Quality Director Quality Continuous Improvement & Management Systems (Apparel)

II. JOB PURPOSE

This is a senior expert role, independent from Production, responsible for moving Company's quality system from "inspect to detect" to "prevent and continuously improve". Company needs a leader who can both secure today's quality and drive innovation in how quality is managed, to serve premium customers and reduce the cost of poor quality.

Why this role is needed now

• Rising customer requirements: major brands (for example Uniqlo) require an independent quality system, environmental control and transparent real-time data.
• Quality governance transformation : Company is separating quality governance from Production and building a dedicated model production zone (Uniqlo Zone) – an expert is needed to run and scale this model.
• Cost of poor quality: rework, rejects, customer returns, penalties and air freight caused by quality-related delays.
• Demanding products: intimate apparel and activewear require high precision (underwires, cups, lace, stretch seams, bonded seamless construction) – small defects directly affect wearer comfort.
• Core purpose: build a "right first time" culture, make data the basis for decisions, and turn continuous improvement into a daily habit for every team member.
• Key Objectives (12–24 months)
• The right candidate must demonstrate the ability to deliver the objectives below. Specific numeric targets will be set after a 3-month baseline.
• Months 0–3: Understand and measure
• Full assessment of the current quality system; establish baseline data
• Current-state assessment, quality risk map, top 10 most costly defects, action plan presented to the Board of Directors
• Months 3–6: Stabilise and standardise
• Standardise in-process controls by operation; launch a digital daily quality dashboard
• Standard operating procedures, daily quality meeting system, first 3–5 improvement projects completed
• Months 6–12: Prevent and improve
• Shift focus from inspection to prevention; run the pilot production zone effectively
• Significant reduction in defect rate and cost of poor quality; pilot model meets customer standards
• Months 12–24: Innovate and scale
• Roll the model out to all factories; apply new technologies to quality control
• Standardised model across Company, successor pipeline, portfolio of quality innovation initiatives
• Five core objective areas: (1) reduce the cost of poor quality; (2) increase right-first-time rate in-line and at customer final inspection; (3) zero critical customer complaints and shorter resolution time; (4) build an independent, digital quality system with real-time data up to Board level; (5) embed a continuous improvement culture where every team member proposes and implements improvements.

IV. SPECIFIC DUTIES

• 1. Build and run the Quality Management System
• Design an end-to-end quality control system: incoming materials → cutting → sewing → bonding → finishing → packing → shipment.
• Maintain and upgrade the system to ISO 9001 and customer quality manuals and standards.
• Establish quality governance independent from Production: clear authority, including the right to stop the line when quality is at risk.
• 2. Prevention-oriented quality control
• Apply Failure Mode and Effects Analysis to new products and high-risk operations.
• Deploy Statistical Process Control for critical parameters: measurements, stitch density, tensile strength, bonding temperature – pressure – time.
• Implement error-proofing (Poka-Yoke) at error-prone operations: underwire insertion, cup placement, left–right symmetry, labelling.
• Manage pre-production quality: sample approval, pre-production meetings, pilot runs, first-bundle approval.
• 3. Materials and supplier quality
• Set inspection standards for fabric, lace, elastic, underwires, foam cups and hooks; control shrinkage, colour fastness, stretch and recovery.
• Evaluate, rate and develop suppliers; resolve defects at the source with suppliers.
• 4. Final inspection and complaint handling
• Manage finished-goods inspection to each customer's Acceptable Quality Level.
• Lead root cause analysis (5 Why, fishbone diagram) and 8 Disciplines corrective action reports for every complaint.
• Represent Company with customer quality teams and third-party auditors.
• 5. Product and market compliance
• Ensure compliance with chemical and product safety regulations in each market (United States, Europe, Asia), certifications such as OEKO-TEX and the European REACH regulation.
• Control metal detection, product safety and market-compliant labelling.
• 6. Production environment and packing control
• Set standards for temperature, humidity, housekeeping, mould prevention and product contamination control.
• Standardise packing to customer requirements; reduce packing and carton defects.
• 7. Quality innovation
• Digital quality data: replace paper reports with tablet/mobile data entry on the line and real-time dashboards – earlier detection, faster decisions, transparency up to the Board.
• Vision and artificial intelligence inspection: pilot cameras to detect fabric and seam defects and verify labels automatically.
• Predictive data analytics: use historical data to predict high-risk styles, lines and operations.
• Quality by design: engage from sample development; assess manufacturability before order acceptance.
• Dedicated jigs and equipment: propose guides, jigs and semi-automatic equipment for difficult operations (underwire, binding, bonding).
• Traceability: trace by material lot – bundle – line – operator for fast defect containment.
• 8. Continuous improvement
• Run the improvement system: apply the Plan – Do – Check – Act cycle to every quality issue.
• Lead Lean and Six Sigma projects (Define – Measure – Analyse – Improve – Control); minimum 6–10 projects per year with verified savings.
• Daily management on the floor: start-of-shift meetings, visual management boards, management Gemba walks.
• Employee-driven improvement: Kaizen suggestion scheme, in-line quality circles, recognition and reward mechanisms.
• Standardise and scale every successful improvement to other lines and factories; benchmark best practices from leading factories and customers.
• 9. People development and quality culture
• Transform quality control staff from "defect catchers" into "quality coaches".
• Build a training path for team leaders and line supervisors on basic quality tools (7 Quality Tools, 5 Why).
• Develop successors and internal improvement experts (Six Sigma Green Belt, Yellow Belt).1. Education:
• Required: Bachelor's degree in

Yêu cầu công việc

1. Education

• Required: Bachelor's degree in Garment Technology, Textiles, Industrial Engineering, Quality Management or equivalent; ISO 9001 Internal Auditor certificate.
• Preferred: Master's degree in Operations or Quality Management; Lean Six Sigma Black Belt or Green Belt; internationally recognised quality professional certification.

2. Professional Knowledge

• Required: Quality management systems, Acceptable Quality Level inspection, root cause analysis, 8 Disciplines, Failure Mode and Effects Analysis, Statistical Process Control; advanced Excel with strong data reading and analysis.
• Preferred: Lean manufacturing, Total Quality Management, artificial intelligence and automation in inspection; Power BI or dashboard tools; experience implementing digital quality systems.

3. Experience

• Required: Minimum 10 years in apparel manufacturing, including at least 5 years as Quality Manager or above; at least 2–3 improvement projects with clear before/after data (defect or cost reduction).
• Preferred: Direct experience in intimate apparel and activewear; worked for major brands or factories approved by Japanese, European or American customers; built or transformed a quality system from scratch.

4. Skills

• Systems and data thinking: finds root causes, decides on data, not intuition.
• Influence: gets Production, Engineering and Planning to act without direct authority.
• Coaching and developing others: turns expert knowledge into team capability.
• Executive communication: clear, concise reporting to the Board of Directors, Board of Management and customers.
• Languages: business English for presenting and reporting to customers (required); Japanese or French (preferred).

5. Behaviour and Attitude

• Innovation mindset: proactively tests new ways of working; accepts small failures to learn fast.
• Courage and integrity: willing to stop the line and say "no" to non-conforming goods despite delivery pressure.2a

Quyền lợi

• Khác: 13-month salary, Performance Bonus, Annual Leave, etc.