SOUTH AFRICAN NUCLEAR ENERGY CORPORATION (NECSA) VACANCIES

SOUTH AFRICAN NUCLEAR ENERGY CORPORATION (NECSA)

CONTROL & INSTRUMENTATION SPECIALIST (HAY 15/C4) (INTERNAL/EXTERNAL) (NORTH WEST)

Reference Number SPECIALIST06

Description

To provide plant technical support on electrical, instrumentation and control systems.

Key Performance Areas:

1. Plant Availability  

• Maintain, troubleshoot and program plant PLC, BMS and SCADA systems to support reliable plant operation.
• Provide specialist technical support for Control and Instrumentation systems, including process control, instrumentation and associated control equipment.
• Perform advanced fault-finding, diagnostics and technical investigations on control and instrumentation systems.
• Maintain and update plant instrumentation drawings, control system documentation and configuration records.
• Ensure regular and controlled backup of PLC, SCADA, BMS and associated control-system configurations.
• Perform preventative maintenance checks, including hardware and software inspections, system health checks and control-system audits.
• Provide technical input into the development and optimization of preventative and predictive maintenance strategies for C&I equipment.
• Support the Section Head and Team Leaders with RCM implementation and reliability improvement activities.
• Act as technical lead/support for ageing-management initiatives relating to C&I assets.
• Identify obsolete, unreliable and high-risk C&I equipment and provide technical recommendations for replacement or refurbishment.
• Maintain technical oversight of critical C&I spare parts, including identification of critical spares and technical specifications.
• Support investigation of recurring equipment failures and implement corrective actions to improve plant reliability.
• Provide technical support during planned maintenance, shutdowns, breakdowns and plant recovery activities.
• Provide technical input into plant modifications and control-system changes to ensure functionality, reliability and maintainability.
• Support achievement of the agreed plant availability and maintenance performance targets.

2. Budget and cost Management

• Provide specialist technical input into C&I maintenance budgets, forecasts and expenditure planning.
• Provide technical specifications and estimates for C&I maintenance, replacement and improvement requirements.
• Support evaluation of quotations and technical proposals to ensure that proposed solutions meet the required technical and operational requirements.
• Identify opportunities to reduce maintenance costs through equipment standardization, optimization, repair, refurbishment and appropriate replacement strategies.
• Monitor expenditure relating to assigned C&I maintenance activities and highlight significant variances to the Section Head.
• Support effective management of C&I critical spares to minimize unnecessary expenditure while maintaining required availability.
• Ensure maintenance and replacement recommendations consider whole-life cost, reliability, availability and maintainability.
• Provide technical justification for major C&I maintenance or replacement requirements.

3. SHEQ and Regulatory Compliance

• Ensure C&I maintenance activities are performed in accordance with approved SHEQ procedures, work instructions and maintenance standards.
• Ensure PLC, SCADA, BMS, instrumentation and control systems are maintained in accordance with applicable technical, safety and regulatory requirements.
• Provide technical support during SHEQ, regulatory and maintenance audits.
• Identify and report C&I-related hazards, risks, defects and compliance gaps.
• Ensure required technical documentation, maintenance records, inspection records and configuration records are maintained and available.
• Provide technical input into investigations of C&I-related incidents, deviations, failures and non-conformances.
• Support implementation and close-out of corrective and preventative actions relating to C&I systems.
• Ensure control-system modifications and changes are appropriately assessed, documented, tested and approved before implementation.
• Support compliance with applicable NNR, SAHPRA, GMR and other relevant regulatory requirements, where applicable to C&I systems and assigned plant areas.
• Participate in SHEQ inspections, audits, risk assessments and safety improvement initiatives.
• Promote a strong Safety-First culture within C&I maintenance activities. 

