Founded over 35 years ago, First Quality is a family-owned company that has grown from a small business in McElhattan, Pennsylvania into a group of companies, employing over 5,000 team members, while maintaining our family values and entrepreneurial spirit. With corporate offices in New York and Pennsylvania and 8 manufacturing campuses across the U.S. and Canada, the companies within the First Quality group produce high-quality personal care and household products for large retailers and healthcare organizations. Our personal care and household product portfolio includes baby diapers, wipes, feminine pads, paper towels, bath tissue, adult incontinence products, laundry detergents, fabric finishers, and dishwash solutions. In addition, we manufacture certain raw materials and components used in the manufacturing of these products, including flexible print and packaging solutions.

Guided by our values of humility, unity, and integrity, we leverage advanced technology and innovation to drive growth and create new opportunities. At First Quality, you’ll find a collaborative environment focused on continuous learning, professional development, and our mission to Make Things Better®.

We are seeking a Quality Manager for our First Quality Tissue site located in Lock Haven, PA. 

Job Function:

This position gives overall direction to the Lock Haven quality organization and drives the quality culture that incident free is achievable. Responsibility includes developing, implementing and monitoring progress against short and long-range goals to ensure quality control and quality assurance of products is consistent with established standards and exceeds customer specifications. Incumbent is responsible through influence in enlisting all team members in the development of procedures and processes to manufacture consistently high-quality products. Encourages and supports team member participation in the resolution of product quality problems and promotes positive Company-oriented attitudes towards quality assurance and reliability of products.  

The focus:

• Provide FQ with a competitive advantage in the marketplace and create value for customers
• Provide customer confidence in FQ ability to meet/exceed their expectations
• Reduce costs through prevention-based systems and measurements
• Facilitate continuous improvement in the business systems to provide FQ confidence in the above

Job Responsibilities:

• Provides the necessary leadership and strategic planning to develop, implement and maintain a quality assurance and quality control program to support the location mission and ongoing continuous improvement effort to achieve incident free.
• Collaborates with the various functions to ensure the quality assurance and quality control program is comprehensive, incorporates best practices, has a continuous improvement mindset using lessons learned, and is consistent with the strategic plan of the division and the plant.
• Formulates and oversees maintenance of quality control objectives and coordination of objectives with production procedures in cooperation with others to maximize product quality/reliability and minimize costs
• Plans for and provides training and personnel development opportunities for team members in an effort to build a culture of quality.
• Develops or modifies quality procedures, metrics and processes and monitors performance against short and long-range plans to achieve quality goals. Ensure data accuracy with current qualified test methods.
• Leads, provides input and direction to resolve quality control problems (non-conformances) through proper inspections, root cause analysis and corrective action plans and be accountable for follow up. Provide timely resolutions to customer inquiries, feedback investigations, and corrective actions
• Provides support and leadership to benchmark existing products and commercialize new products. Implement new test methods in a timely manner to release products.
• Leads machine and customer-related quality improvement trials. Initiates and leads quality improvement projects to completion. 
• Serves as key member of product teams, with focus on quality planning for new products/processes.
• Monitors quality performance, reports progress, and keeps plant leadership informed of progress, issues, corrective action, and customer complaints. 
• Provides direction to ensure compliance with all applicable customer requirements and government regulations involving product quality.
• Identifies talent needs and develops the quality engineering function
• First Quality team members must follow all First Quality environmental, health and safety requirements as well as applicable federal, state, and local environmental, health, and safety regulations

The ideal candidate should possess the following:

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or related technical field preferred
• Lean Manufacturing or Six Sigma Black belt preferred
• 5 years managerial experience
• Retail manufacturing experience preferred
• Proficient knowledge of paper making process preferred
• Statistical analysis and process capability experience preferred.
• Experience with quality and manufacturing business computer platforms preferred.

What We Offer You

We believe that by continuously improving the quality of our benefits, we can help to raise the quality of life for our team members and their families. At First Quality you will receive:

• Competitive base salary and bonus opportunities
• Paid time off (three-week minimum)
• Medical, dental and vision starting day one
• 401(k) with employer match
• Paid parental leave
• Child and family care assistance (dependent care FSA with employer match up to $2500)
• Bundle of joy benefit (year's worth of free diapers to all team members with a new baby)
• Tuition assistance
• Wellness program with savings of up to $4,000 per year on insurance premiums
• ...and more!