Interim Quality & Operational Recovery Lead
Interim Search has been entrusted with filling the position of Senior Interim Quality & Operational Recovery Lead for an international automotive group. The business is currently facing a critical situation regarding quality and customer satisfaction, and the primary focus of this assignment is to restore control over quality, ensure that root causes are addressed, and verify that corrective actions have a lasting effect. You will hold a central operational role working closely with the company’s Managing Director and local management. You will drive the recovery effort across functions, clarify priorities and responsibilities, and ensure that decisions are translated into concrete actions throughout the organization. Delivery capability is an additional area of focus, where you will support management and drive the follow-up of already established improvement plans. The role requires someone who is equally comfortable on the production floor as they are in dialogue with senior management and customers. You are expected to be able to transform complex quality issues into a clear, fact-based recovery plan and contribute to professional presentations and decision-making materials at the highest level.
Main duties:
- You will be given a clear operational mandate to prioritize initiatives, oversee their implementation, and challenge current work practices and the division of responsibilities. The relevant managers and departments will report to you on an ongoing basis, and you will ensure that status updates, deviations, and results are reported directly to the Managing Director.
- Develop a comprehensive and prioritized recovery plan within the first 10 business days, with clear owners, deadlines, expected outcomes, and verification procedures for each activity.
- Establish and lead daily morning and afternoon stand-up meetings to monitor implementation, remove obstacles, and escalate deviations. Work should begin immediately—not only once the plan is complete.
- Drive and challenge root cause analyses (RCA), containment, and corrective actions so that they address the actual technical and systemic root causes and yield sustainable results.
- Monitor quality and the effectiveness of corrective actions using relevant KPIs, including customer complaints/customer escapes, PPM/internal defect rate, containment effectiveness, and corrective actions completed on time.
- Verify on-site that the agreed-upon measures have been implemented, are working in practice, and do not lead to recurring problems.
- Coordinate efforts among quality, production, engineering, logistics, maintenance, and other relevant functions, and support the managers in charge in maintaining the pace and direction.
- Support the Managing Director in delivery-related improvements by reviewing existing action plans and highlighting deviations and dependencies.
- Monitor critical technical improvements, including the vision/camera inspection solution, with clearly defined responsibilities, risks, milestones, and impact tracking.
- Provide a requested customer analysis within a 14-day period, including a management summary, an analysis of key issues, concrete actions, and recovery plans.
- The final presentation and backup materials must be ready no later than two business days before the client meeting.
- Work alongside the Managing Director at the client’s senior management meeting and during the presentation on the recovery efforts.
- Establish work processes and governance structures that can be transferred to and sustained within the line organization.
To be eligible for the role:
- You have documented experience with quality escalations, customer complaints, and other critical quality situations in the manufacturing industry, and can immediately demonstrate concrete, time-sensitive, and measurable results from your work. You take immediate action, drive initiatives all the way through to implementation, and follow up daily on changes, responsibilities, and results until the problems are resolved and the impact is verified.
- You have experience in the automotive industry, either as an OEM or a supplier (Tier 1/Tier 2), preferably with quality escalations, customer complaints, or other critical quality situations.
- You have strong practical skills in problem-solving, root cause analysis, containment, and corrective actions, as well as experience in tracking actual results.
- You have worked closely with production and engineering and can engage in a credible dialogue with operators, engineers, department heads, and management.
- You can lead across functions, influence priorities, and drive implementation even without direct responsibility for staff.
- You are accustomed to organizing complex information into clear action plans, status reports, and professional presentations for senior management and clients.
- You are fluent in English. Knowledge of Swedish is a plus but not required.
Meritorious:
- Experience with IATF 16949, 8D, APQP, PPAP, FMEA, SPC, and MSA.
- Experience working both on the OEM side and with automotive suppliers.
- Experience with automated quality control, vision/camera inspection, or the industrialization of quality solutions.
- Experience in establishing daily management, KPI monitoring, and sustainable improvement processes.
Personal characteristics:
- You are proactive, organized, and calm even when the pressure is high.
- You combine analytical acumen with clear and hands-on operational leadership.
- You dare to challenge inadequate solutions and demand facts, accountability, and verifiable results.
- You quickly build trust, get people to work together, and see things through to the end.
- You communicate clearly and professionally and are able to switch seamlessly between the factory floor and senior decision-making forums.
About the process
This is a full-time position (100 %) on-site at the client’s location. The position is available immediately. The assignment is initially for approximately 6 months. The application deadline is October 7, 2026, but screening and interviews will be conducted on an ongoing basis.
Are you available and have the right profile? Welcome with your application!
