Senior Manager, Ground Support Equipment Maintenance at Rwandair: (Deadline 2026-Aug-26)
RwandAir Ltd – Job Vacancy
Position: Senior Manager – Ground Support Equipment (GSE) Maintenance
Department: Ground Services
Reports to: Head of Airside Operations
Location: Kigali International Airport, Rwanda
Application Deadline: August 26, 2026
Apply Online – RwandAir eRecruitment
About RwandAir
RwandAir Ltd is the flag carrier airline of Rwanda, operating domestic and international services across East Africa, Central Africa, West Africa, Southern Africa, Europe, and the Middle East, with its main base at Kigali International Airport.
Our mission is to provide safe, reliable, and exceptional air transportation services, strategically connecting Rwanda with the rest of the world while ensuring a fair return on investment.
As part of its expansion strategy, RwandAir is seeking a qualified, experienced, and competent professional to join its team as Senior Manager – Ground Support Equipment (GSE) Maintenance.
Job Purpose
The Senior Manager – GSE Maintenance will be responsible for managing RwandAir Ground Services Engineering within agreed operational, safety, quality, and financial standards.
The role will provide strategic, operational, and tactical leadership for Engineering activities, including the GSE workshop, stores, maintenance, support services, project management, and organizational change at Kigali and Kamembe.
The successful candidate will ensure that Engineering projects and workstreams are delivered on time, within budget, and within scope, while continuously improving safety, efficiency, reliability, and service quality.
Key Duties & Responsibilities
1. Strategic Leadership
- Contribute to the development and implementation of strategic plans aimed at improving GSE Engineering performance, safety, environmental management, and Health & Safety standards.
- Lead the GSE Engineering Management team and establish a culture of innovation, operational excellence, and best practice.
- Lead and govern Engineering portfolios, programmes, and projects using recognized project-management methodologies.
- Develop and evaluate Engineering business cases in collaboration with business owners and Finance.
- Identify operational gaps, opportunities, and areas requiring process development or change management.
- Lead strategic Engineering projects that deliver value to the business, employees, customers, and stakeholders.
- Work closely with IT to ensure the GSE workshop, stores, and support functions have appropriate and up-to-date technology.
- Monitor safety KPIs and processes to ensure safety and security remain the highest operational priorities.
- Contribute to strategic decisions supporting the growth and development of the GSE Engineering function.
2. Operational Management
- Develop and implement the GSE Engineering strategy, objectives, priorities, and operational plans.
- Regularly review departmental objectives, procedures, practices, and performance and introduce improvements where required.
- Establish and communicate clear operational standards, accountabilities, responsibilities, and controls.
- Ensure delivery of Engineering KPIs through effective management of Workshop, Stores, and Support teams.
- Ensure workshop deliverables meet required standards of completeness, accuracy, quality, and reliability.
- Facilitate process-development workshops and map business processes based on operational requirements.
- Establish effective methodologies for maintaining and continuously improving business processes.
- Drive initiatives that reduce costs, improve revenue opportunities, enhance customer satisfaction, eliminate duplication, and improve operational efficiency.
- Maintain a robust safety programme ensuring all GSE is maintained according to required specifications and employees remain properly trained and compliant.
3. Business Acumen
- Use business and financial principles to establish priorities and make evidence-based decisions.
- Manage the departmental P&L and operating budget effectively.
- Maintain strong awareness and control of day-to-day operational costs.
- Build productive value partnerships with customers and stakeholders.
- Perform other duties related to the position as assigned by the Head of Department.
4. Management & Leadership
- Establish team objectives and priorities aligned with overall business strategy.
- Supervise, motivate, develop, and manage employees to ensure high-quality service delivery.
- Recruit, train, coach, and develop employees.
- Build effective succession-planning and talent-development programmes.
- Promote teamwork, accountability, and continuous professional development.
5. Personal Development
- Take responsibility for continuous personal development and professional growth.
- Keep up to date with industry trends, technologies, and market developments.
- Support RwandAir during emergencies or major operational disruptions.
6. Safety & Compliance
- Ensure employees understand and comply with workplace Health & Safety requirements.
- Ensure compliance with applicable safety, security, quality, environmental, and regulatory requirements.
- Ensure managers and supervisors are adequately equipped to communicate safety requirements and identify training needs.
- Take active responsibility for the reporting, investigation, and appropriate response to injuries, incidents, near misses, and hazards.
7. Environmental Management
- Monitor emerging environmental legislation, industry trends, and associated business risks.
- Integrate environmental considerations into business strategy and management practices.
- Promote operational resilience and responsible environmental management.
Qualifications & Experience
Minimum Requirements
- Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent qualification.
- Minimum 8 years of relevant professional experience.
- Previous Executive Management experience.
- Significant experience managing a GSE workshop, maintenance operation, or industrial/heavy equipment repair workshop.
- Proven experience leading, managing, motivating, and engaging a large multicultural workforce.
Preferred
- Experience within a large-scale or blue-chip Engineering organization.
Key Skills & Competencies
The successful candidate should demonstrate:
- Expert knowledge of Ground Handling operational procedures.
- Strong, decisive, collaborative, and ethical leadership.
- High standards of integrity, equality, and respect.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Strong experience managing multicultural teams.
- Ability to drive change and deliver results at pace.
- Innovative and solution-oriented mindset.
- Strong customer-service orientation combined with cost-conscious management.
- Excellent coaching, mentoring, and employee-development skills.
- Strong delegation, planning, workflow-management, and team-building abilities.
- Fluency in spoken and written English.
Job Dimensions
Organizational Accountability
- Local accountability with global impact.
Managerial & Supervisory Accountability
- Manage teams within the department.
- Supervise through other management personnel.
Leadership & Strategic Accountability
- Develop policies and set strategic direction.
- Develop departmental strategy.
Financial Accountability
- Full accountability for the operating budget.
- Approve expenditures within the approved departmental budget.
- Non-revenue-generating role.
Customer Accountability
- Interface with executive decision-makers and key stakeholders.
Freedom to Act
- Set policies and objectives within the scope of the position.
How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should submit the following documents:
- Application letter addressed to the Chief HR & Administration Officer.
- Recent Curriculum Vitae (CV).
- Copies of notarized Degree/Diploma certificates.
- Relevant professional certificates.
- Copies of academic documents.
- Copy of Passport or National ID.
- Details of three referees.
Important: All application documents must be submitted in PDF format only.
Application Deadline: August 26, 2026
