| Detail | For this role |
|---|---|
| Department | Quality |
| Level | Senior management |
| Reports to | Chief Executive Officer or Chief Operating Officer |
| Direct reports | Head of Quality, General Manager Quality, Supplier Quality Manager, Customer Quality Manager |
| Experience | 18+ years in quality, with several years leading quality across multiple plants |
Vice President Quality job description template
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Job title: Vice President Quality
Department: Quality
Reports to: Chief Executive Officer or Chief Operating Officer
Location: [City], [office, branch or site]
About the role
A Vice President Quality leads quality across all the plants of a manufacturing company. They set the quality strategy, standards and systems, own customer and supplier quality policy, and answer to the CEO or COO for product quality and cost of poor quality. The role drives certifications, major customer audits and the culture of quality across sites. In an Indian manufacturing group the VP Quality sits on the leadership team, sets group quality targets, and holds plant quality heads accountable for defects, complaints and compliance across the business.
Key responsibilities
- Set the group quality strategy, policy and standards, and align every plant to common systems and targets.
- Own the cost of poor quality across the business and drive it down through prevention and improvement.
- Set customer and supplier quality policy, and represent quality in major customer and OEM relationships.
- Hold plant quality heads accountable for defect rates, customer complaints, audits and compliance.
- Lead certification strategy across sites, such as ISO 9001, IATF 16949 or industry-specific standards.
- Chair the management review of quality performance and drive corrective action on group issues.
- Build quality capability by developing quality leaders and standardising training across plants.
- Approve the quality budget for labs, equipment, calibration and people across sites.
- Steer the company through major customer audits, escalations and any product recalls.
- Benchmark quality performance against industry and set stretch targets for the group.
Requirements
- B.E. or B.Tech in an engineering discipline
- A master's in quality, operations or business is an advantage
- Certification such as Six Sigma Black Belt or lead auditor
- 18+ years in quality, with several years leading quality across multiple plants
KRAs and KPIs for a Vice President 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 |
|---|---|
| Cost of poor quality | Group cost of poor quality reduced to the target share of sales for the year |
| Customer complaints | Customer complaints and returns per million reduced to the group target |
| Certification | All plant certifications maintained with no major non-conformity externally |
| Supplier quality | Supplier defect rate reduced to the group target across key vendors |
| Audit performance | Major customer and OEM audits cleared at the agreed score across sites |
| Capability | Quality leadership positions filled and trained per the succession plan |
Skills and tools
Tools used day to day: Quality management system (QMS), SPC and analytics software, SAP QM module, MS Excel and dashboards, MS PowerPoint.
Reporting line and career path
Next roles: Chief Quality Officer, Chief Operating Officer, Director Operations
Interview questions for a Vice President Quality
- How would you standardise quality systems across five plants that each work differently today?
- How do you bring down the cost of poor quality without slowing production?
- A key customer threatens to move business after repeated defects. How do you respond?
- How do you build a quality culture rather than just chasing audit scores?
- How do you decide where to invest a limited quality budget across sites?
- Tell me about a product recall or major escalation you led and what changed.
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What does a vice president of quality do?
A vice president of quality leads quality across all of a company's plants. They set the quality strategy, standards and systems, own customer and supplier quality policy, and drive down the cost of poor quality. They lead certifications and major customer audits, hold plant quality heads accountable, and build a culture of quality across the business, reporting to the CEO or COO.
What is the difference between a VP quality and a head of quality?
A VP quality leads quality across the whole group and sits on the leadership team, setting strategy and policy for all sites. A head of quality usually leads the quality function for one plant or business unit and executes that strategy locally. In a group, heads of quality report to the VP quality.
What qualifications does a VP quality need?
A VP quality typically holds a B.E. or B.Tech in engineering, often with a master's in quality, operations or business. Certifications such as Six Sigma Black Belt or lead auditor help. What matters most is many years in quality with proven experience leading quality across multiple plants and handling major customers and audits.