Quality Manager - Liberty Diversified International, Inc.

POSITION SUMMARY 

Our Quality Manager is a critical piece of our production teams. This role leads the development and implementation of systems, procedures, processes, methods, and forms that reflect the organization’s quality management policy and program. This role also oversees and ensures overall product quality, reviews, and resolves quality related complaints and occurrences, and works closely with production leaders to ensure that solutions are implemented and maintained. Finally, our Quality Managers act as internal and external audit and certification leaders, drive NCR and CAPA processes, using lean sigma tools, and report out findings and customer concerns. 

This position reports to the General Manager for Central Packaging. 

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES 

• Serve as lead for quality process design at a site or series of sites. Maximize first pass quality through the creation of processes, policies, SOPs, and standard work. Establishes standards, expectations, and final release parameters for quality verifications. Ensures that training is developed and deployed to build quality knowledge and capability.
• Oversees customer compliant intake, analysis, and resolution processes. Leverages systems and established processes to manage quality concerns, decide on NCRs, and initiate Returned Goods Authorization and disposition while ensuring information is accurate and meets guidelines. Assigns CAPAs to internal process owners based on requirements and assists in development of short, mid, and long-term solutions to customer CAPA requests.
• Drives quality continuous improvement; analyzes top complaint reason codes from customers, presents information and findings to leadership, and develops strategies that leverages small work groups to improve current conditions; improves lagging quality indicators. Diagnoses current state and deploys strategic initiatives to achieve future quality goal improvements.
• Lead teams through the identification and improvement of waste streams using DMAIC, Taproot, 5 Why, and other lean sigma methodologies, resulting in improved efficiency and cost reduction
• Leverage product knowledge and customer requirements to establish acceptable threshold parameters for incoming raw materials, tools, equipment, and finished goods. Periodically audits against established standards to ensure upstream processes meet requirements to ensure expected outcomes. Establish standards for how tools should be structured and utilized across assigned facilities and influence utilization across region, where applicable.
• Acts as owner for internal and external audits, certification, and customer surveys. Performs and documents internal audits against organization standards; execute internal CAPA process to address internal findings / gaps. Leads team through preparation for, and execution of, external audits and customer surveys by organizing, coaching, and gathering information and supporting evidence. Respond to external audit findings through CAPA creation and gap closure actions to cure identified deficiencies
• Establish internal and external supplier performance measurements; monitor and measure supplier conformance against established standards. Where gaps are realized, lead CAPA process to ensure gap closure. Partner with sales and customer service with customer audits / site visits. Provide consultative approach to assist customers in optimizing manufacturing performance regarding product design, utilization, and efficiencies.
• Lead team through securing and maintaining applicable ISO9001-2015 and AIB cGMP certifications as required by company or customer objectives. Evaluate additional certification that may be required by market, industry, company, or customers and prepare business to achieve certification status.
• Accountable for administering, standardizing, and auditing document control system and tracking database. Regularly reviews document content and infrastructure to ensure system and tools are streamlined, meaningful, and efficient.
• Other duties, as assigned.

REQUIRED EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS 

• Bachelors’ degree in supply chain, quality, engineering, management, or related social sciences fields and 5+ years quality assurance, quality control, supervisory, or manufacturing experience, or any equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Previous demonstrated experience with root cause or multi-causal analysis.
• Previous manufacturing experience.
• 2+ years of experience managing customer interactions, gathering, and relaying technical information.
• Advanced experience with Microsoft Office suite.
• Demonstrated problem-solving, detail orientation, organization, communication, and independent work experience.

PREFERRED EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS 

• 4+ years of manufacturing quality experience in an ISO 9001-2015, AIB cGMP, or SQF organization.
• ISO training and/or auditor certification.
• Experience in the corrugated or paper industry or similar high-volume manufacturing.
• Plant leadership team experience preferred.
• Effective business/technical written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong organizational, strategic and planning skills.
• High level of accuracy and attention to detail.
• Internal/external relationship management experience.
• Lean and/or Operational Excellence experience, training, or certification.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS 

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. 

• Regular sitting, standing, and walking throughout the day to accomplish tasks
• Manual and finger dexterity used regularly with some repetitive finger motions
• Ability to work in front of a computer screen for long periods of time
• Specific vision abilities include close and distance vision; able to identify colors, small letters, and numbers; hand/eye coordination, depth perception and able to adjust focus
• Hearing and speaking
• Other conditions may include frequent reaching, stretching, pushing, pulling, pinching, grasping, and gripping.

about our company: 

Comprised of multiple companies with headquarters in New Hope, Minnesota, Liberty Diversified International (LDI) is a privately held company employing more than 1,900 individuals across our manufacturing facilities, production facilities and core business operations in Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Illinois, Georgia, Mississippi, Texas, Arizona, California, and Mexico. With deep roots in the corrugated box manufacturing industry, we operate in the core markets of paper, packaging, workplace products, corrugated plastics and building products. 

Since 1918, our values – Caring, Innovation, Trust and Excellence – have guided our day-to-day activities. We believe that when our employees are aligned with these values, we create superior solutions and service for our customers. The LDI family of companies includes Liberty Packaging, Liberty Paper, Liberty Plastics (Custom Solutions and Quarrix Building Products) and Safco. 

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Liberty Diversified International is an equal opportunity employer and makes all employment decisions without regard to race, color, sex, religion, age, creed, sexual orientation, national origin, marital status, disability, or any other protected class.