Product Quality Assurance Manager

We are seeking a Quality & Product Assurance Manager with a track record of management of a quality or product assurance in management systems environments, to join a leading Spacecraft company in Guildford. You will be responsible for ensuring excellence in the fields of quality and product assurance is achieved across the business. You will be responsible for galvanising all levels, to embody a continuous improvement culture and reap the benefits of an effective management system. You will coach, mentor and develop the Quality Assurance & Product Assurance team and drive improvement throughout the organisation.

Key Tasks

• Drive change to improve delivery of missions on time, on cost and on quality through continuous improvement of the efficiency and effectiveness of processes.
• Galvanise the business, at all levels, to embody a continuous improvement culture and reap the benefits of an effective quality management system.
• Functionally manage Quality & Product Assurance team, ensuring high quality outputs and the delivery of excellence, through enthusing, coaching, mentoring and development of the team.
• Manage relationship with external certification bodies for ISO9001, ISO14001, ISO27001 and ensure continued certification.
• Ensure internal audit, non-conformance, calibration and environmental management processes are effective.
• Ensure process owners genuinely own their processes, delivering effective outcomes that result in improved business process at process and overall company level through coaching, mentoring and provision of QA support.
• Report on quality, product assurance and environmental metrics to the business and to the Executive.
• Facilitate ISO9001 / 14001 / 27001 management system reviews with the Executive and use to help the Executive drive the business forward.
• Manage the internal audit programme ensuring the process owners and business at large use the results to drive on-cost, on schedule, on quality delivery of missions.
• Provide product assurance engineering resource to high assurance programmes where required.
• Support bid activities providing guidance on what quality and product assurance resources may be needed to meet project requirements.
• Interface with institutional, government and commercial customers on quality and product assurance topics ensuring our unique approaches are understood.

Previous Experience

• Proven track record of effective functional management of a quality or product assurance team, including effective mentoring and coaching resulting in team excellence.
• Proven track record of driving improvements resulting in improved business performance and providing Product Assurance support to missions.
• 5 years+ experience of working within ISO9001, ISO14001 & ISO27001 management systems environment.
• 5 years+ years experience of Quality Systems Engineering Management in a high technology development and/or manufacturing and test environment. (Experience in space or aerospace technologies would be an advantage).

Qualifications Knowledge & Skills

• A degree or equivalent in an engineering or technical discipline, ideally Aerospace.
• A deep understanding of ISO9001/14001 and an ability to apply it to achieve business success is essential.
• A good working knowledge of ISO27001 would be an advantage.
• Good working knowledge of space industry quality and product assurance standards (e.g. ECSS / IPS) would be an advantage.
• Excellent inter-personal and communication skills, able to influence, persuade and negotiate with people at all levels (externally & internally) as well as to assist in reaching compromises when there are conflicting requirements.
• Good knowledge of MS Office Excel, Word, PowerPoint and Microsoft Project.

Benefits

• Highly competitive Salary.
• Flexible working policies.
• 32 days annual leave + BH.
• Annual Company Bonus Scheme.
• Up to 8% employer pension contribution.
• Life Assurance (6X salary).
• Private Health Care.
• Enhanced Maternity & Paternity leave.
• Multiple Discount, Memberships schemes.