Quality and Continuous Improvement Manager

Southern Champion Tray; Chattanooga (TN); On-site; USD 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Southern Champion Tray in Chattanooga is seeking a Quality and Continuous Improvement Manager to establish and maintain the Quality Management system, drive audit readiness, and oversee food safety compliance across all Chattanooga locations. This role partners with plant operations and sales to implement strategic quality initiatives that protect customer specifications and regulatory standards.

You will lead root-cause analyses, coordinate supplier and customer audits, mentor a team of quality

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Manufacturing / Industrial Engineering, Business, or related field preferred.
• Minimum 5 years of directly-related experience in a manufacturing, production or operations role.
• Demonstrated working knowledge with GMP, food safety and quality certifications (BRC, SQF, AIB, etc)
• Six Sigma and/or other professional Lean Manufacturing training; Green Belt required, Black Belt preferred
• Highly relational with ability to engage and influence others toward change in a 24-hour production facility
• Excellent presentation and training skills; ability to travel up to 10-20%

Responsibilities

• Owns development, implementation, and compliance of Quality System for Chattanooga
• Develops and deploys internal specifications to meet customer requirements
• Investigates non-conformities and develops corrective actions to prevent recurrence
• Reviews quality non-conformances and leads corrective actions; trains operators and plant team
• Tracks and leads initiatives for internal quality and customer complaints
• Lead supplier, subcontractor, and customer audits; communicate actions promptly
• Lead Root Cause Analysis and rapid response to quality issues
• Act as liaison between plants and sales team; communicate improvements
• Develop and implement Total Quality Management System for Chattanooga
• Establish acceptable quality limits and communicate across teams
• Develop SOPs for quality processes; coordinate audits
• Plan and organize plant-wide trainings for a customer-centric culture
• Collaborate with Corporate Shared Services on quality and food safety standards
• Support all SCT locations in maintaining quality and safety standards
• Maintain internal audit system; gatekeeper of document control
• Lead, coach, and supervise quality support specialists
• Assist in Lean Six Sigma initiatives and 5S projects

Skills

Lean Six Sigma

Quality Management

Audits

Root Cause Analysis

Cross-functional leadership

GMP & Food Safety

Training & Coaching

Project Management

Education

Bachelor's degree in Manufacturing / Industrial Engineering, Business, or related field

Job description

All jobs at Southern Champion Tray (SCT) require Team members to act in accordance with the shared Core Values & Operating principles of the company as they perform specific job functions. These include:

• Trustworthy – We strive for our actions to match our words in all our relationships.
• Servant – Hearted – We enable and empower our team to serve the needs of customers, Team members, suppliers and the community.
• Relational – We aim to build healthy relationships while fostering and environment that promotes compassion, balance, and personal and professional growth.
• Resourceful – We value strategic insourcing, first looking to create solutions internally, and then looking to apply that knowledge to future opportunities.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITY

The Quality and Continuous Improvement Manager has a significant organizational impact and is responsible for establishing, leading, and maintaining compliance regarding Quality Management, Continuous Improvement, and Food Safety Compliance. They oversee the implementation, management, and continuous improvement of SCT’s Quality Control programs at all Chattanooga locations. Influences and drives a quality-focused culture that is enthusiastically engaged in upholding and maintaining audit readiness while maintaining best-in-class ratings for food safety and industry-specific certifications. As a leader for Compress and Chattanooga, will be responsible for developing strategic initiatives, programs, and best practices while upholding SCT’s Mission, Vision, & Values. Actively collaborates with leaders, key stakeholders, and plant operations to influence change, increase engagement, and align resources.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Quality

