Commercial Quality & Technical Manager

Company: Ontex
Location: Alpharetta
Posted on: February 17, 2021

Job Description:

Ontex is a leading international personal hygiene group. We engineer and make high-quality products for Baby Care, Feminine Care and Adult Care and are the partner of choice for consumers, retailers, and institutional and private healthcare providers around the world.This position is located in our Commercial office in Alpharetta, GA.General OverviewThe role of the Commercial Quality Manager is to provide technical expertise and leadership to the commercial activities of Ontex North America.--This role is a conduit between our customers and our internal Corporate and Operations resources, to include the focus areas of Quality Assurance, Regulatory & Certifications, Sustainability, R&D, and Product Management. Key responsibility areas include the following: Quality Assurance (-70%)* Managing Consumer/Customer complaints & inquiries - ensuring timely responses, including tracking and communication of corrective actions across our full product portfolio and all operations supplying the NA business* This may require support of a part-time internal or outsourced role* Providing training to customer call center employees regarding how to categorize and respond to consumer complaints* Working with corporate and facilities resources to ensure consistent execution of best practices* Develop analyses and customer presentations to explain QA root cause analysis and corrective actions for recurring complaint areas* Interact directly with customers to provide technical expertise for quality improvement initiativesRegulatory & Certifications (-10%)* Provide local leadership for all regulatory requirements relating to the Ontex NA product portfolio and supply chain operations, partnering with other Ontex team members with existing leadership and resources managing R&C activities to ensure roles are clear and processes are robust* Work with certifying bodies to ensure all key certifications are current, coordinating audits and required reporting as required - this may involve interaction with customers and/or suppliers* Ensure processes, systems, and reporting mechanisms meet requirements for compliance (and that we are complying with the overall requirements)* Participate in industry associations, as guided by Ontex R&C leadershipSustainability (-10%)* Serve as the business unit expert/champion regarding local and corporate sustainability strategies and programs* Engage with customers to enroll in their sustainability programs and requirements* Provide cross-functional/location leadership to ensure Ontex is broadly moving towards sustainability objectives to support the North America marketplaceProduct Technical Support (-10%)* Provide administrative leadership for all 3rd Party lab testing of Ontex and competitive-set products* Develop strategic relationships with 3rd Party or customer testing organizations, ensuring that testing methods are understood and calibrated, especially as we incorporate new/improved products in the Ontex portfolio* In concert with Product Managers and key R&D resources, develop relationships with key customer personnel to provide objective technical support* As required, conduct competitive product testing and benchmarking* Lead coordination and response to customer technical requirements (forms, audits, documentation, etc.)* Provide project support for Innovation Planning, Product Development & Commercialization, Customer Commercialization, and other key new product/customer activitiesJob Complexity and Challenges* Dealing with high pressure & sensitive situations around consumer complaints quickly and in a sympathetic way both towards our customer and the consumer(s) affected* Navigating between the strategic, operational, and purely tactical elements of the role* Developing and implementing processes and policies that meet local needs and align with our Corporate approach* Ensuring process/systems/reporting requirements are in place to meet regulatory and certification requirements, and ensuring process participants are complying adequately* Developing a solid technical knowledge of the company's products and QA procedures* Employing analytical skills to identify trends and patterns in complaint data, and then driving the necessary actions to ensure corrective actions are in place and properly prioritized* Understanding the softer skills required when working with customers and consumers - knowing when to speak up and when to retreat* Influencing people for whom the role has no direct supervisory authority (e.g. Operations teams)* Managing time wisely across a diverse set of responsibilities* Employing solid administrative skills to ensure proper documentation* Clear and concise communication, and ability to prioritizeJob Accountability & Capabilities Required* Strong communication skills, and an ability to influence others toward common objectives* Solid project management skills* Analytical skills - the ability to evaluate a set of complicated data to arrive at key conclusions and to develop an action plan based upon what the data reflects* Ensuring commercial team members have the tools to be effective in their day to day roles* Taking effective decisions for the greater good of the overall company* Delivering KPI's on complaint management & recommendations for future improvements* Ability to garner respect and foster positive relationships with customers, regulatory agencies, certification bodies, 3rd Party Labs, operational colleagues, and others, all in the spirit of driving continuous improvement and customer delight* A passion to meet commitments and deadlines* Attention to detail and accuracy* Patience when things aren't as they should be - Perseverance to drive changes requiredJob RequirementsEDUCATION:B.A. or B.S., preferably in a field applicable to this roleEXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS:* Minimum of 5 years experience in a Quality Assurance or relevant technical role in an FMCG environment* Hands-on operational experience in a manufacturing environment* Experience working directly with customers (at multiple levels of the organization) strongly desired* Experience in the private label market or related would be an advantageOTHER REQUIREMENTS:* Job is based in Alpharetta, GA* Language: Fluent English, conversational Spanish a plus* Up to 25% travel (to visit customers, operations, and testing labs)* Experience or projectability to manage people (as the business grows and incremental resources are required)* Projectable to future roles with increasing responsibilities

Keywords: Ontex, Alpharetta , Commercial Quality & Technical Manager, Executive , Alpharetta, Georgia