Brunel has been exclusively engaged to recruit a General Manager for MAK Water, based at the company's head office in Malaga.
Reporting directly to the Managing Director, this is a senior leadership role with broad accountability across engineering, manufacturing, operations, project delivery, service performance, safety, people leadership and commercial outcomes.
The General Manager will oversee a national operating environment, including engineering, manufacturing, service delivery, facilities support, regional operations and project execution across Australia.
This is an opportunity to join an established Australian business with strong foundations, technical capability and clear ambition for continued growth. The role will suit a practical, technically credible and commercially grounded leader who can bring structure, accountability and continuous improvement across a diverse operating environment.
The successful candidate will work closely with the Managing Director and senior leadership team to strengthen operational performance, improve project delivery visibility, support national consistency and help shape the next stage of the business.
- Lead MAK Water's engineering, manufacturing, operational, project delivery and service performance across Australia
- Provide senior leadership to engineering, workshop, manufacturing, service and operational teams
- Oversee project delivery from design and engineering through to procurement, fabrication, manufacturing, installation, commissioning and service handover
- Strengthen operational and engineering discipline across project delivery, workshop, manufacturing and service teams
- Improve project delivery performance, including planning, resourcing, delivery visibility and continuous improvement
- Ensure engineering and workshop teams are aligned on project requirements, delivery timelines, quality standards and technical outcomes
- Lead national service and operating functions with a focus on consistency, accountability and performance
- Build trust and credibility with technical, engineering, operational and leadership teams
- Use data, reporting and commercial insight to make clear recommendations and support better decisions
- Support safety leadership across the organisation and ensure safe, practical and compliant operations
- Coach, support and develop leaders and teams across the business
- Work closely with the Managing Director and senior leadership team to improve business performance
- Resolve operational, technical and customer issues where senior-level support is required
- Support continuous improvement across engineering, systems, processes, project delivery, reporting and business rhythm
- Contribute to the future direction of the business as part of the senior leadership team
You will be a technically credible operational leader with experience across engineered products, systems, equipment, plants or technical service environments.
You may currently be operating as a General Manager, Operations Manager, Engineering Manager, Manufacturing Manager, Project Delivery Leader, Service Operations Leader or senior technical leader who has progressed into broader commercial, people and operational accountability.
The ideal background will include exposure to businesses that design, engineer, build, manufacture, install and maintain engineered products, systems, plants or equipment. Relevant sectors may include water treatment, industrial services, OEMs, engineering services, manufacturing, mining services, oil and gas services, infrastructure, utilities, equipment-related businesses or project delivery environments.
Direct water treatment experience is not essential. However, you will need the engineering foundation, technical credibility and operational understanding to engage effectively with engineers, workshop teams, manufacturing teams, service leaders and project delivery personnel.
You Will Bring
- Engineering or equivalent technical foundation
- Senior operational, engineering, manufacturing, project delivery or general management experience
- Strong commercial understanding across operational performance, resourcing, cost control and business improvement
- Experience leading engineering, technical, operational, service, workshop, project or manufacturing teams
- Ability to understand design, engineering, fabrication, manufacturing, installation, commissioning and service delivery interfaces
- Ability to understand how a business creates value and where performance can be improved
- Strong safety leadership and commitment to safe operational delivery
- Confidence working with data, reporting, performance measures and commercial decision-making
- Ability to earn credibility with engineering, technical and operational teams
- Practical, approachable and coaching-led leadership style
- Experience improving operational discipline without imposing unnecessary bureaucracy
- Strong stakeholder management skills, including the ability to work closely with an active Managing Director
- Ability to bring people on the journey and present solutions, not just problems
- Comfort operating in a privately owned, agile and commercially grounded business
- Ambition to become part of the MAK Water community and contribute to the long-term direction of the business