Role: Quality Lead

Document ID: SW-QMS-ROLE-001-v1.0
Effective Date: [TBD]
Review Date: [TBD]
Reports to: CEO
Current Assignment: [TBD - Name to be assigned by management]

Role Summary

The Quality Lead is responsible for establishing, implementing, maintaining, and continually improving Swedwise AB's Quality Management System (QMS) in accordance with ISO 9001:2015 requirements. The Quality Lead ensures that customer focus, process quality, and service delivery excellence are maintained across the organization, supporting Swedwise's commitment to "Make Time For The Good."

This role works in close collaboration with the IMS Owner to ensure integration of quality management with environmental and information security management systems.

Time Allocation

• Implementation Phase: 15-20% of working time
• Ongoing Operations: 10-15% of working time
• Customer Issue Resolution: Variable (as needed)
• Audit Periods: Up to 25% of working time

This is a part-time functional role designed to be combined with other operational responsibilities appropriate to Swedwise's size (~35 employees) and business model.

Key Responsibilities

1. Quality Management System Leadership

• Establish and maintain the QMS framework in accordance with ISO 9001:2015
• Define and document quality processes and procedures
• Ensure the QMS is appropriate for Swedwise's context and business model
• Promote a quality-focused culture throughout the organization
• Champion process-based thinking and the PDCA cycle
• Drive integration of quality management into daily operations

2. Customer Satisfaction Management

• Develop and maintain customer satisfaction measurement mechanisms
• Coordinate customer satisfaction surveys and feedback collection
• Analyze customer satisfaction data and trends
• Report customer satisfaction metrics to management
• Lead initiatives to improve customer satisfaction scores
• Ensure customer feedback is incorporated into improvement planning
• Monitor Net Promoter Score (NPS) or similar metrics

3. Process Quality Oversight

• Identify and document key quality processes across the organization
• Monitor process performance through appropriate metrics and KPIs
• Conduct process reviews and identify improvement opportunities
• Ensure process owners understand their quality responsibilities
• Coordinate process effectiveness evaluations
• Support process standardization and best practice sharing
• Monitor service delivery quality at customer sites

4. Customer Feedback and Complaints Management

• Ensure effective processes for receiving customer feedback
• Oversee the customer complaint handling process
• Monitor complaint resolution timelines and effectiveness
• Analyze complaint trends and root causes
• Report significant customer issues to management
• Ensure lessons learned from complaints are shared
• Verify customer satisfaction with complaint resolution

5. Service Delivery Quality

• Monitor quality of consulting services delivered to customers
• Coordinate with project managers on quality assurance activities
• Ensure customer requirements are clearly understood and met
• Oversee handover processes between sales, delivery, and support
• Monitor customer onboarding quality
• Ensure consistent service quality across offices and consultants
• Support Customer Success team with quality-related matters

6. Quality Metrics and Reporting

• Define and maintain quality KPIs and performance indicators
• Collect and analyze quality data from across the organization
• Prepare quality performance reports for management reviews
• Track progress against quality objectives
• Identify trends requiring management attention
• Benchmark quality performance where appropriate
• Maintain quality dashboards and reporting mechanisms

7. Nonconformity and Corrective Action (Quality Domain)

• Oversee quality-related nonconformities and corrective actions
• Ensure root cause analysis is conducted for quality issues
• Monitor effectiveness of quality corrective actions
• Track closure of quality-related findings
• Escalate systemic quality issues to management
• Coordinate with IMS Owner on cross-domain issues

8. Support for IMS Owner on QMS Matters

• Provide subject matter expertise on ISO 9001 requirements
• Support internal audits of quality processes
• Contribute to management review preparations (quality section)
• Participate in integrated risk assessments (quality risks)
• Coordinate quality-specific training needs
• Maintain quality-related documentation
• Support certification body audits on QMS matters

9. Supplier and Partner Quality

• Monitor quality of services from key suppliers and partners
• Provide input to supplier evaluation processes
• Track quality issues with external providers
• Coordinate quality requirements in supplier contracts
• Support evaluation of critical suppliers (e.g., OpenText, cloud providers)
• Ensure quality considerations in procurement decisions

10. Quality Training and Awareness

• Identify quality competence needs across the organization
• Coordinate quality-specific training activities
• Develop quality awareness materials and communications
• Ensure new employees understand quality requirements
• Promote understanding of customer requirements
• Foster a culture of quality and continuous improvement

Authority

The Quality Lead has authority to:

Decision-Making Authority

• Approve quality procedures and work instructions
• Classify quality issues and determine priority levels
• Stop or suspend processes with serious quality deficiencies (with escalation to CEO)
• Require quality assessments for new services or processes
• Approve quality-related improvements and initiatives (within scope)
• Mandate quality training for staff with quality-critical roles

Escalation Authority

• Escalate quality issues directly to CEO when necessary
• Request immediate action from department heads on quality matters
• Invoke customer escalation procedures for service quality issues
• Require quality reviews for problematic projects or services

Resource Authority

• Request resources for quality improvement initiatives
• Recommend allocation of personnel to quality projects
• Engage external quality consultants (within approved budget)
• Prioritize quality improvement initiatives in consultation with IMS Owner

Limitations

• Major expenditures require CEO approval
• Risk acceptance decisions rest with senior management
• Business decisions remain with business unit leaders
• Quality Lead advises but does not override operational authority

Required Competencies

Education and Qualifications

Minimum:

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Quality Management, or related field
• OR equivalent practical experience in quality management or customer service (3+ years)

Preferred:

• Formal quality management training
• ISO 9001 Lead Auditor or Lead Implementer certification
• Project management or process improvement training (Lean, Six Sigma, etc.)

