Quality Manager

Quality assurance (QA) aims to ensure that the product or service an organization provides is fit for purpose and meets both external and internal requirements, including legal compliance and customer expectations.

A quality manager, sometimes called a quality assurance manager, coordinates the activities required to meet quality standards.

Quality managers also monitor and advise on the performance of the quality management system and produces data and report on performance, measuring against set indicators.

They liaise with other managers and staff throughout the organization to ensure that the QA system is functioning properly. Where appropriate, the quality manager advises on changes and their implementation and provides training, tools and techniques to enable others to achieve quality.

Since maintaining quality demands adaptation to customer expectations, quality managers employ a variety of measures to place quality at the heart of an organization. These include management systems such as ISO 9000, philosophies such as Total Quality Management, and methodologies such as Continuous Improvement.

The work of the quality manager will be affected by the nature of the employing organization but is likely to include some or all of the following activities: promoting quality achievement and performance improvement throughout the organization, setting QA compliance objectives and ensuring that targets are achieved, maintaining awareness of the business context and company profitability, including budgetary control issues.

Working with purchasing staff to establish quality requirements from external suppliers, ensuring compliance with national and international standards and legislation, considering the application of environmental and health and safety standards, agreeing standards and establishing clearly defined quality methods for staff to apply, monitoring performance by gathering relevant data and producing statistical reports.