| Detail | For this role |
|---|---|
| Department | Quality |
| Level | Senior management |
| Reports to | Plant Head, Managing Director or Chief Operating Officer |
| Direct reports | Quality Manager, QA Manager, QC Manager, Quality Engineer |
| Experience | 12 to 16 years in quality, with experience owning a quality function |
Head of Quality job description template
Copy this job description, replace the text in square brackets and post it on your careers page or a job portal.
Job title: Head of Quality
Department: Quality
Reports to: Plant Head, Managing Director or Chief Operating Officer
Location: [City], [office, branch or site]
About the role
A Head of Quality leads the quality function for a company or business unit. They own the quality management system, certifications, customer quality scorecards and the quality organisation, and they set the standards every plant or line follows. Where a GM quality runs a large site, the head of quality often owns quality policy for the whole business in a single-plant or mid-size company. In an Indian manufacturer the head of quality reports to the plant head, managing director or COO, and is accountable for defects, complaints, audits and building a capable quality team.
Key responsibilities
- Own and maintain the quality management system for the company and keep it aligned to the standards.
- Set quality policy, standards and targets that every plant, line and team follows.
- Own customer quality scorecards and lead the response to major customer escalations.
- Lead certification and re-certification such as ISO 9001, and host external and customer audits.
- Drive defect, complaint and cost of poor quality reduction through structured improvement.
- Approve the quality budget, lab investment, calibration and inspection standards.
- Build the quality organisation: structure, roles, hiring and capability development.
- Chair the management review of quality and drive corrective action on systemic issues.
- Set supplier quality expectations and approve the vendor quality approach.
- Represent quality to customers, auditors and the leadership team.
Requirements
- B.E. or B.Tech in an engineering discipline
- Lead auditor or Six Sigma certification
- A master's in quality or management is an advantage
- 12 to 16 years in quality, with experience owning a quality function
KRAs and KPIs for a Head of Quality
Key result areas for the appraisal form, each with a KPI you can measure every month or quarter.
| Key result area | How to measure it |
|---|---|
| Quality system | Quality management system maintained with no major non-conformity in audits |
| Customer scorecards | Customer quality ratings held at or above the agreed level |
| Defect reduction | Company defect and complaint rates reduced to target for the year |
| Cost of poor quality | Cost of poor quality reduced to the target share of sales |
| Certification | Certifications maintained and renewed on schedule with no lapse |
| Team capability | Quality roles filled and trained per the capability plan |
Skills and tools
Tools used day to day: Quality management system (QMS), SPC and analytics software, ERP quality module, MS Excel and dashboards, Audit tools.
Reporting line and career path
Next roles: Vice President Quality, Chief Quality Officer, Chief Operating Officer
Interview questions for a Head of Quality
- How would you build a quality system for a company that currently relies on inspection alone?
- A major customer downgrades your quality rating. What is your recovery plan?
- How do you set quality targets that stretch the team without being unrealistic?
- How do you keep certification alive rather than a once-a-year scramble?
- How do you structure and staff a quality team for a growing company?
- How do you get production and design to own quality with you?
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What does a head of quality do?
A head of quality leads the quality function for a company or business unit. They own the quality management system, certifications, customer scorecards and the quality organisation, and set the standards every plant follows. They drive down defects, complaints and cost of poor quality, host audits, build the quality team, and represent quality to customers and leadership.
What is the difference between a head of quality and a VP quality?
A head of quality usually owns quality for one company or business unit and reports to the plant head, MD or COO. A VP quality leads quality across a whole group of plants and sits on the corporate leadership team, setting strategy for all sites. In a group, heads of quality report to the VP quality.
What qualifications does a head of quality need?
A B.E. or B.Tech in engineering is the usual base, with a lead auditor or Six Sigma certification. A master's in quality or management is an advantage. Employers expect many years in quality, experience owning a quality function, and a track record with certifications, customer scorecards and improvement programmes.