Full Description

Product & System Quality Assurance Manager

Location: Flexible / Hybrid (travel across the supply chain as required) (Dublin, France)

The Opportunity

We are looking for a Product & System Quality Assurance Manager to play a pivotal leadership role in an R&D-driven, reverse-engineering crop protection business operating with a predominantly virtual, third-party manufacturing supply chain.

This is not a traditional QA policing role.

Instead, this role exists to enable the business — partnering with functional leaders and subject-matter experts across R&D, Supply Chain, Regulatory and Commercial teams to ensure quality and compliance are owned where they matter most, supported by clear, proportionate, risk-based frameworks.

You will be accountable for building agile, scalable quality assurance systems that support product development, external manufacture and commercial delivery — without unnecessary bureaucracy. Success requires strong cross-functional leadership, influence without authority, and systems thinking, particularly in an environment where manufacturing execution largely sits outside the organisation.

What You’ll Do

Quality Frameworks & Virtual Supply Chain Design and implement risk-based quality assurance frameworks suited to a virtual manufacturing model Define proportionate quality expectations for external manufacturers, formulators, packers and logistics partners Establish effective oversight and assurance models without replicating in-house manufacturing controls Develop and maintain practical, outcome-focused quality agreements aligned to product and process risk

R&D and Product Development Enablement Partner with R&D teams engaged in reverse engineering to embed quality and compliance from early development Enable R&D SMEs to understand and fulfil their critical-to-business quality and compliance responsibilities Ensure specifications, analytical methods and control strategies support reliable third-party manufacture and regulatory submissions Support technology transfer and scale-up activities, acting as a bridge between R&D intent and supply chain execution

Risk-Based Assurance & Issue Management Identify and prioritise quality risks across products and outsourced processes using structured, science-based approaches Focus assurance on critical quality attributes (CQAs), critical process parameters (CPPs), and high-risk suppliers Lead investigations into deviations, complaints and quality incidents involving third parties Drive effective CAPA that strengthens systems and prevents recurrence

Cross-Functional Integration Work across R&D, Supply Chain, Regulatory and Commercial teams to ensure end-to-end alignment of quality and compliance requirements Proactively identify and close gaps at organisational interfaces Enable risk-based decision-making where trade-offs between speed, cost and quality are required Support Regulatory Affairs by ensuring quality systems and data meet global registration and lifecycle expectations

Continuous Improvement & Quality Maturity Provide the overarching QA framework that enables each function to meet its critical-to-business compliance obligations Build quality capability and maturity as the organisation scales Simplify or remove processes and controls that do not materially improve quality or compliance Use data and supplier performance trends to drive continuous improvement

Key Stakeholders R&D and Product Development Supply Chain, Procurement and Operations Regulatory Affairs Commercial and Portfolio Management External manufacturers, laboratories and logistics partners

What We’re Looking For

Essential Degree in Chemistry, Life Sciences, Process Engineering or a related technical discipline Significant QA experience in regulated environments such as crop protection, agrochemicals, pharmaceuticals or fine chemicals Experience working with outsourced or virtual manufacturing models, including product development and technology transfer Strong supplier quality assurance capability with a pragmatic, risk-based mindset Experience using quality data and performance indicators to drive improvement Proven ability to influence senior stakeholders and external partners without direct authority

Desirable Experience in reverse engineering or generic product development Practical application of Quality by Design (QbD) principles Familiarity with global crop protection regulatory frameworks Experience building quality systems in growing or transforming organisations Hands-on use of risk-based tools (e.g. FMEA, CQA, CPP) Supplier audit and qualification experience

Leadership Profile

You are someone who brings

• A quality-as-an-enabler mindset — focused on outcomes, not bureaucracy
• The ability to influence without authority, earning credibility with technical and commercial teams
• Systems thinking, seeing end-to-end risk across functions and partners
• Pragmatic judgement, applying regulatory expectations proportionately
• A builder’s mindset, comfortable creating and evolving systems as the business grows
• Calm, credible leadership under pressure
• Integrity and trust, creating confidence and psychological safety across the organisation and supply chain

Why This Role Is Different This is not a traditional compliance or certification-driven QA role.

It is an opportunity to design and embed modern, agile quality systems that enable a growing, innovation-led business to deliver high-quality, compliant products through a global, outsourced supply chain — at pace.