Quality, Environmental & Compliance Team Lead

Job Title: Quality, Environmental & Compliance Team Lead (QE&C Team Lead)
Department: Quality
Reporting to: QHS Manager
Position Type: Permanent/Full-time
Hours of Work: 40 hours per week (Mon-Thurs: 8am - 5pm & Fri: 8am - 4.10pm)
Salary: Competitive
Location: Carrington, Greater Manchester

Job summary

As Quality & Environmental Supervisor, you will play a key role in supporting and strengthening the Quality and Environmental function at Protective Packaging Ltd. This role is key to ensuring ongoing compliance with ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 standards. The successful candidate must take full ownership of the Environmental Management System (EMS), ensuring it is effectively maintained, audited, and continually improved. Day-to-day management of the EMS and ensuring that compliance with ISO 14001 is essential, taking up approximately 20-30% of the role. The remainder of the position will be Quality (QMS) focused, involving oversight of compliance, audits, improvements, and some shop floor quality checks. You will also own packaging compliance (including PPWR) for the site; maintaining the compliance register, driving internal actions, and providing audit ready evidence.

Working directly alongside the QHS Manager, you will act as their deputy, leading the department in their absence and providing structure, support and guidance to others. Direct reports: Quality Technicians/Inspectors (as applicable). This is a hands on, high responsibility position suited to someone with solid QE experience in manufacturing and a strong understanding of ISO systems, audits, and leadership.

Key responsibilities

Leadership & Departmental Support

• Support the delivery of the department's annual plan and strategic goals, contributing ideas for improvement and helping to drive cross functional buy in.
• Take strategic ownership of ISO 14001 responsibilities and ensure environmental compliance and performance are embedded into site operations.
• Represent the Quality department in meetings and updates across the business as required.
• Directly manage and develop the QE/QEC team (tasking, coaching, performance feedback), ensuring coverage for daily QE activities.
• Support Health & Safety documentation and improvement activity as required (in coordination with the appointed H&S lead/competent person

Quality & Environmental Compliance

• Support the delivery of QE projects and initiatives in alignment with business objectives.
• Contribute to the development and review of QE policies, procedures, and documentation.
• Ensure ongoing compliance with ISO 9001 and ISO 14001, supporting preparation for audits and certification reviews.
• Keep up to date with relevant legislation, regulations, and international standards (e.g. ASTM, MIL SPEC), and help maintain the internal compliance library.
• Provide QE training to employees and promote best practices across departments.
• Prepare and deliver monthly QE activity and progress reports to the QHS Manager and senior stakeholders.
• Own PPWR readiness and internal actions: maintain the PPWR action plan, evidence pack, and cross functional tasking.
• Maintain a compliance register (ISO, environmental, packaging/producer obligations, customer standards) and ensure actions are tracked to closure.
• Support customer and supplier compliance queries (e.g., declarations/statements, traceability evidence) using controlled documentation

Quality Assurance & Continuous Improvement

• Support investigations into customer complaints and internal non conformances, applying root cause analysis and implementing corrective actions.
• Plan, schedule and lead internal audits across ISO 9001/14001; manage the audit programme, findings, and closure verification.
• Maintain the Quality Training Matrix and contribute to developing training materials and guidance.
• Encourage continuous improvement across the business, collaborating with departments to identify and resolve process variances.
• Conduct shop floor checks to monitor and improve compliance with quality standards.

Environmental Management System (EMS) - Lead Responsibility

• Take full ownership of the ISO 14001 Environmental Management System, ensuring its effective maintenance, internal auditing, continual improvement, and alignment with evolving environmental legislation.
• Maintain the EMS calendar (aspects/impacts review, objectives, legal register, management review inputs) and ensure changes are controlled.
• Plan, schedule and lead environmental audits and risk assessments, ensuring effective controls are in place.
• Monitor compliance with packaging waste regulations and support sustainability projects across the site.
• Monitor site environmental compliance (waste, energy, emissions where applicable) and support sustainability projects across the site.
• Promote a culture of environmental awareness and support company initiatives to reduce waste and energy consumption.

Employee Training & Departmental Support

• Provide day to day guidance and coaching to colleagues on QE matters, encouraging accountability and ownership.
• Support onboarding of new starters, ensuring QE procedures are understood and followed.
• Act as a point of contact for day to day QE queries and ensure timely responses across departments.

skills and experience

• Proven Quality and Environmental experience in a manufacturing or similar operational environment (minimum 3 years).
• At least 2 years' experience in a management / supervisory role, directly managing people.
• Proven experience leading and maintaining ISO 14001 and ISO 9001 systems, including internal audits, documentation, and external audit preparation.
• Qualified Lead Auditor (ISO 14001 and/or ISO 9001) or demonstrable lead auditor level experience.
• Strong organisational and time management skills, capable of balancing routine responsibilities with project work.
• Confident communicator with the ability to engage teams at all levels and influence compliant behaviour.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and comfortable preparing reports and documentation.
• Familiar with root cause analysis tools and CAPA processes.

qualifications

Essential

• Demonstrable experience with full lifecycle management of ISO 14001 systems is essential.

Desirable

• IOSH Managing Safely.
• Environmental or/and sustainability qualification (IEMA, BSc etc.) - Strongly Preferred.

personal attributes

• Hands on and proactive, with a practical approach to solving problems.
• Strong leadership presence with the confidence to deputise and guide others.
• Detail oriented and analytical, with a proactive and methodical approach.
• Able to work independently but collaborates well with others.
• Calm under pressure and able to adapt to evolving priorities.
• Passionate about driving improvement and embedding high standards.

Apply Today

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