Professional Certifications (Recommended)

Highly Recommended:

• ISO 9001 Lead Implementer or Lead Auditor
• ISO 9001 Internal Auditor certification

Valuable:

• Lean Six Sigma (Green Belt or Black Belt)
• ITIL Foundation (for IT service management context)
• Customer Experience (CX) or Customer Success certifications
• Project management certification (PMP, PRINCE2, Agile)

Experience

Essential:

• Minimum 3 years experience in quality management, customer service, or process improvement
• Experience implementing quality processes in business environments
• Understanding of ISO 9001 requirements
• Experience with customer satisfaction management
• Knowledge of consulting or professional services environment

Desirable:

• Previous involvement in ISO 9001 certification project
• Experience in IT consulting or SaaS business models
• Process improvement project experience
• Internal audit experience
• Customer-facing role experience

Skills and Competencies

Analytical Skills:

• Data analysis and interpretation
• Trend identification and root cause analysis
• Performance metrics design and monitoring
• Problem-solving and continuous improvement

Communication Skills:

• Excellent written and verbal communication in English and Swedish
• Ability to communicate with customers professionally
• Presentation and facilitation skills
• Stakeholder management and influencing

Organizational Skills:

• Process documentation and mapping
• Project coordination and management
• Multi-tasking and priority management
• Attention to detail and follow-through

Interpersonal Skills:

• Customer empathy and service orientation
• Collaboration and teamwork
• Conflict resolution and complaint handling
• Coaching and mentoring abilities

Personal Attributes

• Customer-focused mindset
• Quality-oriented and detail-conscious
• Pragmatic and solution-oriented approach
• Ability to balance quality with business efficiency
• Diplomatic and tactful in handling sensitive issues
• Proactive and self-motivated
• Continuous learner and improvement advocate
• Calm under pressure when handling customer issues

Key Relationships

Stakeholder	Nature of Interaction	Frequency
CEO	Reports to; receives resources; escalates quality issues	Bi-weekly
Management Team	Quality performance reporting; collaborates on quality initiatives	Monthly
IMS Owner	Coordinates on IMS integration; joint management review preparation	Weekly
CISO	Collaborates on security aspects of quality; shared audit activities	Bi-weekly
Environmental Lead	Coordinates on integrated management activities	Bi-weekly
Customer Success Team	Customer feedback collection; complaint handling coordination	Weekly
Sales Team	Customer requirements; quality in proposals and contracts	As needed
Project Managers	Service delivery quality; project quality assurance	Monthly
Consultants	Service quality standards; customer satisfaction	As needed
Resource Management	Training coordination; competence management	Monthly
Customers	Customer satisfaction surveys; complaint resolution	As needed
Certification Body	QMS audit liaison; certification maintenance	During audits

Relationship with Other IMS Roles

IMS Owner

• Collaboration Model: Quality Lead owns the QMS domain while IMS Owner coordinates overall IMS
• Division of Responsibility: Quality Lead manages customer satisfaction, process quality, and QMS-specific activities; IMS Owner ensures integration with EMS and ISMS
• Interaction: Weekly coordination meetings; joint management review preparation; shared audit program

CISO

• Collaboration Model: Complementary roles with some overlap (e.g., service quality and security)
• Division of Responsibility: Quality Lead focuses on customer satisfaction and process quality; CISO focuses on information security
• Interaction: Coordinate on customer security requirements; joint approach to service quality

Environmental Lead

• Collaboration Model: Peers with shared IMS responsibilities
• Division of Responsibility: Quality Lead focuses on customer and process quality; Environmental Lead focuses on environmental aspects
• Interaction: Joint participation in management reviews; shared continuous improvement initiatives

Performance Indicators

KPI	Target	Measurement Method
Customer Satisfaction Score	>= 4.0/5.0 (or 80%)	Quarterly customer surveys
Net Promoter Score (NPS)	>= 30	Annual/bi-annual NPS surveys
Customer Complaint Response Time	100% acknowledged within 24 hours	Complaint tracking system
Complaint Resolution Rate	90% resolved within agreed timescales	Complaint register analysis
Quality Training Completion	100% of staff trained within 3 months of joining	Training records
Process Performance Monitoring	100% of key processes reviewed annually	Process review schedule
Quality Objectives Achievement	80% of quality objectives achieved	Objectives register review
Audit Findings Closure	90% of quality findings closed within agreed timescale	Audit tracking system
Customer Reference Availability	Minimum 5 active customer references	Reference tracking
Service Delivery Quality	<5% of projects with significant quality issues	Project review data

Delegation and Backup

During Planned Absence

Responsibilities are delegated in the following manner:

• Customer complaints: Delegated to Customer Success Manager (pre-designated)
• Urgent quality issues: Directed to CEO or designated manager
• Quality metrics: Delegated to IMS Owner for reporting
• Routine quality activities: Can be deferred for short absences

Deputy Role

A deputy Quality Lead should be designated from:

• Customer Success Manager
• Senior Project Manager
• IMS Owner (as backup)

The deputy should receive appropriate training and regular briefings to assume responsibilities during absences.

Success Factors

The Quality Lead will be successful when:

1. Customer Satisfaction: Swedwise maintains high customer satisfaction scores and positive customer relationships
2. Quality Culture: Quality awareness and customer focus are embedded in daily operations
3. Process Excellence: Key processes are documented, monitored, and continuously improved
4. Certification: Swedwise maintains ISO 9001 certification with minimal findings
5. Customer Retention: High customer retention rates and low churn
6. Reputation: Swedwise is recognized for quality service delivery in the market
7. Efficiency: Quality processes add value without creating unnecessary bureaucracy
8. Integration: Quality management is effectively integrated with environmental and security management

Document Control

Version	Date	Author	Changes
1.0	[TBD]	[Author]	Initial release

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Approval

Role	Name	Signature	Date
CEO
IMS Owner