General Description
The Quality Manager owns quality across multiple Stephen Gould branches - the quality management system, the supplier base that feeds it, and the customer commitments it protects. This is broad ownership rather than a single discipline: keeping the QMS healthy and audit-ready, leading supplier management and supplier quality, and partnering with sales agents so quality and compliance are built in from the quote forward.
Stephen Gould serves a range of industries including cosmetics, life sciences, food packaging, retail, and other industrial markets, so the role requires translating customer, product, and packaging requirements into a set of quality and regulatory requirements, ensuring suppliers and internal teams meet them. Success is measured in customer satisfaction, risk mitigation, and sustained quality oversight.
From time to time, the role also reaches beyond assigned branches, working with fellow quality managers to drive standardization activities and practices across the organization.
Responsibilities
-
Maintain the health and effectiveness of the Quality Management System across assigned branches, including ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certification readiness, and implement corporate and divisional quality initiatives at the branch level.
-
Own document control, nonconformance, CAPA, complaints, and quality metrics; escalate adverse trends and drive them to closure.
-
Oversee the Supplier Quality Program end to end - qualification, approval, monitoring, and escalation and ensure suppliers maintain the required certifications, documentation, and records.
-
Lead problem resolution with customers and suppliers: failure analysis, root cause, corrective action, and verification of effectiveness.
-
Review customer requirements and product specifications across industries - cosmetics, life sciences, food packaging, retail, and other served markets.
-
Translate those requirements into applicable quality obligations and flow them down to suppliers and internal teams.
-
In conjunction with customers, set inspection criteria and acceptance parameters; serve as the quality liaison for key customers on quality and delivery issues.
-
Act as the quality subject matter expert for sales agents, engaging early at quoting, design and sourcing.
-
Educate agents on the quality system and applicable standards, build tools and training that drive real adoption, and support them in customer quality discussions.
-
Lead the internal audit program, execute supplier audits as needed, and host customer, registrar, and third-party audits from preparation through closure.
-
Review quality documentation across branches and work with peer quality managers to harmonize procedures and practices, where applicable.
-
Champion continuous improvement and deliver quality training to employees.
Requirements
-
Bachelor's degree or comparable experience; 5-7 years of progressive quality experience including supplier quality and audit leadership.
-
Working knowledge of ISO 9001 and ISO 14001, with experience maintaining a certified quality system.
-
Proven results in supplier management, root cause analysis, corrective action, and continuous improvement.
-
Ability to interpret customer and regulatory requirements and convert them into actionable controls.
-
Strong communication at all levels; able to work independently in a cross-functional, matrixed environment.
-
Proficiency with Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
Preferred
-
Experience in regulated industries - medical device, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, or food-contact packaging.
-
Lead Auditor certification (ISO 9001, ISO13485, ISO 14001 or others); Six Sigma Green or Black Belt.
-
Familiarity with packaging and material compliance regimes (FDA food-contact, Proposition 65, PFAS, REACH, RoHS, EU packaging requirements).
Required for supplier audits, branch support, and customer visits (10-15%).
THIS POSITION DESCRIPTION IN NO WAY STATES OR IMPLIES THAT THESE ARE THE ONLY DUTIES TO BE PERFORMED BY THE EMPLOYEE(S) INCUMBENT IN THIS POSITION. EMPLOYEES WILL BE REQUIRED TO FOLLOW ANY JOB-RELATED INSTRUCTIONS AND TO PERFORM ANY OTHER JOB-RELATED DUTIES REQUESTED BY ANY PERSON AUTHORIZED TO GIVE INSTRUCTIONS OR ASSIGNMENTS.
EEOC: Stephen Gould is an equal opportunity employer
