MANAGER, QUALITY ASSURANCE

Come join our North America Beverage Division Team. We are seeking a Quality AssuranceManagerto lead and administer the Quality program at our Nichols, New York location. You will be charged with encouraging and promoting an atmosphere of safety, continuous improvement and World Class Performance to meet all our customer requirements throughout the plant with all personnel.

Quality Assurance Manager Job Purpose: Assures consistent quality of production by developing and enforcing good automated manufacturing practice (GAMP) systems; validating processes; providing good customer relations documentation and managing staff.

Duties and Responsibilities: The successful candidate’s duties will include but not be limited to the following:

• Accomplishes quality assurance human resource objectives by recruiting, selecting, orienting, training, assigning, scheduling, coaching, counseling, and disciplining employees; communicating job expectations; planning, monitoring, appraising, and reviewing job contributions; planning and reviewing compensation actions; enforcing policies and procedures.
• Working with external customers by having a strong customer service presence and delivery.
• Achieves quality assurance operational objectives by contributing information and analysis to strategic plans and reviews; preparing and completing action plans; implementing production, productivity, quality, and customer-service standards; identifying and resolving problems; completing audits; determining system improvements; implementing change.
• Develops quality assurance plans by conducting hazard analyses; identifying critical control points and preventive measures; establishing critical limits, monitoring procedures, corrective actions, and verification procedures, monitoring inventories.
• Validates quality processes by establishing product specifications and quality attributes; measuring production; documenting evidence; determining operational and performance qualification; writing and updating quality assurance procedures.
• Maintains and improves product quality by completing product, company, system, compliance, and surveillance audits; investigating customer complaints; collaborating with other members of management to develop new product and engineering designs, and manufacturing and training methods.
• Prepares quality documentation and reports by collecting, analyzing and summarizing information and trends including failed processes, stability studies, recalls, corrective actions, and re-validations.
• Updates job knowledge by studying trends and developments in quality management; participating in educational opportunities; reading professional publications; maintaining personal networks; participating in professional organizations.
• Enhances department and organization reputation by accepting ownership for accomplishing new and different requests and exploring opportunities to add value to job accomplishments.

Job Requirements

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Effective written, verbal and interpersonal skills. Ability to communicate with all levels of plant personnel and company management.
• Strong administrative, organizational and supervisory skills.
• A thorough working knowledge of the processes involved in manufacturing beverage cans.
• A thorough understanding of Product Development concepts, material properties, and finished product requirements.
• A thorough working knowledge of external customer requirements, processes, and expectations.
• The ability to professionally interact with customers whether face-to-face, verbal via telephone or written communication via emails or formal correspondence.
• A thorough understanding of common quality and problem solving tools including Statistical analysis, Pareto charts, Gauge R&R, PFMEA, Process Capability, and Histograms.
• A thorough understanding of Continuous Improvement and Lean Six Sigma principles.
• A thorough understanding of equipment engineering/installation/modification concepts.
• Experience with computer software: WORD, EXCEL, POWERPOINT, Minitab, KMS, SAP, ETQ and Windows.
• Strong knowledge of investigations, problem solving and corrective action implementation.

• Ability to lead and manage all aspects of quality control process.
• Must have process improvement and strategic planning skills.
• Ability to be observant and analytical, strong focus and attention to detail, thoroughness and dealing with complexity.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Excellent interpersonal skills.
• Excellent technical, organizational, planning problem solving skills
• Ability to lead and train direct reports applying interpersonal and team working skills.
• Good personal interactive skills are essential for the training, coaching and leading plant hourly and management teams in the Quality Management realm.
• Must work well with others and be able to communicate in an effective and clear manner.
• Ability to interface with corporate engineering and customers, concerning quality and process capability.
• Analytical skills must be highly developed with an ability to objectively evaluate data and perform statistical analysis.
• Excellent technical writing skills required to provide reports to create, maintain and update numerous written documents outlining and detailing all planned goals, protocols, procedures, processes, solutions and results related to implementation and monitoring of quality assurance measures.
• Complete multiple projects with deadlines while performing regularly assigned duties.

Qualifications: The successful candidate’s skill requirements will include but not be limited to the following:

• Bachelor’s degree. Preferably in the Sciences, Engineering, Quality or Project Management.
• Minimum five (5) years hands-on experience in a manufacturing environment with proven Quality Management System oversight capability.
• Experience supervising subordinates highly preferred.
• Proficient in Office 2000, (Excel Word, Access and Power Point).

• Excellent grasp and understanding of SPC (Statistical Process Control). Six-Sigma, Lean Manufacturing or strong ISO background a plus. Basic understanding of HACCP and GMPs.
• Must have a desire for achieving excellence in customer satisfaction, process and product quality and reliability.