRC 
Location Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) 
Plant 25,000 bottles per hour (BPH) SIDEL PET bottling line, with selected third-party ancillary

equipment

Water Treatment Sand filtration, activated carbon filtration, Reverse Osmosis (RO), ozone and UV treatment 
Reports To Senior Management / General Management 
Team / Interfaces Line Managers (2), QA/QC, Maintenance Manager, Warehouse Manager and all plant personnel; 
Sales, Accounts and HR/Tax/Admin remain outside the Plant Manager's reporting structure. 
Experience 8-10 years of relevant manufacturing experience, preferably in bottled water, beverages or high- 
speed PET bottling, with demonstrated responsibility for plant/production leadership.

Qualification

B.E./B.Tech in Mechanical, Electrical, Production, Food Technology or a closely related discipline. 
Strong relevant industry experience may be considered alongside equivalent technical 
qualifications.

Role Purpose 
Lead the complete Swissta water purification and bottling operation in Lubumbashi, with accountability for 
production, quality, maintenance, warehouse operations, people development, safety, cost and plant performance. 
The role will also support future expansion into Carbonated Soft Drinks (CSD). 
Essential Technical & Leadership Competencies 
 Hands-on understanding of high-speed PET bottling operations; experience with SIDEL equipment is strongly 
preferred. 
 Working knowledge of water purification processes including sand/carbon filtration, RO, ozone and UV. 
 Ability to manage production, quality, maintenance, warehouse coordination, manpower, utilities, safety, 
wastage and plant KPIs as one integrated operation. 
 Strong understanding of OEE, line efficiency, downtime analysis, yield, material losses, preventive 
maintenance and continuous improvement. 
 Ability to establish and enforce operating discipline, SOPs, GMP, hygiene, food-safety and quality practices in 
collaboration with QA/QC and functional leads. 
 Capability to troubleshoot operational problems and make sound decisions where OEM/vendor support, spares 
or specialist assistance may not be immediately available. 
 Ability to train, coach and develop local Congolese supervisors, operators and technicians and progressively 
build a self-sufficient local team. 
 Basic English proficiency is mandatory. 
Preferred / Added Advantage 
 Experience in Carbonated Soft Drinks (CSD) manufacturing/bottling, carbonation, syrup preparation or 
associated beverage processes. 
 Prior experience commissioning, ramping up or stabilising a new beverage/bottling plant. 
 Exposure to multicultural or overseas manufacturing environments. 
 Knowledge of French, Swahili or Lingala. 
Key Responsibilities 
 Own plant output, quality, cost, efficiency, safety and operational discipline for the complete water purification 
and bottling facility. 
 Plan and control production through the two rotating Line Managers, ensuring achievement of daily and 
monthly production targets.

SWISSTA RDC SARL | RECRUITMENT TALENT PROFILE

Swissta RDC SARL | Talent Profile | Lubumbashi, DRC

 Coordinate production, QA/QC, maintenance and warehouse functions to ensure uninterrupted material flow 
and finished-goods availability. 
 Drive line performance on the 25,000 BPH SIDEL PET line, including efficiency, changeovers, downtime, 
rejects, wastage and root-cause corrective action. 
 Ensure the water treatment system consistently delivers water meeting required process and finished-product 
specifications. 
 Together with QA/QC, establish, review and enforce quality-related SOPs, process controls, sampling plans, 
sanitation and release procedures. 
 Ensure robust preventive and corrective maintenance systems, critical-spares planning and disciplined 
maintenance records. 
 Develop plant KPIs and daily/weekly/monthly review routines covering output, OEE, downtime, quality, waste, 
maintenance, safety and manpower. 
 Build capability in the local workforce through structured training, delegation, coaching and performance 
management. 
 Maintain GMP, hygiene, housekeeping, EHS and food-safety standards throughout the plant. 
 Support technical evaluation, installation, commissioning and integration of the planned future CSD plant. 
 Escalate material operational risks early and provide practical corrective-action plans to management. 
Key Performance Indicators 
 Production plan attainment 
 OEE / line efficiency 
 Unplanned downtime 
 Product and packaging quality compliance 
 Water and packaging material losses / wastage 
 Maintenance compliance and equipment reliability 
 Safety, GMP and housekeeping performance 
 Local workforce capability and training progress 
 Cost control and inventory/warehouse coordination 
Expatriate Suitability - Essential 
 This is an overseas posting in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The initial contract requires a continuous 
one-year commitment before home leave. Candidates should apply only if they are comfortable with this 
arrangement and have discussed the commitment with their family. 
 Must be comfortable working in a different country, culture and multilingual environment and demonstrate 
maturity, resilience and respect for local colleagues and working practices. 
 Language-learning commitment is mandatory: the successful candidate must learn either French, Swahili or 
Lingala, achieving CEFR A1 within 45 days of joining and at least CEFR A2 before completion of the 90-day 
probation period. 
 Must be willing and able to train, coach and transfer knowledge to local Congolese employees rather than 
depend indefinitely on expatriate technical manpower. 
 Must be resourceful and capable of structured problem-solving in an environment where OEM/vendor support, 
specialist services or spare parts may not always be immediately available. 
 Must be able to maintain professional standards, discipline, safety and quality while adapting constructively to 
local operating realities. 
Employment / Expatriate Package 
 Initial contract: 1 years continuous service before home leave. 
 Bachelor accommodation provided. 
 Food allowance provided. 
 Local transport between company-provided/approved domicile and workplace provided.

SWISSTA RDC SARL | RECRUITMENT TALENT PROFILE

Swissta RDC SARL | Talent Profile | Lubumbashi, DRC 
 Medical insurance cost shared 50% by the company and 50% by the employee. 
 Visa / work-authorisation costs borne by the company. 
 Airfare from Mumbai to Lubumbashi provided by the company at commencement of employment. 
 Return airfare from Lubumbashi to Mumbai is borne by the company only upon successful completion of the 
contract. 
Candidate Screening Note 
Applicants should explicitly confirm in their application that they: (1) understand the one-year continuous 
overseas commitment; (2) accept the mandatory local-language learning requirement; and (3) are willing to work in 
Lubumbashi, DRC under the stated expatriate conditions.