Quality Distribution Leader

Job ID: 13756 

Alternate Locations:  

Newell Brands is a leading consumer products company with a portfolio of iconic brands like Graco®, Coleman®, Oster®, Rubbermaid®, Sharpie® and Yankee Candle® - and 24,000 talented teammates around the world. Our culture is built on values in action: Integrity, Teamwork, Passion for Winning, Ownership, and Leadership. We work together to win, grow, and make a real impact—supported by a high-performing, inclusive, and collaborative environment where you can be your best, every day.

General Responsibility

The Quality Leader is responsible for establishing, sustaining, and continuously improving a strong quality culture across distribution operations. This role serves as the Voice of Quality for the site, ensuring product integrity, compliance to standards, effective loss containment, and proactive risk mitigation while enabling operations to meet service, safety, and cost objectives. The role bridges floor-level execution with site-level leadership, partnering closely with Operations, Inventory Control, Logistics, VAS, and PEAK/OPEX leadership.

Key Duties & Responsibilities

• Acts as the site authority for quality standards, defect categorization, and accept/reject decisions.
• Owns escalation, containment, and corrective action of quality escapes and high-risk issues.
• Establishes consistent application of quality policies, controls, and documentation across all shifts.
• Owns site-level Loss Analysis for quality-driven losses (damage, mis-picks, rework, shortages).
• Tracks, trends, and communicates Cost of Failure (COF) metrics to site leadership.
• Leads structured root-cause problem solving (DMAIC) and verifies effectiveness of countermeasures.
• Maintains daily Gemba presence focused on top loss drivers and repeat quality defects.
• Leads real-time containment to the last known acceptable inspection point.
• Partners with supervisors and team leaders to support rapid, sound quality decisions without disrupting flow.
• Ensures execution of in-process, outbound, and special inspections (Finished Goods, NP components, supplied items).
• Supports internal audits, corrective action follow-up, and audit readiness.
• Ensures all quality activities comply with safety, OSHA, and company requirements.
• Develops and delivers quality training aligned to distribution risks (damage, handling, labeling, pack integrity).
• Coaches supervisors, team leaders, and associates on defect prevention, escalation paths, and documentation.
• Provides functional guidance and mentorship to Quality Technicians (dotted-line leadership).
• Partners with Operations, Inventory Control, Logistics, VAS, Maintenance, and PEAK/OPEX leaders to align quality actions with service and cost goals.
• Participates in daily execution meetings to communicate risk, trends, and recovery actions.
• Regular communication with cross-functional teams including Segment Quality Engineers and engagement in the quarterly Segment Quality Management Review.

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Strong leadership and team management skills.
• Effective communication (written and verbal) and interpersonal abilities.
• Project management experience.
• Ability to work with minimal supervision and handle multiple facilities.
• Highly organized and able to thrive in a fast-paced environment.
• Proficiency with MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, Outlook).
• Proficient in PkMS, SAP, Workforce, .
• Ability to coach, teach, and develop staff.
• Innovative and open to new concepts and process improvements.

Minimum Qualifications

• Strong working knowledge of Quality systems, defect management, audits, and root-cause analysis.
• Proven ability to influence without direct authority in fast-paced distribution environments.
• Data-driven, with demonstrated experience using loss analysis and COF metrics.
• Excellent communication, coaching, and decision-making skills.
• Bachelor’s Degree in Management, Business, Supervision, Distribution, or equivalent experience.
• 3+ years in a leadership role within a Quality environment.
• Demonstrated success in project management and operational improvement.

Preferred Characteristics

• Desire for continued professional development and advancement.
• Experience managing both hourly and salaried staff.
• Willingness to work irregular hours and travel as needed for business or corporate functions.

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Newell Brands (NASDAQ: NWL) is a leading global consumer goods company with a strong portfolio of well-known brands, including Rubbermaid, Sharpie, Graco, Coleman, Rubbermaid Commercial Products, Yankee Candle, Paper Mate, FoodSaver, Dymo, EXPO, Elmer’s, Oster, NUK, Spontex and Campingaz. We are focused on delighting consumers by lighting up everyday moments. Newell Brands and its subsidiaries are Equal Opportunity Employers and comply with applicable employment laws. EOE/M/F/Vet/Disabled are encouraged to apply.