Quality Systems & Compliance Manager.

QUALITY SYSTEMS & COMPLIANCE MANAGER

Department: Quality | Reports To: Plant Manager

POSITION SUMMARY

Bertco, an Advantage ColorGraphics company, seeks an experienced Quality Systems & Compliance Manager to lead, maintain, and continuously improve our Quality Management System and compliance programs. This position owns Bertco's quality and certification systems and maintains compliance with ISO 9001:2015, Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), FSC, FSSC 22000, customer-specific requirements, and applicable regulatory or industry standards. The role leads audit activity, corrective and preventive action, customer and supplier quality requirements, controlled documentation, and continuous improvement. This hands-on role works at both the management-system level and on the manufacturing floor, cross-functionally with Production, Engineering, Purchasing, Sales, Warehouse, Management, suppliers, customers, and certification bodies.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Quality Management System / ISO 9001 Own, maintain, and continuously improve Bertco's ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System, keeping it aligned with actual operational and manufacturing practices. Maintain continuous audit readiness; lead preparation for certification, surveillance, and recertification audits and serve as primary internal contact for third-party auditors. Control quality-system documentation - policies, procedures, work instructions, forms, records, specifications, and revisions - including approvals, distribution, retention, and removal of obsolete documents, so records stay audit-ready and reflect actual processes. Coordinate Management Review; prepare quality metrics, risks, trends, objectives, and improvement opportunities; communicate QMS performance to management, identify system gaps, and develop practical plans to achieve and maintain compliance. Multi-Standard Certification & Compliance Lead and maintain certification and compliance programs: ISO 9001, GMP, FSC, FSSC 22000, customer-specific requirements, and other applicable standards. Interpret standards and translate requirements into practical procedures, records, controls, training, and operational practices. Coordinate certification-body activities, audit schedules, document requests, audit responses, corrective actions, and verification of effectiveness; maintain certification records, objective evidence, and traceability documentation. Monitor changes to standards, certification requirements, customer requirements, and regulations; evaluate impact and coordinate implementation across departments, including additional certifications or compliance programs required by customers or business growth. GMP / Food Safety / FSSC 22000 Maintain and promote compliance with Good Manufacturing Practices across manufacturing and warehouse operations, and support implementation, maintenance, and continual improvement of FSSC 22000 and food-safety-management requirements. Conduct routine GMP and compliance inspections of manufacturing, warehouse, and support areas, verifying cleanliness, housekeeping, documentation, process-control, traceability, and product-protection requirements. Support hazard and risk assessments, prerequisite programs, sanitation controls, training, corrective actions, and food-safety documentation; identify gaps and coordinate corrective actions. Support certification, surveillance, customer, and other food-safety audits, and promote food-safety and GMP awareness. FSC / Chain of Custody Maintain FSC Chain of Custody certification requirements, ensuring purchasing, material identification, segregation, control, traceability, documentation, and recordkeeping processes. Verify supplier certification status and FSC material claims; ensure claims and related records are controlled and supported by documentation. Prepare for FSC certification and surveillance audits and coordinate resulting corrective actions. Train personnel on FSC responsibilities and documentation requirements. Internal Audits & Compliance Develop, maintain, and execute Bertco's internal audit program. Conduct process, system, and compliance audits against ISO 9001, GMP, FSC, FSSC 22000, internal procedures, and customer requirements; document findings and communicate results to responsible departments and management. Coordinate corrective actions arising from internal, customer, certification-body, and regulatory audits; verify effectiveness and ensure timely closure of findings, and support and coordinate customer and supplier audits when required. Corrective Action & Problem Solving Manage nonconformances, corrective actions, preventive actions, and CAPA processes. Lead or facilitate structured root-cause investigations using tools such as 5-Why, Fishbone/Ishikawa, 8D, CAPA, Pareto analysis, FMEA, SPC, and DMAIC. Develop sustainable corrective actions with responsible departments, verify effectiveness, prevent recurrence, and identify systemic issues requiring broader improvement. Customer Quality & Compliance Review and interpret customer-specific quality and compliance requirements and ensure they are incorporated into Bertco's processes and controls. Investigate customer complaints and coordinate containment, root-cause analysis, corrective action, and formal customer responses. Communicate professionally with customers on quality issues, audits, corrective actions, and compliance documentation; support customer questionnaires, quality surveys, compliance requests, and compliance declarations. Work closely with Sales, Production, Engineering, and Management so customer requirements are understood and implemented. Supplier Quality Support supplier qualification, evaluation, approval, and performance monitoring, and communicate quality and compliance requirements to suppliers. Conduct or support supplier audits and assessments; verify supplier documentation, certifications, declarations, and compliance records. Coordinate supplier corrective actions and follow-up, address recurring supplier quality issues, and support escalation when needed. Training & Development Develop and provide training on ISO 9001, GMP, FSC, FSSC 22000, QMS procedures, documentation practices, corrective action, quality tools, and customer-specific requirements; maintain training records. Work with department managers to ensure employees are trained and competent for assigned responsibilities, and promote quality, compliance, and continuous-improvement awareness company-wide. Continuous Improvement & Operational Excellence Lead continuous-improvement initiatives using Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma methodologies and structured, data-driven problem solving including DMAIC. Analyze quality and process data to identify variation, waste, recurring defects, process instability, and improvement opportunities. Lead or support cross-functional improvement projects; develop and monitor quality KPIs and process-performance metrics. Partner with Production and Engineering to improve process capability, consistency, efficiency, and product quality; promote risk-based thinking and preventive problem solving, and verify improvements are sustainable.

POSITION REQUIREMENTS

Required Demonstrated experience managing or substantially owning a Quality Management System in a manufacturing environment. Strong practical knowledge of ISO 9001:2015. Demonstrated experience with Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP). Experience preparing for and participating in third-party certification and surveillance audits. Experience conducting internal audits. Strong knowledge of corrective action, CAPA, nonconformance management, root-cause analysis, and verification of effectiveness. Ability to identify compliance gaps and develop practical implementation plans. Experience working directly with manufacturing personnel and conducting production-floor audits. Ability to interpret customer, certification, and regulatory requirements and translate them into practical internal controls. Strong documentation and document-control skills. Strong analytical, organizational, problem-solving, written, and verbal communication skills. Ability to work independently and effectively across multiple departments. Ability to communicate professionally with employees, management, customers, suppliers, auditors, and certification bodies. Highly Preferred Experience with FSSC 22000 or comparable food-safety-management systems. Experience with FSC Chain of Custody requirements and certification audits. Experience managing multiple certification programs simultaneously. Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certification, or equivalent experience applying Lean and Six Sigma in manufacturing. ISO 9001 Internal Auditor or Lead Auditor training/certification. Experience with customer and supplier audits. Experience with CAPA, 8D, FMEA, SPC, DMAIC, 5-Why, and other structured quality tools. Experience in packaging, printing, converting, food-contact packaging, or a related manufacturing environment. Experience supporting customer-specific compliance requests and certification documentation. ASQ certifications such as CQE, CQA, or CMQ/OE are a plus. Education Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Quality, Manufacturing, Business, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.

WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE

The successful candidate will independently own Bertco's quality and compliance systems, keep the organization continuously audit-ready across ISO 9001, GMP, FSC, and FSSC 22000, identify compliance risks before they become findings, drive corrective actions to closure, and use data, Lean Six Sigma principles, and structured problem solving to improve processes - not simply maintain documentation and prepare for audits. #J-18808-Ljbffr AdvantageColorgraphics