Quality Assurance & Sustainability Manager

Job DetailsJob Location: JB-CHI Oakton - Niles, IL 60714Position Type: ContractorEducation Level: High SchoolSalary Range: $75,000.00 - $80,000.00 SalaryTravel Percentage: NoneJob Shift: 1st ShiftJob Category: ManufacturingPosition Summary

The Quality Assurance & Sustainability Manager leads daily quality and sustainability activities at JohnsByrne's Oakton manufacturing facility and Howard fulfillment and warehouse facility. This position supervises QA personnel, coordinates inspection coverage, supports production and fulfillment operations, and ensures products meet customer requirements, approved specifications, job documentation, and the ISO 9001 Quality Management System.

The Manager also coordinates site sustainability initiatives, tracks environmental performance, supports responsible material and supplier practices, and maintains accurate data for customer, regulatory, and management reporting. This role promotes consistent practices across both facilities and serves as a key operational partner to the Director of Quality Management and Sustainability.

 Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Quality Assurance Leadership

Supervise assigned QA personnel supporting Oakton and Howard Street.
Schedule inspection coverage based on production needs, customer requirements, workload, and risk.
Monitor employee attendance, performance, productivity, training, and compliance with departmental expectations.
Provide coaching, performance feedback, and recommendations regarding staffing and employee development.
Ensure QA personnel remain visible and engaged on the production and fulfillment floors.
Promote effective collaboration among Quality, Operations, Client Services, Planning, Shipping, Warehousing, and other departments.

Oakton Manufacturing Quality

Coordinate incoming, setup, in-process, and final inspections.
Ensure inspections follow approved plans, job tickets, customer specifications, samples, and procedures.
Confirm first-piece and production approvals are completed accurately and on time.
Verify required standards and references - including color standards, approved samples, artwork, and dielines - are available and used.
Monitor active production and required inspection frequencies.
Coordinate containment, inspection, sorting, and disposition of suspect or nonconforming product.
Provide QA support for complex, secure, high-risk, or customer-sensitive work.

Howard Street Fulfillment and Warehouse Quality

Coordinate quality activities for fulfillment, assembly, packing, warehousing, inventory handling, and shipment verification.
Ensure fulfillment work follows approved instructions, samples, job documentation, and customer requirements.
Verify line clearance and startup checks before each job or change in product, version, language, or component.
Confirm customer-owned materials are properly identified, protected, counted, and used.
Monitor component accuracy, version and language control, quantities, labeling, assembly, and finished-product requirements.
Verify finished goods are correctly identified, palletized, labeled, secured, and released for shipment.
Coordinate containment and investigation of fulfillment errors, mixed components, count discrepancies, or shipment concerns.
Maintain consistent controls for products transferred between Oakton and Howard Street.

Inspection, Product Release, and Corrective Action

Review inspection records for accuracy and completeness before product release.
Ensure results are recorded in QT9 or other approved systems.
Determine whether work may continue, requires correction, or must be placed on hold.
Stop production, fulfillment, or shipment when quality or customer requirements may be compromised.
Ensure nonconforming materials are identified, segregated, documented, evaluated, and dispositioned.
Initiate or support nonconformance and CAPA records, including containment, investigation, risk assessment, and corrective action.
Support customer complaint investigations by gathering records, samples, photographs, and production evidence.
Track assigned actions and verify effectiveness, escalating significant or overdue issues to the Director.

Quality Management System Compliance

Ensure departmental compliance with JohnsByrne's ISO 9001 Quality Management System, procedures, work instructions, and customer requirements.
Reinforce use of approved documents and current revisions.
Support effective use of QT9 for inspections, nonconformance, CAPA, training, and related activities.
Identify procedural gaps, control weaknesses, and quality risks, and support corrective improvements.
Support customer, certification, and internal audits, including timely correction of assigned findings.

Sustainability and Environmental Stewardship

Coordinate site sustainability objectives, action plans, procedures, and improvement projects.
Track and report energy and water use, waste, recycling, material yield, and approved environmental KPIs.
Lead cross-functional efforts to reduce waste, prevent pollution, improve resource efficiency, and increase beneficial reuse.
Support evaluation of environmentally preferable papers, inks, coatings, packaging components, and production methods.
Maintain documentation for environmental claims, customer questionnaires, supplier certifications, responsible sourcing, and regulatory requirements.
Monitor applicable permits, reporting deadlines, waste-handling requirements, and changes in regulations or customer expectations.
Validate sustainability data from Oakton and Howard Street and investigate significant variances.
Incorporate sustainability into continuous improvement, capital planning, process changes, and supplier reviews.
Train employees on waste segregation, spill prevention, resource conservation, and sustainable material practices.
Support sustainability audits and completion of assigned corrective actions.

