Regional Quality Manager - LATAM

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Job Description

Job/Position Description:

The Regional Quality Manager provides functional leadership and governance for quality systems, compliance and performance across manufacturing locations in Latin America. This role ensures that products, processes and services consistently meet regulatory, customer, and corporate quality standards and plays a critical leadership role in developing the next generation of quality excellence.

The Regional Quality Manager promotes a culture where quality is designed into processes, quality management systems operate with discipline and quality becomes a competitive advantage for Albemarle. This role partners with site, regional and global teams to execute the global quality strategy, improve system maturity and build capability across teams.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities:

Functional Management Responsibilities

• Provide functional oversight and governance for quality operations across multiple manufacturing plants within the region
• Ensure effective implementation, maintenance and continuous improvement of the Quality Management System (QMS) in accordance with customer, corporate and regulatory standards (e.g., ISO 9001, GMP, IATF 16949)
• Establish regional expectations for testing, batch record review, change controls, documentation, nonconformance management and other critical quality processes.
• Standardize site-level quality procedures across production, maintenance and packaging operations, and ensure alignment with global standards
• Support sites with significant technical investigations, product quality issues and escalated product-release or disposition decisions.
• Provide oversight of nonconformances, customer complaints, CAPAs, and deviations to ensure timely, effective and sustainable resolution
• Provide regional oversight for regulatory inspections, audits, and internal assessments; monitor routine audit activities and effective closure of findings
• Establish, monitor and report regional quality objectives and performance indicators aligned with business, operations and corporate strategies
• Define tools, criteria and systems to measure and improve QMS effectiveness across the region
• Analyze quality and operational data to identify trends, risks and improvement opportunities
• Develop and lead regional improvement roadmaps that reduce deviations, improve process capability, increase right first-time performance and reduce cost of poor quality
• Build structured problem-solving capability (5 Whys, Fishbone, DMAIC) through coaching and consistent application of appropriate investigation and RCA methods
• Facilitate sharing of lessons learned and best practices across manufacturing sites
• Develop and manage the regional quality budget and support prioritization of investments in systems, laboratory capability and quality improvement

Customer and External Partner Management

• Provide governance and escalation support for significant, recurring customer complaints and ensure consistent investigation and effective corrective and preventive actions implementation
• Partner with Commercial and Site teams to ensure changes affecting product quality, specifications, manufacturing processes, analytical methods, raw materials, packaging, or supply arrangements are evaluated through the established change management process, including assessment of customer notification and approval requirements.
• Support customer audits, visits, quality performance reviews to build trust and credibility, and provide oversight of site qualification activities
• Represent quality in customer contract negotiations by assessing risk and ensuring alignment with quality standards.
• Work with external suppliers to ensure consistent quality standards and protocols exist and are followed rigorously for raw materials, supplies, and packaging products.
• Define & assess Supplier performance to standards or expectations together with the appropriate Supply Chain support departments.

Talent Development and Leadership

• Lead and develop site Quality Managers, Quality Engineers, and specialists across the region.
• Build capability through coaching, mentoring and structured development plans.
• Assess regional quality capability, organizational capacity, critical role coverage and succession needs; recommend resources and development actions based on business and quality risks
• Foster a culture of transparency, accountability, collaboration and continuous improvement across the region.
• Build and maintain a strong network across Manufacturing, Process Technology, Commercial, Supply Chain, Global Quality and Regional Quality Peers.
• Model and reinforce Albemarle’s values and safety-first culture.

Desired Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering or Chemistry or Quality Management; Master’s Degree a plus
• Proficiency in English and Spanish required
• At least 10 years of experience in Quality in a global chemical manufacturing environment
• At least 6 years of people leadership experience
• Strong knowledge of ISO 9001:2015 and other customer, regulatory and industry standards, including ISO 17025 and IATF 16949
• Demonstrated experience managing quality management systems, process standardization, audits, quality investigations, and quality improvement projects
• Demonstrated experience building high-performance teams, improving customer satisfaction and reducing cost of poor quality
• Strong technical foundation in chemical manufacturing and the ability to address plant-level issues involving variability contamination, OOS and specification drift, etc.
• Strong communication, influencing, facilitation, negotiation and change management skills across functions, cultures and organizational levels
• Strong business acumen and ability to balance customer expectations, manufacturing capability, regulatory obligations and business needs
• Cross-cultural sensitivity and global business mind-set.
• Ability to travel both domestically and internationally

Core Competencies

• Execution Excellence: Delivers consistent results through disciplined follow-up and problem-solving.
• Leadership and Collaboration: Builds trust and alignment across functions and cultures.
• Analytical Thinking: Uses data to identify root causes and drive improvement.
• Customer Focus: Anticipates and responds effectively to customer and regulatory needs.
• Continuous Improvement: Advances standardization and efficiency in quality systems.
• Communication: Communicates clearly and persuasively across all levels of the organization.

Benefits of Joining Albemarle

• Competitive compensation

• Comprehensive benefits package

• A diverse array of resources to support you professionally and personally.

We are partners to one another in pioneering new ways to be better for ourselves, our teams, and our communities. When you join Albemarle, you become our most essential element and you can anticipate competitive compensation, a comprehensive benefits package, and resources that foster your well-being and fuel your personal growth. Help us shape the future, build with purpose and grow together.