Reference: NAS00062
The Role
Location: Shenzhen, China or Warsaw, Poland
Grade: Local Grade 7
The NGP Heated Tobacco Product (HTP) Product Quality Lead is responsible for designing and managing the HTP Product Quality Framework (PQF), ensuring it meets current and future business needs while supporting product development, manufacturing, and distribution. The role oversees the implementation of the NGP Quality Management System (QMS) across all HTP manufacturing sites, ensuring consistent quality compliance. It defines key product attributes, develops quality measures, and maintains documentation for training and operational use. Additionally, the role manages quality incidents, analyzes trends, and drives improvement initiatives by validating corrective actions and sharing insights across relevant teams. Expertise in quality management, regulatory compliance (e.g., EUTPD, FDA), and manufacturing processes within the HTP sector is required. Strong analytical, leadership, and problem-solving skills are essential.
Principal Accountabilities
- Design, document and maintain the Product Quality Framework (PQF) for HT
- Evolve the PQF documentation concept to ensure its strategic direction is addressing the increasing product and manufacturer landscape, in alignment with the overall NGP QMS concept.
- Development of scientifically substantiated product and process quality criteria including fit for purpose product qualification processes, by using a product and process risk-based approach by liaising with – amongst others Global Engineering, NGP Innovation, NGP Operations to ensure a quality and cost-efficient framework that meets business and regulatory requirements, within the frame of realisation and/or agile I2L projects.
- Ensuring that the HT PQF is in line with legal requirements from FDA, EUTPD and/or other local market regulations – e.g. formal change control process, ensuring traceability standards are suitable, ensuring site requirements are clear (inc. ISO, GMP, RoHs,…)
- Ensure manufacturing readiness for new product introduction and coordinate the evaluation of Qualification and Zero Production results.
- Ensure consistency of measurement across sites of IQC, IPQC, OQC over time
- Maintenance: Critically review product quality framework over time, triggered by the electronic DMS review loop, feedback of all involved QMS stakeholders, or changed regulatory and consumer requirements. Managing on time delivery of the correct / updated quality documentation
- Accountable to implement the NGP Quality Management system (QMS) in manufacturing sites.
- Embedding and training: Act as the second line of defence relating to the embedment of the NGP QMS for the factories of Imperial Brands HT products (including contract manufacturers). Liaise with NGP Operations and factory Quality Managers across Imperial Brands & contract manufacturers to support on identification of training needs.
- Manage escalated HT quality incidents and Non-conformities:
- Ensure proper recording of Quality Incidents and management non-conformities and provide transparency
- Review acceptance criteria and make holistic recommendation on course of action.
- Monitor / analyse quality data (inc. consumer complaints and PQRS data)
- Ensure factories and/or central functions deal appropriately with proper RCAs, CAPAs and improvement projects and share learning with central functions as well as other sites.
- Manage HT consumer complaint analysis by ensuring monthly monitoring of complaint and sell out data, performing trend analysis, initiating appropriate actions to react on trends and communicate critical trends to senior stakeholders within the business
- Manage team resources and capabilities to meet business requirements and strategic goals through capability reviews, people development, succession planning and people’s engagement.
Critical Decisions
- Scope and level of quality control on HT products as part of the NGP QMS
- Level of acceptable risk as part of second line of defence
- Acceptance and Rejection criteria for new products
- Creation and resolution of NGP quality incidents and management non-conformities
Key Capabilities
- Setting and implementing Quality Standards, incl. acceptance and rejection criteria
- Regulatory expertise (PMTA, EUTPD, GMP, and others)
- Experience in the manufacturing of electronical components as well as tobacco containing products and their manufacturing processes
- Expertise with international HT device relevant standards (Medical device standard ISO 13485, safety standards like BS/EN/IEC 62133 or UL 1642, shipping UN 38.2, and others)
- Expertise with HT stick & Recon relevant industry standards (e.g. CORESTA)
- Expertise in Quality Management Systems (ISO 9001, ISO 2859, and others)
- Expertise in process improvement tools (Kaizen, Six Sigma,…)
- Quality incident management
- Experience with various RCA tools & CAPA definition & leading RCA teams
- Best practice sharing