Plants Director

Our client, a leading desalination operator based in Saudi Arabia, is seeking an experienced Plants and Projects Director to lead the operation and growth of their seawater reverse osmosis (RO) production facility in Jeddah. This is a unique opportunity to manage both the live plant operations and the expansion capital programme simultaneously, with direct access to the CEO and full authority across operations, maintenance, QHSE, and laboratory functions.

About the Role

As Plants and Projects Director, you will:

• Take full ownership of plant operations including production targets, SOP governance, uptime, energy efficiency, and compliance with Saudi regulatory standards.
• Lead plant expansion projects from feasibility studies through engineering, EPC procurement, construction, commissioning, and handover.
• Ensure water quality meets all regulatory requirements.
• Oversee a comprehensive asset maintenance program covering preventive, predictive, and corrective maintenance.
• Manage budgets and resources for a multifunctional team of 80–200 people.
• Report directly to the CEO with responsibility for board-level technical accountability.

Candidate Requirements

• Proven operational experience in seawater reverse osmosis desalination—this technical expertise is essential.
• Current or recent management experience of a plant with capacity between 50,000 and 100,000 cubic meters per day.
• Experience leading multifunction teams of 80+ personnel.
• Successful delivery of at least one plant expansion, capacity upgrade, or EPC project through to commissioning.
• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in chemical engineering, environmental engineering, or a related field.
• Strong leadership, budget management, and stakeholder communication skills.