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Commissioning Manager
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Commissioning Manager – Energy from Waste
Location: Newton Aycliffe, County Durham
Contract: Five-month fixed-term contract
Start date: 1 August 2026
End date: December 2026
Working arrangement: Site-based
Rate: Competitive day rate, dependent on experience
IR35 status: Outside IR35 determination to be confirmed
Kite Renewables is recruiting an experienced Commissioning Manager to lead the hot commissioning, performance testing and operational handover of a high-temperature hazardous and clinical waste incineration facility in Newton Aycliffe.
The facility includes a rotary kiln primary combustion chamber, secondary combustion chamber, waste-heat recovery boiler, district heating system, emissions-control equipment, Continuous Emissions Monitoring System, utilities, HV/LV electrical distribution and DCS, SCADA and PLC control systems.
The successful candidate will take responsibility for the safe, systematic and compliant delivery of the commissioning programme from mechanical completion and cold commissioning through to first fire, hot commissioning, performance acceptance and final handover to operations.
Key Responsibilities
- Develop, own and maintain the Commissioning Execution Plan and integrated commissioning schedule.
- Manage mechanical completion and Ready for Commissioning handovers across all systems and sub-systems.
- Review commissioning documentation, including P&IDs, single-line diagrams, cause-and-effect matrices, logic diagrams, test packs and vendor documentation.
- Lead system walkdowns, punch-list management and commissioning dossier preparation.
- Coordinate commissioning activities across mechanical, process, electrical, instrumentation and control systems.
- Plan and chair Pre-Start-Up Safety Reviews.
- Manage first fire, kiln warm-up, thermal cycling and controlled introduction of process media and waste feedstock.
- Coordinate EPC contractors, equipment vendors, operations, maintenance, QA/QC and HSE teams.
- Monitor kiln, boiler, combustion, emissions-control and auxiliary-system performance during commissioning.
- Oversee commissioning and validation of DCS, PLC, SCADA, SIS, ESD and CEMS systems.
- Manage reliability runs and Performance Acceptance Testing.
- Ensure commissioning activities comply with Environment Agency permit requirements, UK HSE legislation and applicable Industrial Emissions Directive obligations.
- Close commissioning punch-list items and deliver complete system handover documentation.
- Support the operations team during the early-life stabilisation period.
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Essential Experience
- At least five years of experience in a commissioning lead or management position.
- Direct commissioning experience within thermal treatment, waste incineration, Energy from Waste or a comparable high-temperature process facility.
- Experience commissioning rotary kilns, combustion chambers or equivalent fired process equipment.
- Experience commissioning boilers, heat-recovery systems and steam or hot-water circuits.
- Strong experience managing mechanical completion, system handovers, punch lists, ITRs and commissioning dossiers.
- Experience managing multi-discipline commissioning teams, contractors and specialist vendors.
- Strong knowledge of UK health and safety legislation relevant to industrial commissioning.
- Ability to interpret P&IDs, isometrics, cause-and-effect matrices, logic diagrams and electrical single-line diagrams.
- Knowledge of functional safety, safety instrumented systems and emergency shutdown systems.
- Experience working with DCS, SCADA and PLC systems.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to report to senior management and regulatory stakeholders.
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Qualifications
- Degree-level qualification in Mechanical, Chemical, Process, Electrical or a related engineering discipline.
- NEBOSH National General Certificate or higher.
- IOSH Managing Safely or equivalent.
- EUSR or equivalent industrial site-safety passport.
Desirable Experience
- Commissioning air-pollution-control systems, bag filters or scrubbing systems.
- SNCR or SCR NOx-abatement systems.
- CEMS commissioning and validation.
- Knowledge of EN 14181, MCERTS, QAL1, QAL2 and AST requirements.
- Chartered Engineer status.
- Experience working under Environment Agency permits and Industrial Emissions Directive requirements.
Working Requirements
The position is site-based and requires a minimum commitment of 40 hours per week. Extended hours, weekend working, shift cover and on-call availability may be required during critical commissioning stages, including first fire, reliability runs and performance testing. The role will involve regular plant walkdowns, access to elevated structures and occasional confined-space entry under the appropriate permit arrangements.
Travel to vendor premises, subcontractor locations, test facilities and regulatory meetings may also be required.
Pre-Employment Requirements
Appointment will be subject to:
- Enhanced DBS check.
- Right-to-work verification.
- Professional reference checks.
- Compliance with the site’s drug and alcohol policy.
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