Head of Quality (m/f/d)

LOWA Sportschuhe GmbH; Jetzendorf; On-site; EUR 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bike Leasing

Employee Discounts

Company Pension

Meal Subsidies

On-site Cafeteria

Flexible Working Hours

Mobile Working

Annual Events

Job summary

LOWA Sportschuhe GmbH is seeking an experienced Head of Quality to lead and evolve our global quality organization. You will own supplier, production, and product quality, guide release decisions and shape the quality culture across design, development, and manufacturing.

The role requires fluency in German and English, a strong consumer goods background, and willingness to travel to production sites in Asia and Europe.

Qualifications

• Senior leader with a strong background in consumer goods quality management.
• Experience in footwear/outdoor market is a plus.
• Proven track record establishing and evolving quality management systems.

Responsibilities

• Overall responsibility for quality across the entire supply chain.
• Ensuring supplier quality as well as incoming materials and components.
• Quality process and product compliance throughout manufacturing.

Skills

Quality leadership

Supplier quality

Product quality

Quality management systems

German & English proficiency

Job description

Our products are recognized worldwide for quality, reliability and performance. To ensure they continue to meet the highest standards, we are looking for an experienced leader to further develop our global quality organization and drive excellence across the entire value chain. As Head of Quality (m/f/d), you will combine quality management expertise, product understanding and customer focus to ensure that our products consistently meet the expectations of customers and markets throughout every stage of development and production.

YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES:

Supplier, Production and Product Quality

• Overall responsibility for quality across the entire supply chain
• Ensuring supplier quality as well as the quality of incoming materials and components
• Responsibility for process quality and product compliance throughout manufacturing
• Establishment and continuous improvement of statistical inspection and product release procedures
• Analysis of quality KPIs and implementation of sustainable improvement measures

Product Development and Release Process

• Responsibility for quality-related approvals throughout the entire product development process
• Responsibility for the final quality assessment and product release prior to market launch
• Management and continuous improvement of a structured Stage-Gate and release process across design, development, sample production and serial production
• Definition and monitoring of quality requirements, material standards and release criteria
• Conducting and leading quality reviews prior to the transition to each subsequent development phase
• Early identification of quality risks and initiation of appropriate corrective actions
• Ensuring compliance with legal requirements, applicable standards and internal quality standards

Customer and Market Quality

• Functional responsibility for customer service from a product and quality performance perspective
• Analysis of customer complaints, returns and quality-related feedback from the market
• Identification of systemic quality issues and development of appropriate improvement measures
• Ensuring a continuous feedback loop between the market, customer service, product development and production
• Incorporating customer and market insights into the continuous improvement of products and processes

Customer and Market Quality

• Responsibility for establishing, developing and managing the group-wide quality management system
• Development and maintenance of quality policies, processes and standards
• Definition of quality KPIs, audit processes and governance structures
• Ensuring compliance with relevant standards, legal requirements and customer requirements
• Promoting a strong quality culture throughout the entire organization

YOUR PROFILE:

• Strong background in the consumer goods industry, ideally in quality, product development or technical product management;
• knowledge of the outdoor or footwear market is a plus
• Proven experience in a senior quality leadership role within a medium-sized to large international company with multiple global locations and complex reporting and decision-making structures
• Experience in establishing and continuously developing quality management systems
• Expertise in supplier, production and product quality
• Fluent in German and English, both written and spoken
• High willingness to travel to our production sites in Asia and Europe

WHAT WE OFFER:

• A key leadership role with direct impact on the quality and success of our products
• A broad scope of responsibility spanning product development, supplier and manufacturing quality, and customer feedback from the market
• The opportunity to shape and strengthen the quality culture of a leading outdoor footwear brand
• Short decision-making paths, a collaborative work environment, and an open, values-driven company culture
• Flexible working hours and the opportunity for mobile working
• Annual company events such as summer celebrations and Christmas parties
• Additional benefits including a bike leasing program, employee discounts, and special offers from selected partners
• Company pension scheme, on-site cafeteria, and meal subsidies