4.Team Management & Development

• Provide specialist technical guidance and support to C&I technicians, artisans and maintenance personnel.
• Coach and mentor team members in PLC, SCADA, BMS, instrumentation and process-control systems.
• Share specialist knowledge and lessons learned from breakdowns, investigations and improvement activities.
• Identify technical skills gaps and recommend appropriate training and development requirements to the Section Head.
• Assist with development and maintenance of C&I technical procedures, work instructions and training material.
• Support knowledge transfer to reduce dependency on individual specialists and improve team capability.
• Participate in technical problem-solving and multidisciplinary maintenance activities.
• Promote teamwork, effective communication and safe execution of C&I maintenance activities.

5. Continuous Improvement and Innovation

• Identify and implement opportunities to improve C&I system reliability, availability, maintainability and performance.
• Participate in root-cause analysis of recurring C&I failures and implement sustainable corrective actions.
• Identify opportunities for automation, control-system optimization and improved monitoring.
• Support standardization of PLC, SCADA, BMS and control-system architectures where technically appropriate.
• Identify and address obsolete technology, component availability and system obsolescence risks.
• Develop and implement approved technical improvement projects within the C&I discipline.
• Evaluate new technologies and technical solutions that may improve plant reliability, safety or maintenance efficiency.
• Improve C&I preventative and predictive maintenance strategies based on equipment history, failure trends and operating data.
• Maintain and improve technical standards, drawings, configuration records and C&I maintenance practices.
• Participate in cross-functional improvement initiatives and provide specialist C&I input.
• Capture and share lessons learned from failures, modifications and improvement projects.

6. OHS, QMS and Compliance

• Oversee and assist in executing Quality Assurance activities (management reviews, document reviews, audits) to ensure performance aligns with standards, compliance requirements, and established schedules.
• Monitor the implementation, maintenance, and operation of the SHE&R regime to ensure compliance with the latest and applicable standards.
• Facilitate the execution of BBS activities within the section and compile BBS statistics for NLS.
• Monitor the execution of NNR compliance activities and manage risk-related tasks.
• Serve as an auditee, responding to audit inquiries related to their section, and ensure the section passes the audit without qualifications, including facilitating the timely closure of audit findings.

JOB REQUIREMENTS

KEY KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS

• PLC programming and configuration.
• SCADA and BMS systems.
• Process control and automation.
• Control loops and PID tuning.
• Industrial instrumentation and measurement systems.
• Electrical and Instrumentation fundamentals.
• Fault-finding, diagnostics and repair of control systems.
• PLC/SCADA hardware and software configuration.
• Control-system networking and communications.
• Control-system backup, restoration and configuration management.
• Instrumentation drawings and technical documentation.

COMPETENCIES

• Control Systems and Instrumentation: Competent in PLC, SCADA, BMS, programming, instrumentation and process control.
• Fault-Finding and Problem Solving: Diagnoses faults, analyses trends and identifies root causes to prevent recurring failures.
• Reliability and Maintenance: Applies PM, PdM, RCM and ageing-management principles to improve equipment reliability.
• Safety and Regulatory Compliance: Identifies risks and follows approved SHEQ procedures and applicable regulatory requirements

Requirements

Minimum Qualifications and Experience:

Education:

• National Diploma Electrical (Control & Instrumentation)
• B-Tech Electrical (Control & Instrumentation) would be advantageous.

Experience: 

• At least 8 years’ experience in production plants/facilities
• 6-years hands-on experience with programming and configuration tools
• Experience/formal qualification in SCADA, PLC / Control Systems

Closing date: 10 November 2026.

CONTACT PERSON

Ms. Lydia Lebona

Tel: 012 305 4150

Please apply online https://necsa.mcidirecthire.com/External/CurrentOpportunities before the closing date.

Important: Necsa Group is committed to Employment Equity when recruiting. Therefore, priority will be given to African Females, African Males, and people with disabilities, in support of achieving our Employment Equity targets. 

GENERAL:

Should you not hear from us within 30 days of the closing date, please consider your application unsuccessful. 

Work Level Mid-Level

Job Type Permanent

Salary Market Related

EE Position No

Location North West

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