Manager, Quality Assurance

First-line manager

Career Explorer · Quality, Regulatory & Product Safety · Quality Assurance Management

M1 · ManagerIndividual contributorManager

Standard where organizational scale supports the level

What the role involves

Autonomy: One team
Scope: One team
Time horizon: Quarterly
Expertise and judgement: Owns people performance, staffing, delivery and team operating system
Expected impact: Team outcomes, engagement and capability

Expected skills (24)

Grouped as human, professional and technical. Target proficiency uses the P1–P5 scale, and each row says what that level means for that particular skill.

Human (11)

Skill	Importance	Target	What that level looks like
Coaching Collaboration & Leadership	Core	P3	Handles complex situations, adapts methods and coaches less-experienced colleagues.
Decision making Thinking & Judgment	Core	P3	Handles complex situations, adapts methods and coaches less-experienced colleagues.
Delegation Collaboration & Leadership	Core	P3	Handles complex situations, adapts methods and coaches less-experienced colleagues.
Executive communication Communication & Influence	Core	P3	Handles complex situations, adapts methods and coaches less-experienced colleagues.
Feedback delivery Collaboration & Leadership	Core	P3	Handles complex situations, adapts methods and coaches less-experienced colleagues.
Risk judgment Thinking & Judgment	Core	P3	Handles complex situations, adapts methods and coaches less-experienced colleagues.
Stakeholder management Communication & Influence	Core	P3	Handles complex situations, adapts methods and coaches less-experienced colleagues.
Strategic thinking Thinking & Judgment	Core	P3	Handles complex situations, adapts methods and coaches less-experienced colleagues.
Talent development Collaboration & Leadership	Core	P3	Handles complex situations, adapts methods and coaches less-experienced colleagues.
Conflict resolution Communication & Influence	Supporting	P3	Handles complex situations, adapts methods and coaches less-experienced colleagues.
Inclusive leadership Collaboration & Leadership	Supporting	P3	Handles complex situations, adapts methods and coaches less-experienced colleagues.

Professional (11)

Skill	Importance	Target	What that level looks like
Business acumen Business & Strategy	Core	P3	Handles complex situations, adapts methods and coaches less-experienced colleagues.
Financial acumen Business & Strategy	Core	P3	Handles complex situations, adapts methods and coaches less-experienced colleagues.
Performance management Business & Strategy	Core	P3	Handles complex situations, adapts methods and coaches less-experienced colleagues.
Corrective and Preventive Action (CAPA) Quality & Regulatory	Supporting	P3	Owns complex Corrective and Preventive Action (CAPA) cases/processes, improves controls and coaches colleagues.
Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) Quality & Regulatory	Supporting	P3	Owns complex Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) cases/processes, improves controls and coaches colleagues.
ISO 13485 Quality & Regulatory	Supporting	P3	Owns complex ISO 13485 cases/processes, improves controls and coaches colleagues.
Process validation Quality & Regulatory	Supporting	P3	Owns complex Process validation cases/processes, improves controls and coaches colleagues.
Quality Management Systems (QMS) Quality & Regulatory	Supporting	P3	Owns complex Quality Management Systems (QMS) cases/processes, improves controls and coaches colleagues.
Quality documentation Quality & Regulatory	Supporting	P3	Owns complex Quality documentation cases/processes, improves controls and coaches colleagues.
Quality risk management Quality & Regulatory	Supporting	P3	Owns complex Quality risk management cases/processes, improves controls and coaches colleagues.
Resource management Program, Risk & Sustainability	Supporting	P3	Handles complex situations, adapts methods and coaches less-experienced colleagues.

Technical (2)

Skill	Importance	Target	What that level looks like
Root cause analysis Quality Engineering & Statistics	Supporting	P3	Independently applies Root cause analysis to complex work, troubleshoots issues and improves local practice.
Statistical Process Control (SPC) Quality Engineering & Statistics	Supporting	P3	Independently applies Statistical Process Control (SPC) to complex work, troubleshoots issues and improves local practice.

Career ladder

Reached from

Supervisor / Team Lead, Quality AssuranceM0

Next steps

Senior Manager, Quality AssuranceM2Management promotion
Move from one-team management to multi-team or manager-of-managers scope; allocate resources across priorities and build leadership bench strength.

People management requires sustained evidence of coaching, performance management, staffing judgment and organizational leadership - not simply greater individual expertise.

What changes to advance

Move from one-team management to multi-team or manager-of-managers scope; allocate resources across priorities and build leadership bench strength.

Source: PROCOMER FTZ benchmark; SFIA; PMI · MF367-M1