Quality Manager

Sharp & Carter; Sydney; On-site; AUD 150,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Sharp & Carter is seeking a Senior Quality Manager for a multi-site packaging manufacturer across NSW and Victoria. You will own ISO 9001, GMP and food safety programs, supported by site Quality Leads and QC Inspectors, with travel to NSW and occasional Victoria site visits.

You will be the senior escalation point for quality issues affecting high-volume production, requiring sharp root-cause analysis and timely, practical decisions, including out-of-hours input when needed.

Qualifications

• Strong quality leadership in manufacturing (packaging helpful)
• ISO 9001 audit management experience essential; food safety accreditation (ISO 22000/FSSC 22000) and GMP exposure desirable
• Excellent root-cause analysis and corrective action skills; Lean or structured problem-solving favored
• Engaging, influential communication across site teams, customers and auditors
• Proactive, self-starting mindset; able to balance reactive issues with long-term quality objectives

Responsibilities

• Lead ISO 9001, GMP and food safety/accreditation compliance across multiple sites
• Manage auditor relationships and lead external/internal audits
• Conduct investigations and root-cause analysis for customer issues and drive corrective actions
• Collaborate with Plant Managers, Sales and CI Manager to align quality improvements
• Visit customer sites to investigate issues and implement solutions
• Propose and implement improvements to quality team structure and standards
• Respond to back-shift escalations where production is at risk

Skills

ISO 9001

GMP

Food safety

Audits

Root cause analysis

Continuous improvement

Lean

Quality leadership

Stakeholder management

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