Superintendent Production Planning

Superintendent Production Planning

• Be part of a group that is safety driven and values inclusion.

• Work in an environment that prioritises safety, operational excellence, and continuous improvement.

• Live and work in Gladstone, a vibrant coastal region with great outdoor activities, affordable living, and a strong local community.

About the role

Finding better ways to provide the materials the world needs.

We are looking for a Superintendent Production Planning to monitor and control the entire Bayer Process, ensuring refinery operations are optimised for efficiency, product quality, and cost-effectiveness.

This is a great opportunity for a highly analytical and results-driven professional to optimise process control parameters, remove barriers to production, and establish systems that enhance operational stability and efficiency across the Bayer Plant. The ideal candidate will have a strong focus on prioritising activities that address production limitations while ensuring product quality remains on specification through process parameter adjustments and continuous improvement initiatives.

We are an open, connected global team that includes some of the industry’s best and brightest minds. We offer competitive, performance-focused remuneration and a wide range of benefits to reward your contribution. With a global reach, the opportunities to develop and grow your career are broad and exciting.

Reporting to the Technical Manager and working in a challenging and exciting environment within the Technical Department, you will:

• Operate the refinery following Sustainable Safety principles, proactively manage risks, and contribute to HAZOPs & CHAZOPs.

• Set, adjust, and optimize plant parameters to maintain product quality and operational stability.

• Develop and own troubleshooting plans, providing support for refinery-wide operational challenges.

• Identify and address process bottlenecks, inefficiencies, and loss of control issues to enhance refinery performance.

• Contribute to short and long-term planning, system improvements, and refinery integration for optimised operations.

• Manage shift process engineers and specialists while mentoring the broader process engineering team.

• Produce loss reports, contribute to re-forecasting production and raw material consumption, and assist in long-term production planning.

• Support routine operations and prepare equipment for maintenance to ensure seamless refinery performance.

What you’ll bring

• A commitment to the safety of yourself and your team

• Tertiary qualification in Chemical or Mechanical Engineering.

• A broad knowledge of all areas of the Bayer process with detailed knowledge in Digestion and/or Precipitation

• Proven experience in Process Engineering analytical skills at a high level
  Ability to create an environment where people feel responsible for the quality of their work and the improvement of their competencies. 

• Well-developed ability to analyse situations, solve problems and process information logically and systematically with minimal support. 

• Detail minded, logical and systematic in problem solving

What we offer

• A work environment where safety is always the number one priority

• A competitive base salary reflective of your skills and experience with annual incentive program

• Comprehensive medical benefits including subsidised private health insurance for employees and immediate family

• Attractive share ownership plan

• Company provided insurance cover

• Extensive salary sacrifice & salary packaging options

• Career development & education assistance to further your technical or leadership ambitions

• Ongoing access to family-friendly health and medical wellbeing support

• Leave for all of life’s reasons (vacation/annual, paid parental, sick leave)

• Exclusive employee discounts (banking, accommodation, cars, retail and more); and

• Relocation packages where suitable for Australian based citizens only

Where you’ll be working

Located in Central Queensland, approximately 10km north-west of Gladstone, Yarwun alumina refinery commenced operations in 2004. Processing bauxite from our mines in Weipa and Gove, Yarwun produces more than three million tonnes of smelter grade alumina annually.

As one of the largest industries in the Gladstone region, Yarwun employs over 700 people and has a large contractor workforce.

With a focus on safely improving our process every day, the team at Yarwun challenge themselves to use existing and emerging technology to support our 24 hour operation.

Yarwun is a proud member of the Gladstone community, and along with Boyne Smelters Limited and Queensland Alumina Limited, support community investments that improve the liveability of the Gladstone region through the Here for Gladstone community fund.

Applications close on Wednesday 16th April 2025 (Rio Tinto reserves the right to remove advertised roles prior to this date)

About Rio Tinto

Rio Tinto is a leading global mining and materials company. We operate in 35 countries where we produce iron ore, copper, aluminium, critical minerals, and other materials needed for the global energy transition and for people, communities, and nations to thrive.

We have been mining for 150 years and operate with knowledge built up across generations and continents. Our purpose is finding better ways to provide the materials the world needs – striving for innovation and continuous improvement to produce materials with low emissions and to the right environmental, social and governance standards. But we can’t do it on our own, so we’re focused on creating partnerships to solve problems, create win-win situations and meet opportunities.

Every Voice Matters

At Rio Tinto, we particularly welcome and encourage applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, women, the LGBTI+ community, mature workers, people with disabilities and people from different cultural backgrounds.

We are committed to an inclusive environment where people feel comfortable to be themselves. We want our people to feel that all voices are heard, all cultures respected and that a variety of perspectives are not only welcome – they are essential to our success. We treat each other fairly and with dignity regardless of race, gender, nationality, ethnic origin, religion, age, sexual orientation or anything else that makes us different.