VP, Quality

Dexter Career•Elk Grove Village, IL

About The Position

The Division VP of Quality is the senior Quality executive for the Division, responsible for establishing and executing its Quality strategy, systems, standards, and culture. The role provides strategic leadership to ensure the Division delivers safe, reliable, compliant, high-quality products and services that meet or exceed customer expectations while supporting growth, profitability, and operational objectives. It partners with leaders across Operations, Engineering, Supply Chain, Commercial, Finance, and Human Resources to foster accountability, continuous improvement, prevention, and customer excellence. The position is also the subject matter expert for the enterprise-wide Permag Quality Management System and related regulatory and certification requirements, including ISO 9001, AS9100, ISO 13485, ITAR, and other applicable customer, industry, and regulatory requirements. It supports and coordinates quality systems activities across Permag enterprise sites. The role leads customer quality, operational quality and continuous improvement, Quality organization development, risk management, new product and business growth quality activities, and Division quality governance. At the enterprise level, it coordinates long-term Quality strategy, objectives, policies, standards, KPIs, governance, and consistent Quality Management System processes across locations, while maintaining readiness for customer, regulatory, and third-party audits. This position may require access to ITAR-controlled technical data and services. Applicants must be U.S. persons as defined by ITAR.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering.
15 or more years of progressive experience in Quality within a complex manufacturing environment.
Significant experience leading Quality organizations across multiple manufacturing sites and/or business units.
Demonstrated experience developing and executing enterprise-wide Quality strategies.
Extensive experience with ISO 9001, AS9100, ISO 13485, and applicable regulatory and customer requirements.
Demonstrated experience working directly with executive leadership and major customers.
Experience leading organizational transformation, continuous improvement, and cultural change.
Must be a U.S. person as defined by ITAR: a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, or individual with protected status under U.S. immigration laws.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree.
Experience with ITAR and export-control compliance.
Lead Auditor certification.

Responsibilities

Establish a customer-focused Quality culture throughout the Division.
Lead significant customer quality issues, escalations, complaints, corrective actions, and recovery plans; partner with Commercial and Operations leadership to protect and strengthen key customer relationships.
Identify systemic customer quality trends and ensure corrective actions address root causes.
Drive measurable improvements in first-pass yield, scrap, rework, nonconforming material, customer complaints, warranty and returns, CAPA effectiveness, and cost of poor quality.
Establish Division Quality KPIs and performance expectations, and partner with Operations and Engineering to reduce process variation and improve manufacturing capability.
Champion prevention-based Quality and continuous improvement methodologies.
Build, lead, and develop a high-performing Division Quality organization, including its structure, roles, competencies, succession plans, and accountability expectations.
Develop Quality leaders and technical talent through coaching, mentoring, and targeted development.
Identify and proactively manage Division Quality risks affecting customers, operations, financial performance, reputation, or business continuity; establish escalation protocols and provide leadership with timely visibility and recommendations.
Partner with leadership to assess Quality risks associated with new customers, products, technologies, suppliers, facilities, and acquisitions.
Embed Quality into new product development, design transfer, manufacturing process development, and launch activities; establish appropriate quality controls before production launch.
Provide Quality leadership and due diligence support for acquisitions, integrations, new facilities, and significant business expansion.
Serve on the Division leadership team and provide insight on Quality performance, risks, trends, and opportunities.
Establish regular Quality performance reviews with executive and site leadership, and present enterprise Quality performance, significant risks, customer issues, and strategic initiatives to Division leadership and, upon request, executive leadership and the Board of Directors.
Influence organizational decisions through data-driven analysis, sound business judgment, and understanding of customer and operational requirements.
Coordinate development and execution of Permag’s long-term Quality strategy in alignment with business objectives, growth plans, customer requirements, and operational priorities.
Coordinate enterprise-wide Quality objectives, policies, standards, KPIs, and governance, and provide input into strategic planning, capital investment, new product development, operational expansion, and business growth initiatives.
Coordinate Permag Quality Management Systems across all locations, including consistent processes for audits, CAPA, nonconforming material, corrective action, change control, document control, and quality risk management.
Maintain organizational readiness for customer, regulatory, and third-party audits.
Serve as the executive authority for quality-related regulatory actions.
Perform other duties and projects as assigned.
Support applicable quality activities outside the Division upon request.