Quality Manager - Major Infrastructure

Major UK infrastructure programme
Client-side assurance environment

I am supporting a major, nationally significant infrastructure programme in strengthening its client-side quality function. This is not a contractor QA/QC or site inspection role. It sits within the client technical authority and focuses on supply chain assurance, performance, and systemic improvement across a complex programme.

The role
You will operate as a quality subject matter expert to project delivery teams, with a clear focus on trends, themes, and systemic performance rather than individual non-conformances. The emphasis is on right first time delivery, data-led insight, and influencing improvement across organisations.
This is about understanding how well the supply chain’s processes are working, where systemic weaknesses sit, and what that means for delivery risk. You will translate quality data into management intelligence that senior stakeholders can act on.

Key responsibilities
Oversee supply chain compliance with contractual and management system requirements, including ISO 9001 and programme standards, with a focus on how processes perform in practice.
Plan and undertake risk-based audits and assurance activities across the supply chain. You will be audit-capable and credible, but this is not a pure auditor role.
Analyse trends from NCRs, defects, acceptance data, and assurance findings to identify systemic issues and root causes, not just report individual events.
Lead or support root cause analysis of recurring or programme-level quality failures.
Drive right first time performance, including monitoring acceptance rates of contractor deliverables and improving the quality of technical submissions.
Review and provide assurance on contractor quality documentation such as quality management plans and audit schedules.
Produce clear monthly quality reporting for senior leadership and external stakeholders, including executive level and DfT-facing reporting, focused on risk, trends, and improvement actions.
Support definition and evolution of quality KPIs as the project moves through different phases, ensuring measures remain meaningful to delivery risk.
Provide guidance and challenge to delivery teams and suppliers, helping them improve their own processes rather than stepping into line-by-line control of individual issues.
What this role is and is not
This is a programme-level governance, assurance, and improvement role. It looks at systems, processes, and trends across the supply chain. It is not about managing individual defects, acting as a site quality inspector, or running audits as a standalone function.

About you
You are likely operating at Chartered or Practitioner level in a quality, engineering, or assurance discipline. You have worked on major projects in environments such as rail, highways, nuclear, water, or large civil engineering programmes.
You will bring experience of:
Working within complex supply chains and understanding how quality management systems function in major project environments.
Delivering or leading audits and assurance activities, with formal lead auditor capability, even if audit has not been your sole role.
Analysing quality performance data to identify trends, themes, and systemic risks.
Leading or contributing to root cause analysis of significant or recurring failures.
Developing and reporting meaningful KPIs and performance measures that evolve with the stage of a project.
Producing management-level reports that inform executive decision making.
You are comfortable influencing senior stakeholders within major contractors and client teams, often without direct authority. You can operate at programme level, hold your ground technically, and focus conversations on process performance and delivery risk rather than isolated technical detail.
If you have been working within a Tier 1 or major specialist contractor and want to step into a broader client-side assurance role with programme-wide visibility, this is a strong move.