• Owns the development, implementation, and compliance of Quality System for Chattanooga
• Develops and deploys adequate internal specifications to meet or exceed customer requirements
• Conducts investigations into non-conformities and develops corrective actions to prevent recurrence
• Review and analyze quality non-conformances to drive corrective and preventative action and communicate appropriately; partner with Plant Supervisors to communicate out customer complaints; train and coach operators/ plant team members, ensuring adherence to customer specifications.
• Tracks, analyzes, and leads initiatives for all internal quality and customer complaint issues
• Actively communicate with sales, customers and vendors in developing and communicating corrective actions promptly; facilitate and manage supplier, subcontractor, and customer audits
• Lead and develop Root Cause Analysis and rapid response team for quality complaints
• Act as liaison between plants and sales team. Engage and communicate with sales team
• Develop and implement a Total Quality Management System for all of Chattanooga
• Establish acceptable quality limits for defects for all of Chattanooga and communicate across all teams
• Develop SOPs for quality processes. Facilitate and manage supplier, subcontractor, and customer audits
• Plan and organize plant-wide trainings and programs that promote a customer-centric culture and development of internal "Customer Champions" that are focused on product quality and reliability
• Actively communicate with sales, customers and vendors in developing and communicating corrective actions promptly
• Facilitate and manage supplier, subcontractor, and customer audits
• Serves as a resource to all manufacturing locations to ensure quality standards are being supported and sustained
• Collaborate closely with Corporate Shared Services to align and promote org-wide initiatives and utilization of resources for quality and food safety standards and expectations
• Support all SCT locations with developing, supporting, and maintaining quality and food safety standards and expectations
• Maintains an internal audit system
• Acts as Gatekeeper of document control system
• Lead, coach, and supervise team of quality support specialists

Food Safety Compliance

• Overall responsibility for compliance with guidelines established by Local, State & Federal mandates or programs as it relates to Food Safety, Good Manufacturing Practices, HACCP, BRC certification, Workplace Safety and OSHA
• Establish proactive measures to instill and maintain a clean and hygienic environment that adheres to the regulations and food safety requirements necessary to produce safe quality packaging
• Develop and deliver effective and impactful monthly trainings utilizing various learning methodologies; establish methods to evaluate comprehension and effectiveness; responsible for communicating and educating team members in Food Safety including on-boarding new hires
• Develop and maintain robust internal audit system while influencing organizational adherence to SCT’s Quality Management System and compliance with all GMP and food safety certification guidelines
• Actively participate in activities to remain current and informed on certification changes, updates, and industry best practices while effectively communicating to all stakeholders
• Functions as in-house expert in Lean Six Sigma Methodology and act as change agent to instill a quality- driven culture throughout the organization
• Lead Continuous Improvement activities focused on operational excellence to drive results across production, quality and safety while reducing costs and eliminating non-value add activities
• Utilize Project Management principles and Lean Methodology to lead projects across all areas of the plant; promote and drive participation of cross-functional, continuous improvement and 5S teams
• Actively coach and train team members in aspects of lean manufacturing and continuous improvement; participate in conducting Yellow Belt training and certification of team members
• Facilitate and coach projects for yellow belts and green belts
• Work with operators on the floor to identify potential continuous improvement projects – update and follow through
• Communicate projects up and out, to include improvements, cost savings, and future recommendations
• Leads 5S initiatives to facilitate improvement in processes, productivity and quality

EXPERIENCE / QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelors degree in Manufacturing / Industrial Engineering, Business, or related field preferred
• Minimum 5 years of directly-related experience in a manufacturing, production or operations role; folding carton/paperboard packaging experience is strongly preferred
• Demonstrated working knowledge and direct experience with GMP, food safety and quality certifications (BRC, SQF, AIB, etc)
• Six Sigma and/or other professional Lean Manufacturing training Preferred Green Belt required and Black Belt is preferred
• Highly relational with ability to engage and influence others towards change within a 24-hour production facility
• Excellent presentation and training skills
• Must be willing to travel as needed up to10-20%

AUTHORITY

Must have the ability to lead people to execute the demands of production departments efficiently and to respond to oral instructions from his/her supervisor and other written instructions.

LANGUAGE SKILLS

Must have the ability to read, understand, and communicate to others the meaning of complex documents including legal documents, letters, etc. and write legibly in English. Must be able to understand and speak clearly, and communicate in English.