QC, Process and CI Manager

Akzo Nobel Inc.

Job Purpose

Lead and integrate Quality Control, Process Engineering and Continuous Improvement activities to ensure safe, reliable and cost-efficient production that meets or exceeds customer and regulatory requirements. Provide managerial and operational leadership for QC/QA teams, act as the process expert for the site, and champion Lean/Six-Sigma (ALPS/L6S) practices to continuously improve safety, quality, delivery, cost and material efficiency.

Member of local Management Team reporting to the Site Manager.

Key Accountabilities

Quality & Compliance

• Lead Quality Assurance and Quality Control functions to ensure finished products, semi-finished goods and incoming raw materials meet specifications and that processes are statistically controlled.
• Maintain compliance with national and international quality standards (e.g., ISO), customer requirements and company policies.
• Own customer complaint & returns handling, rework operations and corrective/preventive actions.
• Act as the company s official Quality Representative to legal/professional bodies and the management team for quality performance.
• Ensure documented SOPs, audit readiness and timely closure of internal/external audit actions.

Process Engineering & Operations

• Act as the site process expert: deeply understand plant/process detail, lead impact assessments of changes and drive process improvements.
• Own process performance metrics (Yield, Materials Manufacturing Efficiency (MME), Right-First-Time / First-Run OK, batch cycle time, throughput, waste indices) and take corrective action on adverse trends.
• Interface with R&D, Marketing, central engineering and off-site technical support on product recipes, new raw material approvals and industrialization of new products.
• First point of contact for process aspects of Process Safety (Area Classification, SIL) and lead/coordinate hazard studies as required.
• Ensure calibration reliability in collaboration with Engineering.

Continuous Improvement (CI)

• Champion CI culture site-wide (Lean, ALPS, L6S), develop CI capabilities and lead the improvement portfolio to deliver measurable gains in Safety, OTIF, cost, MME, quality and inventories.
• Apply problem-solving methodologies and statistical tools (L6S Green Belt or higher expected) to lead and coach teams on improvement projects.
• Scope and support capital and process improvement projects (initial scoping, business case, commissioning, training, and handover/ownership of technology).

People & Stakeholder Management

• Lead, coach and develop the QC/QA and process engineering teams; promote continuous learning and engagement.
• Effectively engage stakeholders across Production, Planning, Procurement, Supply Chain, R&D, HSE, Marketing and external authorities.
• Ensure strong internal/external communication for knowledge transfer and timely feedback on supply chain improvement actions.

Key Activities

• Monitor and report process and quality KPIs; perform root cause analyses and drive corrective/preventive plans.
• Design and deliver focused improvement plans (operational and capital) to improve yield, RFT, MME and reduce waste.
• Manage change using formal tools (MOC procedures) and ensure process/product changes are controlled.
• Provide process troubleshooting support to operations and lead commissioning and training for new technologies/projects.
• Develop and maintain SOPs, RFT procedures, QA documentation and quality management records.
• Coordinate and host customer/supplier quality audits; identify and implement improvement opportunities.
• Ensure continuous compliance with accreditation requirements and maintain action closure discipline.