Principal Customer Quality Leader

Starkey is currently seeking a highly motivated and curious Principal Quality Leader to execute initiatives behind the scenes. This position is responsible for development, analysis and management of customer quality Key Performance Indicators and Quality Metrics, aligned with business improvement goals. This position may oversee large business improvement projects through the application of Lean Six Sigma and project management tools, ensuring connection to business objectives and substantiated by concrete analytics. This position has a strong emphasis on Lean management, high quality, zero waste and continuous improvement, the cornerstones of the Lean Six Sigma approach.

Starkey Hearing Technologies is a privately held, global hearing technology company headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. Founded in 1967, Starkey is known for its innovative design, development and distribution of comprehensive digital hearing systems. Starkey is the only American-owned provider of hearing technologies. The company has more than 5000 employees globally, operates 26 facilities and does business in more than 100 markets worldwide. Starkey’s product Livio AI was named to TIME’s list of the 100 Best Inventions of 2019.

Here’s a video about how Starkey is redefining the hearing healthcare industry, which features 13 employees: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rujbz9DCoI8

This position is responsible for development, analysis and management of customer quality Key Performance Indicators and Quality Metrics, aligned with business improvement goals. This position may oversee large business improvement projects through the application of Lean Six Sigma and project management tools, ensuring connection to business objectives and substantiated by concrete analytics. This position has a strong emphasis on Lean management, high quality, zero waste and continuous improvement, the cornerstones of the Lean Six Sigma approach.

This position ensures that the projects it leads increase the company’s competitive advantage and financial performance. The ultimate goal of this team member is to produce projects that have substantial financial impact or substantial improvement in perceptual quality impact to our products. This position will utilize lean six sigma tools that focus on performance and show how an improvement in performance creates a benefit to the company in improved satisfaction or has direct financial impact.

This position requires a lean six-sigma black belt or willingness to achieve within first 6 months of role. A black belt is a full-time lean six sigma project team leader responsible for implementing process improvement projects within the business. A black belt is responsible for being the leader in measuring, analyzing, improving and controlling key processes that influence customer satisfaction. This position must have the ability to influence project teams and be comfortable managing and driving change without direct authority. This person in this position must be a clear and effective communicator at all levels of the organization. This position must be comfortable with facilitating lean six sigma job duties such as Kaizen and Rapid Improvement Events (RIEs) and overseeing process improvement projects.

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES/RESULTS

•  Develop, implement, standardize and monitor reporting methods used to track Key Performance Indicators and Quality Metrics, aligned with business improvement goals.

•  Work with business functions to develop and implement data gathering techniques to identify and rank opportunities for continuous improvement in the areas of quality and customer satisfaction.

o Develops and uses clear criteria for guiding decisions.

o Identifies cause and effect relationships and root causes.

o Understands and evaluates numerical data, tables, charts, or graphs to get to the cause of the problem. o Performs calculations and combines quantitative information in order to diagnose and solve a problem.

•  Lead the delivery of large business improvement projects through the application of Lean Six Sigma and project management

tools.

o Quickly understands and uses processes, technologies and ideas that are continually being updated.

o Learns highly complex information regarding a product or operation.

•  Define potential projects to support the future growth of Starkey Hearing Technologies by identifying, quantifying and comparing project impact to customers, products and the business. Actively manage the prioritization process of recommended projects and participate in prioritization of overall customer quality project roadmap.

•  Actively identify potential risks and issues relating to the delivery of projects. Manage a resolution process in a timely manner, only escalating major issues.

•  Ensure data analytics align with projects to better serve our customers and establish Starkey as a “world class” quality organization

o Ensure data analytics provide an impact measurement and establish outcome expectations.

o Foster relationships across the organization to encourage discussion and evaluation of best practices for continuous improvement in the area of quality.

• Act as the customer quality analytics expert to senior leadership

o Work with other departments as necessary to ensure customer quality goals and performance align with company expectations

• Maintain a culture of service within the Customer Quality Team

o Lead from the front, clearly demonstrating the four pillars of the Starkey Way: attitude, commitment, integrity and selflessness approach.

•  Drive customer quality process improvements and updates using objective data and a continuous improvement methodology

o Ensure program and facility performance measurements are directly related to improving customer quality

o Standardize customer quality processes including test plan development, test documentation, test metrics, best practices, reporting and visibility.

o Facilitate achievement of business objectives using risk-based approach while ensuring customer quality is represented

•  Offer technical expertise in the area of audiologic and technical troubleshooting

•  Ensure knowledge management system is accurate, maintained, searchable, stable, and easily accessible to departments

outside of customer quality.

• Ensure Customer Quality captures, manages and analyzes customer complaints to ensure quality in product, process and service, supporting post market surveillance needs and requirements in analytics and reporting.

• Global support and alignment

o Intentionally look for ways to share learning, communicate and guide international customer quality global analytics.

•  Other duties/responsibilities as assigned

JOB REQUIREMENTS

Minimum Education, Certification and Experience Requirements
• Education
     o Bachelor’s degree in business or equivalent experience in the hearing industry field.

• Experience 

o 5 years of Starkey tenure with a career history of utilizing lean six sigma and project management tools or 10 years of  external experience utilizing black belt certification knowledge and applications to improve organizational performance.
o Lean Six Sigma black belt certification preferred but not required. Must be willing to obtain.

o Experience working with and influencing stakeholders at a senior manager level.

o Ability to lead cross functional teams

o Ability to influence without authority

Knowledge / Technical Requirements 

•    Expert knowledge of software systems including Microsoft Office applications

Competencies, Skills & Abilities 

•    Strong Leadership and communication skills

•    Excellent people leader with the ability to influence stakeholders at a senior manager level.
•    Analytical Thinking

•    Flexibility

•   Innovativeness
•   Adaptability

•  Excellent problem solving, negotiation, conflict management and decision-making skills
•  Ability to organize and execute a plan and strategy

• Strategic thinker with proven project management skills

• Excellent oral and written communication abilities; ability to function as a self-starter and without direct supervision

•  Ability to influence and impact internal and external customers diplomatically
•  Public speaking and training experience

WORK CONTEXT

Working Conditions 
• Normal office conditions; travel required

Equipment Operation 
• Normal office equipment

Salary and Other Compensation: 
The annual salary for this position is between $124,740.00 to $199,260.00/year. Factors which may affect starting pay within this range may include geography/market, skills, education, experience and other qualifications of the successful candidate.  

Benefits: 
The Company offers the following benefits for this position, subject to applicable eligibility requirements, include medical insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance, 401(k) retirement plan, life insurance, short-term disability insurance, long-term disability insurance, employee assistance program, hearing aid benefits, PTO, 6 paid holidays annually, 2 floater days annually, 1 volunteer service day annually, paid paternity leave, and tuition reimbursement.

#LI-KS1 

Salary : $124,740 - $199,260