Position: Tribe SQM Manager

Location: Hyvinkää, Finland

Reports to: Head of SQM

KONE is a global leader in the elevator and escalator industry: Our mission is to improve the flow of urban life by providing innovative solutions such as elevators, escalators, and automatic building doors. At KONE, we focus on creating value throughout the building lifecycle with cutting-edge technology and seamless processes that exceed customer expectations.

KONE Supply Chain is committed to building a resilient, locally accountable, yet globally harmonized supply chain that operates with agility. We work closely with our customers, partners, and stakeholders to address evolving market needs. Safety, quality, environment, and sustainability are key pillars driving our supply chain function.

As part of this vision, Supplier Quality Management (SQM) is a critical global function within the KONE Safety & Quality Organization. SQM ensures the delivery of high-quality materials and services by managing supplier relationships and enforcing KONE’s stringent quality and sustainability standards.

The Tribe SQM Manager is a techno-managerial role responsible for both strategic and operational aspects of supplier quality management. You will lead a global team (no direct reports) while playing a key role in driving supplier quality excellence across the upstream supply chain. This involves managing supplier selection, qualification, development, and ongoing performance to ensure that all suppliers meet KONE’s quality, sustainability, and safety requirements.

We seek a growth mindset individual capable of meeting goals and willing to go the extra mile when the situation demands it-ensuring that quality standards are met, even in challenging circumstances.

Key Responsibilities:

Team Leadership & Development: Be the contact point at Tribe Cross-function leadership team, participating in Tribe meetings, driving needed actions assigned to SQMs E.g. Quarterly planning governance activities.Supplier Performance Management: Oversee supplier qualification, development, and auditing processes, ensuring adherence to KONE’s quality standards. Also monitoring Global PPAP performance and ensuring team discipline & capacity for execution.Technical & Process Oversight: Collaborate with technical and business teams to define and implement product and process quality requirements for supplier categories.Continuous Improvement: Drive supplier development and risk mitigation projects, utilizing Lean Six Sigma methodologies to enhance supplier performance and reduce defects.Strategic Stakeholder Engagement: Work closely with cross-functional teams, including engineering, manufacturing, KTI, Frontlines to align tribe level strategy with overall business goals.Problem Solving & Root Cause Analysis: When supplier have a corporate level organization and global footprint you will be the single point of contact: Driving corporate level supplier continual improvement, deploy Lean mindset and lean tools at suppliers, contract setting, escalation and monitoring the supplier global performances.Compliance & Auditing: Ensure that suppliers comply with ISO 9001, 14001, and 45001 standards, and lead regular audits to assess their quality management systems.Upstream Supply Chain Optimization: Act as a key driver in optimizing the upstream supply chain by ensuring supplier quality readiness for new product launches and engineering changes through robust PPAP (Production Part Approval Process) management.

Qualifications & Skills:

Education: Bachelor's degree in engineering or a related technical field (M.Sc. preferred).Experience: 5-8 years of experience in supplier quality management, ideally in assembling, heavy industry manufacturing, or a similar manufacturing environment.Technical Expertise: Deep knowledge of quality auditing practices (ISO 9001, 14001, 45001) and experience with supplier qualification processes.Analytical & Problem-Solving Skills: Strong ability to analyse complex quality issues, identify root causes, and implement effective solutions.Project Management: Excellent organizational and project management skills, with experience in leading cross-functional teams.Language Skills: Fluency in English; proficiency in other European languages (e.g., Finnish, German, Spanish) is an advantage.Additional Certifications: Lean Six Sigma certification is a plus.Willingness to Travel: Flexibility to travel up to 30% of the time, both domestically and internationally.

Preferred Competencies:

Ability to navigate complex, technical discussions and engage with stakeholders across different functions.Strong negotiation and communication skills, with the ability to influence suppliers and internal teams in matrix environment.A proactive, result-driven attitude with a focus on continuous improvement and operational excellence.Willingness to go beyond regular expectations when required to ensure high-quality results.

Next Steps:

If you're enthusiastic about being part of a forward-thinking team that drives innovation and quality in the upstream supply chain, we'd love to hear from you. Please submit your application, including your CV, in English by 3rd of feb, via Workday.

At KONE, we are focused on creating an innovative and collaborative working culture where we value the contribution of each individual. Employee engagement is a key focus area for us and we encourage participation and the sharing of information and ideas. Sustainability is an integral part of our culture and the daily practice. We follow ethical business practices and we seek to develop a culture of working together where co-workers trust and respect each other and good performance is recognized. In being a great place to work, we are proud to offer a range of experiences and opportunities that will help you to achieve your career and personal goals and enable you to live a healthy and balanced life.

Read more on www.kone.com/careers