Quality Audit / QMS Manager

The Quality Management System (QMS) department develops, supports, and oversees the company's global quality processes to strengthen product integrity and enhance the customer experience. The QMS applies across all value streams within the organization.

To further improve quality performance, the QMS North America team is expanding to establish a dedicated group focused on ensuring that quality processes are clearly defined, effectively deployed, consistently followed, and reliably executed. This added focus will reduce quality issues and customer risk while improving key performance indicators (KPIs).

The Quality Audit / QMS Manager is responsible for developing and ensuring the effective execution of quality audit programs across multiple business areas, including design, engineering, purchasing, manufacturing, supplier quality, supply chain, sales/aftersales, and other cross‑functional domains.

This role conducts quality risk assessments and establishes audit programs that assess potential customer risks while ensuring alignment with sponsors and leadership. The Manager oversees audit execution to ensure activities are completed in a timely, respectful, transparent, and value‑added manner. Responsibilities include communicating with managers and leadership, addressing escalations, validating audit findings, confirming action plans, and driving closure and cross‑functional read‑across of results.

Additionally, the Manager serves as a key liaison, collaborating with regional and global quality audit teams to ensure alignment and consistency across the organization.

They will also perform complex audits across multiple domains, which include:

• Planning and preparing the audit
• Conducting audit activities
• Analyzing and interpreting findings
• Supporting the development and approving corrective action plans
• Ensuring actions are implemented, completed, and effective
• Documenting comprehensive audit reports and results

In addition, the Quality Audit / QMS Manager will be responsible for overseeing critical Quality Management System (QMS) activities within the North America region, including:

• Leading the development, validation, and approval of global and regional quality standards, representing North American stakeholders across all company domains.
• Overseeing the deployment of QMS quality standards within the region by collaborating closely with global process owners, the global QMS organization, and QMS Domain Leads to ensure consistent and effective implementation.
• Driving improvements to global and regional quality processes based on audit outcomes and identified needs from North American stakeholders.

The Quality Audit / QMS Manager will build strong relationships with key quality stakeholders across North America and global QMS teams, ensuring clear and consistent communication on audit status, findings, corrective actions, escalations, and ongoing process improvements.

The Manager must excel in navigating ambiguity, making sound, data‑driven decisions, and effectively managing escalated issues. Strong collaboration skills are essential, as the role interacts with all levels of management to gather information through formal reports, informal discussions and escalation activities.

The Manager will also support regional and global audit activities, including risk assessments, audit planning, and recruitment efforts. Travel of up to approximately 25% may be required to conduct or support audits across the company's full value stream, including engineering sites, Stellantis facilities, dealer networks, and supplier locations.

Requirements:

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree
• 10+ years of experience within relevant domains or value streams
• Demonstrated experience leading teams and managing project planning activities
• Proven ability to make independent decisions, design and execute audit programs, and resolve issues effectively
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, including negotiation, influence, and conflict‑management capabilities
• Ability to build and maintain strong working relationships with stakeholders at all levels of the organization
• Strong analytical and critical‑thinking skills, with the ability to apply leadership principles across diverse functions and environments
• Flexibility and willingness to support audits or special assignments in other functional areas based on business needs

Preferred Qualifications:

• Advanced degree in Engineering, Business, Quality, or a related field
• Experience leading quality audits across multiple functions or value streams
• Launch experience, including project, product, and/or process launches
• Professional auditor certification (e.g., ISO, IATF, internal audit programs)
• Experience with Quality Management Systems (QMS) and/or ISO‑based standards
• Broad understanding of multiple value streams, including design, engineering, purchasing, manufacturing, supplier quality, supply chain, and sales/aftersales, along with their associated processes and standards
• Strong technical and digital skills, including data analytics and proficiency with tools such as Excel, Power BI, and AI‑enabled applications