We are looking for a Principal Quality Assurance Analyst, to join our Service Excellence team in Columbia, MD.
Position Summary
Responsible for supporting management in the development, implementation, and maintenance of an Operations Quality Assurance Program, including the evaluation of policies, processes, procedures and controls to ensure adherence to performance and regulatory standards.
Primary Job Responsibilities:
- Assists management with the implementation and execution of the Operations Quality Assurance Program.
- Provides leadership and technical insight in developing and maintaining QA / internal audit processes, standards, and procedures, including the implementation of a Quality Management System based on ISO9001 principles.
- Provides leadership in the preparation and planning of both process-based and in-process audits to ensure the development and usage of appropriate standards, quality manuals and templates.
- Assists in developing the audit schedule, ensures audits are conducted as planned, and that team members have a thorough understanding of what is being audited.
- Conducts process-based audits to ensure compliance with defined processes, standards, and procedures.
- Mentors / coaches the QA team on the QA program, functions, and audit processes.
- Periodically assesses the thoroughness of audits conducted by team members.
- Oversees the inter-working and interaction of QA team members.
- Ensures that members of the QA team are adequately trained to perform their roles and responsibilities.
- Reviews audit findings prior to distribution.
- Works with QA team members and process owners on process-related concerns and issues (escalates unresolved issues / non-conformances to management).
- Uses best practices project management, incident management or business continuity principles to achieve desired results.
- Educates process owners on QA functions, and leads the quality initiative at the local level.
- Collects and analyzes QA metrics; provides appropriate level of reporting to management.
- Watches and reports on organizational trends and suggests training, and/or changes or addition of processes.
- Participates in regular reviews of the Operations Quality Assurance Program to ensure that it satisfies the organization’s current needs and to identify potential improvements.
Knowledge and Skill Requirements:
Solid hands-on process analysis and team leadership skills
Strong interpersonal skills
Ability to rapidly adapt to changes
Excellent written and verbal communication skills
Experience with data collection, analysis and reporting of metrics using MS Office or BI Tool applications
Familiarity with Six Sigma or Lean principles
Subject matter expertise of recognized quality auditing principles (ISO, ASQ)
Education/Training/Experience:
A Bachelor’s Degree or related experience. Professional certifications required.
7+ years related experience developing operational processes and/or quality assurance standards
Prior experience leading cross functional projects or programs
Major Challenges:
Influence understanding the purpose of a Quality Management System
Influence management of resources that do not directly report to this position
Staying current with changes in Arbitron’s processes, products, organization and systems
Pulling together information from multiple sources to build a cohesive plan
Ability to operate at a strategic and tactical level
Communicating and working with all levels of the organization
Management:
Leadership of inter-departmental team and/or enterprise initiatives