Job Opportunity - Quality Manager
Job Title: Quality Manager
Location: Onsite in our Romanian office – Pitesti, Romania, with regular travel to Froilabo France (77090)
Contract Type: Permanent
With over 100 years of experience in the development and manufacture of temperature-controlled laboratory equipment, the preparation and preservation of samples is at the heart of everything we do. We are dedicated to the creation and delivery of world-class temperature-controlled products, giving our customers complete peace of mind. As Froilabo continues to grow across its French and Romanian sites, we are committed to embedding a strong quality culture across all operations. In this context, we are seeking a Quality Manager to lead this transformation
Role Overview:
We are seeking an experienced and driven Quality Manager to lead the implementation of a Total Quality Management (TQM) culture across Froilabo’s operations in both France and Romania. The successful candidate will play a central role in building and maintaining quality systems, driving ISO 9001 and other relevant certifications, and embedding a continuous improvement mindset at every level of the organisation.
As a member of the top management team, this role requires a strategic thinker who can operate at both a high level and a hands-on level, collaborating closely with Production, R&D, Sales, Service, and HR to ensure quality is embedded in every process and product.
This is a cross-site role requiring regular presence at both the French (Collegien) and Romanian (Pitesti) facilities.
Key Responsibilities
Total Quality Management (TQM) Culture
- Define, deploy, and champion a TQM framework across all Froilabo sites (France and Romania).
- Foster a culture of quality ownership, continuous improvement, and accountability at all organisational levels.
- Foster a culture of quality ownership, continuous improvement, and accountability at all organisational levels.
- Establish feedback loops between teams to identify, share, and resolve quality issues proactively.
- Champion a zero-defect mindset and support cross-functional teams in embedding quality into daily operations.
ISO 9001 & Certification Management
- Lead the preparation, implementation, and maintenance of ISO 9001 certification across both Froilabo sites.
- Identify and coordinate any additional certifications required by regulatory, customer, or market requirements (e.g. ISO 13485, CE marking, or sector-specific standards).
- Act as the primary point of contact for external auditors, certification bodies, and regulatory authorities.
- Manage internal audit programmes, corrective action processes (CAPA), and non-conformance tracking.
- Manage internal audit programmes, corrective action processes (CAPA), and non-conformance tracking.
Cross-Site Quality Coordination (France & Romania)
- Ensure consistent application of quality standards, processes, and tools across both the French and Romanian operations.
- Act as the quality bridge between the two sites, identifying differences and implementing harmonised approaches where appropriate.
- Support local teams in Romania in building quality capabilities and aligning with group-level quality expectations.
- Coordinate with Production, R&D, Service, and HR teams at both sites to integrate quality requirements throughout the product lifecycle.
- Travel regularly between sites to maintain strong relationships, visibility, and operational continuity.
Top Management Team Participation
- Serve as an active member of the top management team, contributing to strategic decisions with a quality and risk perspective.
- Report regularly to senior leadership on quality performance, certification status, risks, and improvement priorities.
- Provide input to the annual business planning process to ensure quality investments and resources are appropriately allocated.
- Represent quality in cross-functional leadership forums and strategic projects.
KPI Implementation & Performance Monitoring
- Define and implement a comprehensive set of quality KPIs across both sites, covering product quality, process efficiency, customer satisfaction, and audit outcomes.
- Build dashboards and reporting mechanisms to provide real-time visibility of quality performance to management and operational teams.
- Build dashboards and reporting mechanisms to provide real-time visibility of quality performance to management and operational teams.
- Establish KPI review cadences at team, site, and executive levels to ensure accountability and continuous improvement.
- Benchmark Froilabo’s quality performance against industry standards and best practices.
Product & Supplier Quality
- Oversee incoming inspection, in-process quality controls, and final product quality assurance.
- Manage supplier quality relationships, including qualification, performance monitoring, and improvement plans.
- Work closely with R&D and Production to ensure new product introductions meet quality standards from the outset.
- Handle customer quality complaints professionally, ensuring root cause analysis and timely resolution.
Key Objectives
- Achieve ISO 9001 certification across both French and Romanian sites within an agreed timeline.
- Develop and roll out a TQM roadmap within the first six months in post.
- Implement a quality KPI framework with regular management reporting from day one.
- Build strong working relationships with site managers, production teams, and the top management team.
- Identify any additional certifications relevant to Froilabo’s markets and develop a prioritised action plan.
- Deliver quality training and capability-building programmes for operational staff at both sites.
- Deliver quality training and capability-building programmes for operational staff at both sites.
Candidate Profile
Qualifications & Experience
- Degree in Engineering, Science, or a related technical discipline.
- Minimum 5 years’ experience in a quality management role, ideally within a manufacturing or laboratory equipment environment.
- Proven experience leading ISO 9001 certification processes; knowledge of ISO 13485 or other relevant standards is an advantage.
- Demonstrated experience implementing TQM or continuous improvement frameworks (e.g. Lean, Six Sigma).
- Experience operating at or reporting to senior management level.
- Track record of defining and implementing quality KPIs and performance dashboards
Skills & Competencies
- strong leadership and influencing skills, with the ability to drive cultural change.
- Excellent communication skills in English and French; Romanian is a significant advantage.
- Analytical mindset with strong problem-solving and root cause analysis capabilities.
- Ability to work effectively in a cross-cultural, multi-site environment.
- Highly organised, with the ability to manage multiple priorities across two sites.
- Willingness and ability to travel regularly between France (Collegien) and Romania (Pitesti).
