Assistant Quality Manager in Harlow

To be the leading producer of glass bottles and jars worldwide you need passion, commitment and innovation baked into the very fabric of a business and its people. For more than 120 years, our glass makers have honed their craft—channelling their creativity into more than 1,800 patents held today. When you join O-I you become part of that story.

O-I has more than a century of experience crafting pure, sustainable, brand-building glass packaging for many of the world’s best-known food and beverage brands. We are proud to provide high quality glass packaging for beer, wine, spirits, food, non-alcoholic beverages, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. We are dedicated to make what matters to shape a healthier, more sustainable and more exciting world. We transform the industry to make glass more relevant and more accessible to more people.

Key Responsibilities

• Support the Quality Manager in improving all internal and external plant assurance of quality systems and in developing the plant's quality plan to help create and maintain a customer-focused organization.
• Provide foundational understanding and functionality of the plant's quality assurance processes and systems.
• Assist in setting, monitoring, and maintaining quality objectives to ensure plant goals are being met; identify appropriate tasks and schedule required training to accomplish continuous improvement initiatives.
• Organize and analyze customer satisfaction data based upon product and service performance to identify trends and improvement opportunities.
• Work directly with all departments on quality issues, preventative actions, and corrective actions to drive systemic improvements.
• Facilitate problem-solving activities through Total Quality Management (TQM), team building, and quality systems tools and methods; work with line and process supervisors to identify negative quality trends and repetitive defects.
• Serve as a customer liaison by making customer visits as appropriate and assisting in the implementation of customer quality management systems.
• Investigate customer complaints under the direction of the QA Manager and work with appropriate management to develop and implement effective resolutions.
• Prepare customer complaint responses and maintain comprehensive databases on all customer complaints for trend analysis and reporting.
• Develop technical expertise in problem identification across key areas including glass properties, bottle design and attributes, line and handling requirements, carton specifications, customer processing, and fracture analysis.
• Collaborate with plant management to develop and document standard operating procedures (SOPs) that support quality objectives.
• Support quality audits and assist in maintaining compliance with relevant quality standards and regulatory requirements.
• Track and report on quality metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) to monitor process performance and identify improvement opportunities.
• Participate in root cause analysis activities and lead or support process improvement projects to enhance operational efficiency and product quality.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications:

• Minimum of 5 years' experience in a quality assurance or quality management role, preferably within a glass manufacturing environment.
• ISO 9001 auditor certification or equivalent quality management systems qualification.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications (Excel, Word, PowerPoint) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems such as SAP.
• Strong knowledge of quality management principles, Total Quality Management (TQM) methodologies, and continuous improvement frameworks.
• Demonstrated experience with root cause analysis, corrective action, and preventative action (CAPA) processes.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to prepare clear technical documentation and customer correspondence.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Additional certifications in quality management (Six Sigma, Lean, or ASQ certifications).
• Experience conducting internal and external quality audits.
• Familiarity with glass manufacturing processes, including knowledge of glass properties, bottle design specifications, and fracture analysis.
• Proven experience in customer complaint investigation and resolution.
• Background in data analysis and statistical process control (SPC).
• Experience leading or supporting process improvement projects and cross-functional problem-solving initiatives.
• Knowledge of relevant regulatory requirements and industry quality standards.

Additional Information

• Employer contribution pension plan (up to 11% contributions).
• Life Assurance benefit - 4 x Base Salary.
• Company Sick Pay.
• Performance based Bonus plan 8% of base salary.
• Attractive Holiday Allowance.
• Employee Assistance Programme including free benefits for employees, partners and dependants such as counselling sessions and legal advice.
• Supportive teams to help you grow and learn new skills.

Next Steps

If you are smart, passionate, innovative, culturally open, curious and collaborative, we’d like to hear from you. O-I is committed to fostering an inclusive environment that attracts and embraces the brightest minds and creates a culture that welcomes a diversity of ideas and perspectives while encouraging growth and rewarding performance. Apply today!

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.