Maintenance Planner

Maintenance Planner

Synthomer is a leading supplier of high-performance, highly specialised polymers and ingredients that play vital roles in key sectors such as coatings, construction, adhesives, and health and protection – growing markets that serve billions of end users worldwide. Headquartered in London, UK and publicly listed there since 1971, we employ c.3,900 employees across our 5 innovation centres of excellence and more than 29 manufacturing sites across Europe, North America and Asia. Around 20% of our sales volumes are from new and patent protected products.

At our innovation centres of excellence in the UK, Germany, China, Malaysia and Ohio, USA we collaborate closely with our customers to develop new products and enhance existing ones tailored to their needs, with an increasing range of sustainability benefits. Since 2021, we have been proud holders of the London Stock Exchange Green Economy Mark, which recognises green technology businesses making a significant contribution to a more sustainable, low-carbon economy.

The Maintenance Planner plays a critical role in ensuring safe, reliable, and efficient operation of the Synthomer Jefferson Hills facility. This position is responsible for planning, coordinating, and scheduling maintenance activities to maximize equipment uptime, minimize disruptions to operations, and support long‑term asset reliability. The Maintenance Planner works closely with Operations, Maintenance, Engineering, Contractors, and Supply Chain to ensure all maintenance work is properly scoped, planned, estimated, and executed.

Key Responsibilities

Work Identification & Scoping

• Review work requests/notifications and clarify scope with requestors and operations personnel.
• Conduct field assessments to determine job requirements, equipment condition, and potential work hazards.
• Define job steps, resource needs, and required skills for each maintenance task.

Planning & Preparation

• Develop detailed job plans including labor requirements, materials, tools, equipment, permits, safety precautions, and job sequences.
• Ensure all parts and materials are ordered, staged, and available prior to scheduling work.
• Create cost estimates for maintenance jobs to support budgeting and tracking.
• Identify opportunities to bundle work to improve efficiency during unit downtime or outages.

Scheduling & Coordination

• Work closely with the Maintenance Scheduler to prioritize, plan, and schedule weekly/long‑range maintenance activities.
• Coordinate with Operations to align maintenance schedules with production needs and ensure safe access to equipment.
• Communicate upcoming work requirements to Operations, Maintenance, and support groups in a timely manner.

Contractor & Vendor Interface

• Support development of contractor scopes of work for planned maintenance activities.
• Ensure contractors are aware of required materials, drawings, specifications, and site expectations prior to arriving on‑site.
• Collaborate with Procurement and vendors to ensure timely delivery of needed parts or services.

Safety & Compliance

• Ensure all planned jobs include proper safety considerations, permits, and regulatory requirements.
• Participate in pre‑job hazard assessments and assist in developing job‑specific safety plans.
• Maintain compliance with site procedures, environmental requirements, and Synthomer safety standards.

Continuous Improvement & Documentation

• Maintain accurate and detailed job plans in the CMMS for future reuse and improvement.
• Analyze completed work orders for quality of planning and identify opportunities to increase efficiency or reduce downtime.
• Work with Maintenance and Engineering to improve preventive and predictive maintenance strategies.
• Track maintenance KPIs such as schedule compliance, wrench time, backlog levels, and planning accuracy.

Qualifications

• Experience in maintenance planning in a chemical plant or industrial manufacturing environment
• Strong mechanical/electrical knowledge and ability to read engineering drawings
• Proficiency with CMMS systems (SAP, Maximo, or similar)
• Strong communication and coordination skills across multiple departments
• Ability to prioritize workload in a fast‑paced production environment

Global Benefits Overview

• Competitive, market-aligned compensation
• Discretionary global bonus scheme
• Discretionary Long-Term Incentive Plan (LTIP) – for senior positions
• Company car or car allowance – varies by region and role
• Healthcare – tailored to regional locations
• Parental leave and family support – maternity, paternity, adoption (aligned with regional policies)
• Working options – flexibility where it matters, based on role and business needs
• Learning & development opportunities – training, online platforms, buddy/mentorship programs, Internal Synthomer University with L&D offers
• Wellbeing support – employee assistance program (EAP), mental health resources, wellbeing initiatives
• Retirement / pension contributions – plans vary by country
• Culture of Inclusion – where everyone can thrive
• Performance culture, global reward & recognition programmes