Director, Global Quality and Regulatory Compliance
Job Summary
This role provides global leadership and strategic direction of the Quality Function required in the development and manufacture/sourcing of home and personal care products under leading brands including Black+Decker, Remington, Russell Hobbs, George Foreman, Farberware and Emeril. The role is based in Middleton, WI and is the single global owner of quality standards, regulatory intelligence and compliance governance.
Primary Duties & Responsibilities
Own the global Quality Assurance System for HPC as the single global process owner for quality standards, engineering procedures, metric definitions and escalation thresholds.
Directly lead the EMEA quality and compliance team and set strategic direction for PEC and the LATAM and APAC regional teams.
Ensure product quality metrics are established and achieved on new products.
Keep abreast of changes to quality regulations and guidelines, advising the management team of any business implications of these changes.
Maintain an active regulatory horizon-scanning cadence covering product safety and conformity, chemicals and materials, energy and environmental rules, packaging EPR, and emerging obligations such as EU GPSR, Digital Product Passport, PFAS restrictions and right-to-repair.
Provide oversight for quality control activities performed by contract testing laboratories and contract manufacturing companies.
Collaborate with New Product Development teams for deployment of quality risk mitigation tools: Quality Function Deployment, DOE, structured problem solving, quality planning, and process capability analysis and control.
Identify and deliver year-to-year global reduction in cost of quality.
Own global regulatory and compliance governance, declarations of conformity, agency and retailer certifications, and social compliance, ensuring retailer documentation requirements are met ahead of commercial deadlines.
Serve as the product safety authority for the division, owning CPSC engagement, recall decisions and the escalation process to Legal and senior leadership.
Own the post-market surveillance system — warranty, returns, complaints, online star ratings and retailer data — and ensure field failures drive design changes and supplier corrective action.
Govern quality data across software platforms establishing common definitions and a single reporting fact base for the business.
Develop recommendations for capital, operating and staffing budgets. Provide fiscal oversight of allocated resources, assets and expenses. Make necessary decisions to adjust for variations in projected budget income caused by fluctuating volumes and other external factors.
Lead employees through effective hiring, training, mentoring and coaching. Provide ongoing feedback and development, holding employees accountable for success, and develop a staffing plan that meets both business expectations and financial constraints.
Education and Experience
Bachelor’s Degree (Mechanical or Electrical Engineering) required
10 plus years of equivalent related experience in quality/operations required
Experience with consumer products and related design/manufacturing processes (plastics, heated products, electrical components, cosmetic appeal, packaging, etc.) preferred
Demonstrated leadership of successful ISO 13485 quality management system implementation preferred
Experience in an adjacent, standards-driven category — consumer electronics, power tools, juvenile products or housewares — where regulatory change is constant and compliance must be delivered pragmatically at commercial speed, is strongly preferred
Deep working knowledge of regulatory and agency requirements applicable to small domestic appliances and personal care products across North America, Europe and Asia — including UL, CSA and ETL, CE and UKCA, IEC/EN 60335, FCC, RoHS, REACH and food-contact standards
Required Skills
Expert knowledge in Quality Engineering and Quality Assurance systems
Very strong analytical/problem solving skills and decision making/negotiation skills are required
Excellent communication skills both oral and written, with the ability to quickly and positively influence others
Proven ability to successfully influence a large organization to adopt new approaches that positively impact product quality
Familiarity with Design for Six Sigma/Lean Manufacturing techniques desirable
AQSC CQM certification preferred
Ability to travel domestically and internationally
Ability to build compliance systems proportionate to actual risk
Ability to translate regulatory change into clear commercial implications and specific actions for Marketing, Sourcing, NPD and Legal
Strong external stakeholder engagement — legal, retailers, certification bodies and regulatory authorities — and comfort operating through direct and dotted-line teams across multiple time zones