Quality Manager

Sharp and Carter; Sydney; On-site; AUD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Sharp and Carter seeks a Senior Quality Manager to own quality across NSW and Victoria manufacturing sites in the packaging sector. You will oversee ISO 9001, GMP and food safety accreditation with Quality Control Inspectors at each site and a Victorian Quality Lead, handling high-stakes issues with rapid root-cause analysis.

You’ll partner with Plant Managers, Sales and the Continuous Improvement Manager, traveling NSW and Victoria as needed to ensure audits, site improvements and customer-site

Qualifications

• Strong quality leadership experience in a manufacturing environment.
• Solid ISO 9001 and audit management experience.
• Food safety accreditation experience desirable but not essential.

Responsibilities

• Lead ISO 9001, GMP and food safety compliance across all sites.
• Manage auditor relationships and lead audits.
• Lead investigations and corrective actions on customer-facing issues.
• Partner with Plant Managers, Sales and the CI Manager.
• Visit customer sites to investigate quality issues.
• Propose and implement quality team structure improvements.
• Respond to back-shift escalations when production is at risk.

Skills

Quality leadership

ISO 9001

Audit management

Root cause analysis

Lean/CI

Job description

About the opportunity

We're seeking a Senior Quality Manager to take full quality ownership of manufacturing sites spanning NSW and Victoria, for an established manufacturer in the packaging sector. This is a newly structured opportunity for someone ready to bring focus and consistency to how quality is run across a multi-site operation.

Reports to:

National Operations Manager

Employment type:

Full-time, permanent

Travel:

Based in NSW, with travel to a Victorian site approximately one week every six to eight weeks, plus occasional customer site visits

About the role

You'll own the ISO 9001, GMP and food safety/accreditation systems, supported by Quality Control Inspectors at each site and an experienced Quality Lead managing the Victorian site day to day. You'll be the senior point of escalation for quality issues that threaten high-volume production, requiring sharp root cause analysis and fast, practical decision-making - including occasional out-of-hours input when a production issue can't wait.

Key responsibilities

• Lead ISO 9001, GMP and food safety/accreditation compliance across all sites
• Manage auditor relationships and lead external/internal audits with confidence
• Lead investigations, root cause analysis and corrective actions on customer-facing issues
• Partner closely with Plant Managers, Sales and the Continuous Improvement Manager
• Visit customer sites as needed to investigate and resolve quality issues directly
• Propose and implement improvements to quality team structure and standards
• Respond to occasional back-shift escalations where production is at risk

About you

You're an engaging, outgoing quality leader who's comfortable out on the floor rather than behind a desk, and who takes ownership of problems without needing to be chased. You bring strong audit and compliance credentials alongside the resilience to manage a fast-moving, occasionally reactive manufacturing environment.

You will ideally have:

• Strong quality leadership experience in a manufacturing environment - packaging experience beneficial but not essential
• Solid ISO 9001 and audit management experience essential; food safety accreditation (ISO 22000/FSSC 22000) and GMP exposure highly desirable
• Strong root cause analysis, corrective action and continuous improvement capability - Lean or structured problem-solving highly regarded
• An engaging, confident communication style that influences site teams, customers and auditors alike
• Proactive, self-starting approach - someone who takes ownership and only escalates when genuinely needed
• Comfort balancing reactive firefighting with longer-term strategic quality objectives

Why this role

• Multi-site scope with real influence across the quality function
• Strong partnership with an experienced Continuous Improvement Manager
• Collaborative culture - quality is owned jointly with operations, not siloed
• High-visibility role with direct access to senior leadership