Your purpose at Stanley/Stella
The Quality Assurance Manager oversees the end‑to‑end Quality strategy for all apparel products, materials, and manufacturing locations within the global supply chain. This role ensures that garments meet the brand’s quality standards, regulatory requirements, and customer expectations, while driving consistency, compliance, and continuous improvement across all product categories.
Your role and impact
1. Quality, Testing & Continuous Improvement- Define and lead the global Quality Assurance strategy covering raw materials (yarns, fabrics, trims), garment manufacturing, dyeing/finishing and packaging.
- Develop, update, and implement the Quality & Inspection Manual (QIM) with product‑specific standards (fabric performance, construction, sizing, workmanship).
- Establish and maintain testing protocols for apparel products across categories (jersey, fleece, outerwear, accessories) and across materials (cotton, blends, recycled fibers, synthetics).
- Manage fabric and garment testing workflows (dimensional stability, colorfastness, pilling, seam slippage, tearing strength, print durability etc).
- Digitalize and analyze quality KPIs across suppliers and product categories.
- Benchmark best‑in‑class quality assurance systems and drive continuous improvement initiatives.
2. Regulatory & Compliance - Ensure compliance with international apparel regulations including REACH, CPSIA, Prop 65, PFAS restrictions, fiber content rules, care labeling, and emerging sustainability regulations (e.g., EU Product Passport).
- Work closely with Sustainability and Materials teams to validate responsible fibers, chemical restrictions (RSL), and environmental compliance (ZDHC alignment where applicable).
- Maintain product integrity documentation for all finished goods.
3. Customer Claims & Market Feedback- Lead the investigation of customer complaints and claims related to garment quality, fit, print durability, color issues, or material defects.
- Collaborate with QA HQ, Customer Care, and supply chain teams to validate claims, determine root causes, and follow up with suppliers.
- Provide insights from claims to inform product development improvements and supplier training
4. Supplier Audits & Certifications- Coordinate 3rd‑party QA audits in countries where (e.g., SGS, Bureau Veritas, Intertek) for factory evaluations and factory capability assessments.
- Review audit reports, approve or reject shipments when necessary, and ensure closure of audit findings.
- Onboard and evaluate new quality partners or QA service providers in key sourcing countries.
About you
- 10+ years of experience in Quality Assurance within the apparel or textile manufacturing industry.
- Deep understanding of garment construction, fabric performance, color management, and decorative techniques.
- Strong knowledge of global apparel compliance standards (EU/US).
- Ability to interpret test reports (SGS, Intertek, BV) and technical specifications.
- Background in sustainability-related product compliance (PFAS, eco‑regulations, etc.).
- Strong analytical and leadership skills with experience in RCA and CAP frameworks.