Quality Manager - RIF100165

Company description

Our Client is an international group and a leading player in the design and manufacturing of technical footwear, equipment and apparel for the mountain and outdoor sector, with a manufacturing footprint spanning Europe and Asia.

We have been engaged to search for a Quality Manager for the Footwear Division.

Position

Reporting to the Technical/Operations Direction, you'll own product quality end to end — from the first prototype through industrialization, production and whatever comes back from the market afterwards. More specifically, you will:

• Oversee a Quality function structured across two hubs: a European team covering lab testing, field validation and production quality control, and an Asia-based team dedicated to on-site factory quality control.
• Translate quality performance into a clear set of KPIs, track them over time, and use the underlying data — qualitative and statistical alike — to flag emerging risks and improvement areas.
• Build out and keep current the company's quality standards, working procedures and testing protocols.
• Embed quality thinking into product development from day one, working hand-in-hand with R&D and Operations so issues get caught before they become expensive to fix.
• Own the testing calendar, lab and field alike, deciding what gets tested and when, while keeping the network of field testers organised and engaged.
• Chair the review meetings that close out each development phase, and sign off on production counter samples before they move forward.
• Act as the quality counterpart for manufacturing partners across Eastern Europe and Asia, from factory audits to checks carried out during the production run itself.
• Take ownership of non-conformities and quality complaints as they surface, getting to the root of technical issues with suppliers and pushing the resulting fixes through.
• Mine defect and test data for patterns that point to where product quality, manufacturing efficiency or supplier performance can be improved.
• Keep chemical compliance on track against current regulations, and support CSR audits when they come up.
• Stay close to Customer Service so that what customers report actually feeds back into how quality gets managed.
• Hold responsibility for the division's quality budget.

This is a hands-on role that calls for frequent travel to manufacturing sites across Eastern Europe and Asia.

Requirements

• A technical degree or equivalent technical training, or hands-on experience that gets you to the same place.
• A track record in quality management, ideally built within footwear.
• Real familiarity with how footwear actually gets made, and with running quality control and supplier quality in that kind of production environment.
• Experience leading teams that span countries and cultures.
• An operational streak paired with the discipline to put process and KPIs in place.
• Sharp analytical instincts, comfortable digging into root causes and driving corrective action through to completion.
• Fluent in English and Italian.
• Ready to travel internationally, without exceptions.

Minimum salary package: €60,000, commensurate with experience, + target bonus of 5-10% of base salary

Workplace: North part of Treviso, Italy

Other information

This position is open to candidates of all genders (Legislative Decree 198/2006) and in accordance with Article 10 of Legislative Decree 276/2003. Candidates are invited to read the privacy notice pursuant to Articles 13 and 14 of EU Regulation 2016/679 on data protection.