Group Leader, Quality Assurance Division

Requisition Id 14727 

 

Overview:

We are seeking a Group Leader who is an experienced quality professional with a broad range of expertise in quality programs, including ISO 9001, NQA-1, and the development of customized quality programs. The ideal candidate will have experience managing a diverse team of quality professionals in support of world-class research and development, as well as operational excellence. This position resides in the Quality Assurance Division in the ESH&Q Directorate, at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL).  

 

As a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science national laboratory, ORNL has an impressive 80-year legacy of addressing the nation’s most pressing challenges. Our team is made up of over 7,000 dedicated and innovative individuals! Our goal is to create an environment where a variety of perspectives and backgrounds are valued, ensuring ORNL is known as a top choice for employment. These principles are essential for supporting our broader mission to drive scientific breakthroughs and translate them into solutions for energy, environmental, and security challenges facing the nation.

 

The Group Leader will be responsible for ensuring that contractual quality requirements are effectively integrated within the ORNL Quality Management System and other supporting management systems. This role involves managing a matrixed team of quality professionals who provide essential quality support to Science & Technological (S&T) organizations and includes offering oversight and technical guidance to ensure their success.

 

Major Duties/Responsibilities: 

The ideal candidate must be well-versed in regulatory requirements related to quality, nuclear, radiological, and safety standards, including knowledge of reportability criteria.

• Responsible for the direct supervision of deployed/matrixed S&T support quality representatives, including performance, salary, development, discipline, onboarding and offboarding.
• Ensure employees’ individual performance goals are set, progress evaluated, feedback provided, and performance issues addressed professionally and in a timely manner.
• Ensure qualification requirements are current and staff are properly trained to meet present and future needs by building new competencies, supporting long-term staff development, and using incentive and recognition programs.
• Establish and ensure an open and supportive working environment where staff report issues and concerns without fear of retribution so trust permeates the organization.
• Establish an environment where learning never stops, honest mistakes are treated as opportunities to learn, and challenges are welcomed as a means to improve performance.
• Encourage open and ongoing dialogue about safety to promote a questioning attitude, a healthy respect for what can go wrong, and continuous learning from operational experiences.
• Identify and understand customer needs while influencing the prioritization and development of quality initiatives.
• Assist S&T organizations in strategic staffing needs while leading efforts to recruit, select, and retain highly qualified and diverse Quality Assurance staff.
• Provide daily management of deployed quality professionals by responding to requests for guidance and interpretations of quality program requirements.
• Establish relationships and work effectively with external and internal stake holders to meet goals, improve performance, and exchange feedback and Lessons Learned on issues or concerns.
• Support Quality Assurance Division and Quality Management system to
  • Ensure that the institutional Quality Program adequately addresses to the ORNL contractual requirements related to quality including DOE Orders, legal requirements, and documented commitments.
  • Participate and drive performance monitoring program and relay key messages through established repo