Very difficult question to answer! I think you'll find a lot of QA Managers have their responsibilities bleed into realms outside the traditional role. This makes it hard to get a consistent answer out of anyone, myself included.
Like others have mentioned, it's a difficult job because you're usually the one who has to give bad news, or make decisions which put product quality/safety over company profit or productivity. Fundamentally, I'd boil it down to this:
- Ensure compliance with local and federal regulations (FDA, USDA, etc.)
- Ensure compliance and maintain certification with 3rd party safety/quality organizations (SQF, GMP Certs, ISO, etc.)
- Manage customer complaint program
- Manage resolution of production deviations/rejected material
- Develop and maintain Quality Management System, including HACCP and Food Safety Plan
- Active member of product release system (Typically review records and sign off)
- Communicate food safety and quality issues to management team
- Maintain SOPs/Forms/Methods related to quality
- Manage the training of QA department
- Maintain the QA Laboratory (preventive maintenance, calibration, proficiency testing)
- Point person for facility audits
- Provide input to Engineering/R&D departments related to quality, for instance whether new equipment or processes are appropriate for the plant.
As I write this I find the list goes on and on...As a QA manager you'll find just about everything that happens can become "your problem" ![:ninja:](https://www.ifsqn.com/forum/public/style_emoticons/default/ninja.gif)