Associate Manager - Operation

Job purpose

This role is focused on keeping the unit or station available as planned in the AOP, ensuring full statutory compliance, and supporting safe, reliable, and trouble-free operations. The position also aims to add value for all stakeholders and help transform the maintenance function from a cost center into a profit center.

Maintenance planning and execution

The Associate Manager will oversee planning and scheduling for preventive, predictive, breakdown, and opportunity maintenance across turbines, auxiliaries, air compressors, dryers, pumps, valves, condensers, heaters, and related systems. The role involves quick execution of emergency shutdown-related work, resolving defects, supporting overhauls, and restoring equipment in the shortest possible time.

• Plan and schedule preventive and breakdown maintenance for turbines and auxiliary systems.
• Plan and schedule maintenance for air compressors and dryers.
• Handle emergency shutdown work such as feed pump bearing failures, generator rotor thread-out, hydrogen seal replacement, turbine bearing inspection, steam leakages, condenser tube leakage tests, and HP/LP heater-related issues.
• Manage urgent maintenance during HP/IP control valve, stop valve, and safety valve failures to return the system to service quickly.
• Help maximize unit availability and ensure long running hours for turbine and auxiliary mechanical systems.
• Track and close defect notifications through daily planning and execution.
• Monitor oil quality and pump vibration in coordination with the condition monitoring team.
• Support major overhauls of turbines and auxiliaries.
• Participate in condenser flood tests and HP heater hydro tests.
• Assist with regular maintenance and overhauls of BFPs and booster pumps.
• Contribute to air compressor and dryer maintenance and work toward efficiency improvement.
• Support erection and commissioning activities for turbines and auxiliaries.
• Help prepare the department AOP budget.
• Drive improvement initiatives related to 5S in the TG and auxiliary area.

Spare management and inventory control

The job also includes spare identification, vendor development, and inventory planning so that critical spares remain available and emergency work is not delayed.

• Identify critical and non-critical spares for different equipment to prevent stock shortages.
• Support spare development through reverse engineering.
• Develop Indian and alternate vendors for spare supply.
• Maintain inventory efficiently to avoid equipment downtime caused by spare unavailability.
• Plan and procure spare parts within the AOP budget target, aiming to stay within 80% of the approved budget.

Safety and compliance

A major part of the role is ensuring safe work practices and strict permit-to-work compliance. The position requires active participation in audits, safety awareness, and behavioral safety improvement among agency teams.

• Take ownership of safety implementation in daily maintenance activities.
• Help build safety capability among agency staff for working at height, in confined spaces, and in hot zones.
• Identify unsafe acts and unsafe conditions and work to eliminate them.
• Ensure compliance with internal and external EHS audits and execute improvement actions safely.
• Conduct regular safety interactions and toolbox talks before work starts to improve behavioral safety.

Reliability improvement and operations continuity

The role supports uninterrupted station operation by following sound maintenance practices and solving equipment issues through analysis and root-cause-based improvement.

• Contribute to system reliability and cost reduction through brainstorming and root cause analysis.
• Implement maintenance practices that support uninterrupted and cost-effective power generation.
• Support station availability targets above 98.5%.
• Troubleshoot equipment issues to improve reliability.

Team development and stakeholder coordination

The position includes training, mentoring, and collaboration with internal teams, service providers, and vendors to keep work moving smoothly and build stronger technical capability across the department.

• Conduct expert training sessions on air compressors.
• Address TNI needs and provide refresher sessions to peers and subordinates as required.
• Build a proactive, positive, and solution-oriented team culture.
• Strengthen technical capability through regular discussion, questioning, and case-based learning.
• Maintain effective relationships with departmental and interdepartmental colleagues for smooth execution of maintenance work.
• Coordinate with third-party vendors to ensure timely job completion.
• Follow up with service providers and stores to ensure resource availability without interrupting work.
• Guide and develop graduate engineers so they can independently manage 24x7 maintenance responsibilities.
• Share accurate information and maintain trust with reporting managers and senior leadership.

Major improvement initiatives already implemented

The role references participation in multiple system improvement initiatives already carried out for reliability and efficiency gains.

• Modification of dosing lines across all units for initial dosing without starting CEP.
• JOP supply line modification across three units to isolate individual bearing supply lines for easier maintenance.
• Installation of a new globe valve in the down comer drain to reduce high-energy steam loss from the boiler.
• Common drain line connection for CRH pot drain in all three units.
• Pressure gauge installation in all BFPs for balancing pressure monitoring.
• MDBFP cartridge reconditioning and installation.
• Improvement work on air compressor performance.

Education and experience

The ideal candidate should hold a bachelor’s degree and bring at least 5 years of power plant experience. Strong exposure across erection, commissioning, and maintenance activities is expected, along with hands-on experience in preventive, predictive, breakdown, and opportunity maintenance within a mechanical maintenance environment.

Competencies

The role calls for strong personal and managerial capabilities, including problem solving, planning, stakeholder handling, and execution discipline.

• Personal effectiveness
• Social awareness
• Entrepreneurial mindset
• Problem solving and analytical thinking
• Planning and decision making
• Capability building
• Strategic orientation
• Stakeholder focus
• Networking
• Execution and results orientation
• Teamwork and interpersonal influence

Additional information

The source includes several performance expectations and operating targets, including turbine and auxiliaries availability, generation loss due to equipment failure, maintenance budget adherence, zero accident, zero stock out, 3S above 90%, 100% preventive maintenance, statutory certification of lifting tools and tackles including EOT cranes in the TG building as per schedule, 100% TNI, knowledge sharing, and idea implementation.

Internal and external interaction

The position requires close coordination with internal teams, service providers, stores, and vendors. It also involves maintaining strong working relationships across departments and with senior leadership to support reliable operations and timely execution.

Job location

Warora, Maharashtra, India.