Quality & Product Assurance Manager in Guildford

This is an exciting new role at SSTL with an opportunity for you to make a real difference in SSTL’s future to deliver on quality, on time and on cost missions. Line managed by the Projects Director, you will be responsible to the greater Executive team for ensuring excellence in the fields of quality and product assurance is achieved across the business. You will be responsible for galvanising SSTL, at 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.

Responsibilities

• Drive change to improve delivery of our missions on time, on cost and on quality through continuous improvement of the efficiency and effectiveness of SSTL 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 SSTL’s 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 SSTL 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 SSTL Executive.
• Facilitate ISO9001 / 14001 / 27001 management system reviews with the SSTL Executive and use to help the SSTL Executive drive the business forward.
• Manage the SSTL 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 SSTL 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 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.
• Possess the necessary drive and energy to support SSTL teams, overcoming significant obstacles where necessary, to ensure the business achieves its corporate objectives.
• 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.
• High degree of organisation, self-motivation and initiative.
• Ability to be proactive and encourage proactive working in others.
• Ability to motivate and enthuse others.
• Good team working skills, together with the ability to interface with others at all levels and ability to coach and mentor good team working skills in direct reports and others.
• Excellent inter-personal skills - both written and oral communications; ability to interface with customers and technical representatives.
• Excellent planning and organising skills.
• Flexible and adaptable to changing priorities.
• Decision making and creative problem solving skills.
• Ability to multi-task and deliver both immediate and longer term tasks across a variety of projects.
• Proven ability to deliver solutions under pressure and to tight timescales.
• Good knowledge of MS Office Excel, Word, PowerPoint and Microsoft Project.
• Able to demonstrate company mindsets and behaviours; Be accountable, Drive & delivery, Communicate effectively, Self-manage effectively, Work as one team.

Location

The role is based in our Head Office in Guildford but we support hybrid working options.

Benefits

Our comprehensive benefits package includes; 32 days Holiday plus Bank Holidays, Pension Scheme with Life Assurance, Private Medical & International Travel Insurance, Annual Bonus Scheme, Share Incentive Plan, Enhanced Maternity, Paternity & Shared Parental Pay for new parents, High Street Discount Scheme and many more!