Head of Equipment

The Head of Equipment & Maintenance is accountable for the end-to-end governance, availability, safety, lifecycle optimisation, and cost efficiency of all terminal equipment and technical assets at HHLA PLT Italy.

The role provides strategic and operational leadership over engineering, maintenance, and technical projects, ensuring alignment with HHLA Group standards, local regulatory requirements, and terminal operational objectives. The position acts as the single point of accountability for equipment reliability, CAPEX planning, outsourced maintenance performance, and technical risk management, reporting directly to the COO.

Summary of responsibilities:

Equipment Strategy & Asset Lifecycle Management

Define and implement the terminal equipment strategy, covering acquisition, utilisation, maintenance, refurbishment, and end‑of‑life.

Own and continuously update the Asset Roadmap, ensuring alignment with volume growth, service mix, and LG expansion.

Ensure optimal balance between owned, leased, and rented equipment, maintaining operational flexibility.

Drive standardisation in line with HHLA Group technical guidelines.

Maintenance Governance & Reliability

Establish and enforce preventive, predictive, and corrective maintenance frameworks.

Approve and monitor annual maintenance plans, ensuring equipment availability targets are met.

Ensure strict governance of outsourced maintenance providers, including KPIs, SLAs, cost control, and contractual compliance.

Act as final authority for technical deviations, emergency repairs, and equipment availability trade‑offs impacting operations.

Safety, Compliance & Risk Management

Ensure full compliance with HSSE regulations, HHLA safety standards, and applicable ISO frameworks (9001, 14001, 45001).

Own technical risk assessments related to equipment, including:

Approval of deviations to risk assessments and SOPs

Switching of mains and critical technical interventions

Lead technical incident and near‑miss investigations, ensuring root cause analysis and systemic corrective actions.

Actively contribute to the Safety Culture implementation, particularly in maintenance and contractor environments.

Ensure correct and consistent use of asset and maintenance management systems (e.g. CMMS/MMS).

Drive data‑driven equipment performance management through:

Availability, MTBF, MTTR, cost, and safety KPIs

Dashboards and reporting to HHLA PLT Management and HHLA International Management

Support integration with terminal systems (TOS, planning, HSSE tools).

Strategic Projects & Expansion

Lead and govern technical and equipment‑related projects, including:

New equipment introduction

Infrastructure interfaces

Modernisation, automation, and sustainability initiatives

Coordinate closely with the LG expansion project, ensuring technical readiness and operational integration.

Ensure smooth handover of projects into operational maintenance.

Own CAPEX and OPEX related to equipment and maintenance.

Prepare and justify investment proposals, lifecycle cost analyses, and replacement strategies.

Monitor budget performance, identify variances, and implement corrective actions.

Drive cost optimisation without compromising safety, compliance, or service quality.

Stakeholder & Group Coordination

Act as primary interface with:

COO and HHLA PLT Management

HHLA International / HIG technical functions

OEMs, service providers, and regulatory bodies

Contribute to Group‑wide technical initiatives, benchmarking, and standardisation.

People Management & Industrial Relations

Develop technical leadership capability within the team.

Ensure competency development, succession planning, and performance management.

Cooperate with HR on workforce planning and training strategies.

Support management of industrial relations, particularly where maintenance activities interface with unions and contractors.

Key Performance Measures

Equipment availability and reliability

Maintenance cost vs budget

Safety incidents and near‑miss trends (technical scope)

CAPEX execution vs plan

Vendor performance and SLA compliance

The Candidate

Education & Experience

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Electrical, or Industrial Engineering (Master’s preferred).

Minimum 10 years’…