Training, Communication, and Operational Support

Train and qualify QA personnel in inspection methods, defect recognition, sampling, documentation, customer requirements, QT9, and QMS procedures.
Provide ongoing coaching to improve consistency, judgment, communication, and problem-solving.
Support quality training for Operations and fulfillment employees.
Participate in production meetings, quality reviews, shift handoffs, and management reviews.
Communicate product holds, inspection priorities, staffing needs, compliance concerns, and customer risks to appropriate leadership.
Maintain effective handoffs between facilities, shifts, and team members.
Serve as the Director's designated backup for assigned daily quality and sustainability activities.
Promptly notify the Director of significant quality, environmental, customer, compliance, or operational risks.

Safety, Security, and Housekeeping

Ensure QA employees follow safety, PPE, and facility security requirements.
Support line clearance, material control, access control, and product-security requirements.
Maintain organized inspection areas, retained samples, and quality records.
Report unsafe conditions, security concerns, contamination risks, damaged materials, or improper handling.
Participate in Gemba walks, 7S activities, and other improvement efforts.

 Supervisory Responsibilities

Directly supervises assigned QA employees supporting Oakton and Howard Street and coordinates cross-functional sustainability activities. Responsibilities include work assignments, scheduling, training, performance management, attendance oversight, employee evaluations, and recommendations regarding hiring, recognition, development, and disciplinary action.

5. Decision-Making Authority

The Quality Assurance & Sustainability Manager may:

Stop production, fulfillment, packing, or shipment when requirements may not be met.
Place materials or finished goods on quality hold.
Require additional inspection, sorting, verification, containment, or corrective action.
Reject product that does not meet approved requirements.
Reassign QA personnel based on operational priorities and risk.
Require immediate action when environmental requirements, waste-handling procedures, sustainability commitments, or customer specifications are not being met.
Escalate unresolved quality, environmental, or sustainability risks to the Director and Operations leadership.

Final disposition of significant nonconforming product, customer-impacting issues, or exceptions to established requirements requires approval from authorized management.
QualificationsEducation and Experience

High school diploma or equivalent required; associate degree, technical education, or quality-related training preferred.
Five years of experience in quality assurance, manufacturing inspection, printing, packaging, fulfillment, or a related field preferred.
Two years of supervisory or team-lead experience required.
Experience in printing, converting, packaging, fulfillment, warehousing, or regulated manufacturing strongly preferred.
Experience with ISO 9001 preferred.
Lean experience preferred; Six Sigma certification is a plus.
Experience with environmental compliance, sustainability, recycling, waste reduction, resource efficiency, or sustainable packaging preferred.

Knowledge and Skills

Knowledge of inspection methods, defect identification, nonconforming product control, root-cause investigation, and corrective action.
Ability to interpret job tickets, inspection plans, specifications, approved samples, artwork, dielines, and customer requirements.
Strong leadership, coaching, communication, organization, judgment, and conflict-resolution skills.
Ability to prioritize work across multiple departments, shifts, and facilities.
Strong attention to detail and documentation accuracy.
Proficiency in Microsoft Office; experience with QT9 or another electronic QMS preferred.
Working knowledge of environmental compliance, sustainability metrics, recycling, resource efficiency, responsible sourcing, and sustainability reporting.
Bilingual English/Spanish communication skills preferred.

 Physical Requirements

Regularly walk and stand for extended periods in manufacturing, fulfillment, warehouse, and shipping areas.
Travel between Oakton and Howard Street as required.
Bend, reach, climb stairs, and access inspection points near production equipment.
Lift or move materials and samples weighing up to 30 pounds.
Visually inspect print quality, color, finishing, components, labeling, assembly, and workmanship.
Work safely near machinery, forklifts, warehouse traffic, and normal manufacturing noise.
Use required personal protective equipment.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the position.

 Work Environment and Schedule

This position works in manufacturing, fulfillment, warehouse, inspection, waste-handling, and office environments at Oakton and Howard Street. Regular travel between facilities is required. The Manager must be available to support multiple shifts, production priorities, customer needs, sustainability initiatives, occasional weekend work or overtime, and urgent quality or compliance concerns.

 Performance Expectations

Performance will be evaluated based on:

Effective QA coverage across both facilities.
Accurate, timely inspections and records.
Prompt containment and resolution of nonconforming product.
Reduction of preventable escapes and repeat issues.
Effective communication and collaboration with Operations.
Compliance with ISO 9001 and JohnsByrne QMS requirements.
Accurate and timely sustainability data, customer responses, and compliance reporting.
Progress toward approved waste-reduction, recycling, resource-efficiency, and responsible-sourcing objectives.
Timely escalation of customer, product, environmental, and operational risks.

Consistent quality and sustainability controls across both facilities.