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- Ensure a company's products/services meet set standards
- You'll need negotiating skills & planning and project management skills
- You could move into senior management or work as a freelance consultant
As a quality assurance manager, you'll work in most industries, and may work for large companies, public sector organisations or management consultancies.
DAY-TO-DAY DUTIES
- Using quality assurance software to analyse and improve standards, reviewing policies
- Planning how to improve quality management systems
- Inspecting and testing products and production processes
- Measuring performance and recommending improvements
- Making sure policies and procedures meet national and international quality standards
- Assessing the effectiveness of changes to processes or production
- Managing a team of quality control technicians, and training staff
DAY-TO-DAY ENVIRONMENT
You'll be office-based, but in manufacturing you might spend time checking work in a quality control lab or on a factory production line. Your working environment may be outdoors some of the time.
You'll need
For this role, you'll need the ability to analyse quality or performance, thoroughness and attention to detail, analytical thinking skills, the ability to monitor your own performance and that of your colleagues, concentration skills, business management skills, leadership skills, and maths knowledge.
You could do a degree or postgraduate qualification in production management, business studies, human resources management, or business administration. You may need a degree that is specific to the industry you want to work in, like science, construction, engineering, or pharmaceuticals.
You can start out as a quality control assistant and move into quality assurance management by doing training on the job, such as through the Chartered Quality Institute.
Direct application is possible if you've got experience of quality control and management from other industries.
An understanding of British quality standards and working methods will be useful when applying for jobs in quality control. Knowledge of business improvement methods like lean management and Six Sigma will also be useful.
CAREER PROSPECTS
With experience, you could move into senior management or work as a freelance consultant. Other options include careers in health and safety, project management and business analysis.