Quality And Excellence Manager

Sunwest Aviation Ltd. is the leading Western Canadian operator of jet and turboprop charter aircraft. Our fleet consists of a wide variety of jets, turboprops and piston aircraft. Based on fleet diversity, Sunwest is able to offer excellent opportunity for advancement. With over twenty-five years of safe operation, we have established a solid reputation in the aviation industry. Operating from a modern facility in Calgary, our aircraft are available for charter to thousands of destinations not served by scheduled airlines.

We currently have an opportunity available for a Quality and Excellence Manager. Reporting to the Director of Safety, this position is responsible for performing the duties and responsibilities which include, but are not limited to, the following:

Duties and Responsibilities:

The objective of the Quality & Excellence Manager position is to develop, manage, and continuously improve a practical, risk-based, process-oriented, and lean-informed quality assurance program that supports Sunwest’s regulatory obligations, operational effectiveness, organizational quality objectives, continual improvement, management review, and strategic direction. The program retains regulatory audits, internal audits, corrective action management, and effectiveness verification as fundamental components while applying ISO-based quality management and lean management principles to evaluate process implementation, control effectiveness, performance trends, customer and operational feedback, value-added activities, waste, variation, and risk-based improvement opportunities.

The role applies across Sunwest’s diverse and evolving activities, including flight operations quality, ground handling, occupational health and safety, aeromedical operations, customer service, and other assigned operational or support areas. It is responsible for establishing and maintaining an internal audit program that is scoped to regulatory requirements, applicable standards, company procedures, operational risk, process performance, and organizational quality objectives. The position functions as a collaborative business support role by helping operational departments achieve compliance, operational effectiveness, continual improvement, and alignment with Sunwest’s strategic direction while maintaining auditor independence, objectivity, and professional judgment. A qualified individual in this role will bring relevant experience and knowledge of aviation regulatory and quality management frameworks, with demonstrated program management competence within ISO-based and aviation audit environments.

Quality Assurance Program Development and Oversight

• Develop, manage, and continuously improve a risk-based, process-oriented, and lean-informed quality assurance program that reflects Sunwest’s regulatory obligations, client requirements, internal standards, ISO-based quality management principles, lean management principles, organizational quality objectives, and operational risk profile.

• Apply the program across Sunwest’s current and evolving operational scope, including flight operations quality, ground handling, occupational health and safety, aeromedical operations, Safety Management System (SMS), customer service, and other assigned operational or support activities.

• Support the development, monitoring, analysis, and reporting of quality objectives, process performance indicators, customer or operational feedback, and improvement priorities that demonstrate program effectiveness and support management review.
• Champion lean management principles by helping departments identify value-added activities, reduce waste and variation, simplify processes, improve flow, and strengthen practical controls without compromising regulatory compliance, safety, quality, or audit independence.

• Internal Audits, Findings, and Corrective Actions

• Plan, lead, document, and support regulatory and internal audits in accordance with accepted audit principles, company procedures, ISO-based practices, and applicable aviation quality or safety frameworks.
• Assess conformity, implementation, and effectiveness of regulatory, procedural, contractual, and organizational controls, including whether those controls are understood, implemented, effective, and supporting intended regulatory, operational, quality, safety, and customer-service outcomes.
• Use audit results to identify systemic issues, emerging trends, recurring non-conformities, ineffective controls, and opportunities to improve compliance, operational performance, quality outcomes, and management oversight.
• Prepare clear audit reports that identify objective evidence, findings, observations, opportunities for improvement, systemic issues, and emerging trends.
• Support departments in developing effective corrective and preventive action plans, including root cause analysis, risk-based prioritization, implementation tracking, and verification that completed actions address the identified causes and reduce recurrence risk.
• Escalate significant compliance, safety, quality, or operational concerns to the Director of Safety and applicable department leaders in a timely manner.
• Establish audit schedules, scopes, criteria, checklists, sampling methods, and reporting processes that are proportionate to regulatory obligations, operational risk, process performance, and compliance priorities.
• Recommend improvements that strengthen compliance, process effectiveness, operational performance, customer-focused support, lean practices, continual improvement, and management oversight.

• Regulatory, Standards, and Management of Change Support

• Monitor applicable regulatory, standards, and client-driven requirements that may affect flight operations quality, ground handling, occupational health and safety, aeromedical operations, and related support functions.
• Coordinate and facilitate Management of Change activities by collaborating with operational leaders, assessing regulatory, operational, quality, and safety impacts of proposed changes, recommending appropriate controls, and verifying implementation effectiveness.
• Document and communicate relevant changes, compliance dates, implementation expectations, and potential operational impacts to affected stakeholders.
• Assist with updates to manuals, procedures, checklists, forms, training material, and other controlled documents within the position’s area of expertise.

• Program Reporting, Records, and Continuous Improvement

• Maintain accurate records of audit plans, audit reports, findings, corrective actions, verification activities, quality reviews, and related program outputs.
• Prepare quality assurance and audit program reports for management review, department leadership, client review, regulatory inspection, external audit, and other approved purposes, including audit performance, finding and corrective action status, quality objectives, process performance trends, significant risks, improvement opportunities, and resource or support requirements.
• Analyze audit results, quality data, corrective action performance, customer or operational feedback, and other relevant evidence to identify trends, recurring issues, systemic causes, ineffective controls, waste, variation, and opportunities for continual improvement.
• Provide training, coaching, and technical support to managers, auditors, and employees involved in quality assurance, audit readiness, corrective action management, lean practices, and continuous improvement activities.

The successful candidate should possess the following qualifications and competencies. In addition personality profiling will be required of all candidates granted an interview for this position.

Qualifications, Experience and Competencies:

• Post-secondary education in aviation, quality management, safety management, occupational health and safety, business, health sciences, or a related discipline is preferred.

• A combination of relevant aviation experience, quality assurance experience, and formal training may be accepted in lieu of post-secondary education.

• Successful completion of recognized lead auditor training is required or must be obtained within an approved timeframe.

• ISO-based quality management system training, aviation quality or safety management system training, lean management training, or equivalent audit framework training is preferred.

• Training in SMS, investigations, root cause analysis, corrective action management, risk management, or occupational health and safety is considered an asset.

Professional & specific Expertise

• Relevant aviation experience in an operational, safety, quality, regulatory compliance, audit, or management role.

• Demonstrated lead auditor competence within ISO-based, aviation, safety management, or comparable quality assurance frameworks.
• Practical experience developing, managing, or participating in internal audit programs, including audit planning, checklist development, evidence review, report writing, finding classification, corrective action tracking, and effectiveness verification.
• Working knowledge of commercial aviation operations and applicable regulatory frameworks, including flight operations quality, ground handling, maintenance interfaces, safety management systems, occupational health and safety, and aeromedical or client-specific operational requirements.
• Ability to interpret regulatory requirements, company manuals, standards, procedures, contracts, and operational risk information and translate them into practical audit criteria and program controls.
• Experience supporting management of change, process improvement, lean practices, document control, training development, investigations, root cause analysis, and corrective or preventive action management.
• Preference may be given to candidates who hold, or have held, a relevant aviation credential, license, certificate, or operational qualification, including pilot, aircraft maintenance engineer, flight operations, ground operations, safety, quality, or aeromedical-related qualifications.
• Ability to communicate effectively with operational leaders, auditors, employees, regulators, clients, and external auditors while maintaining auditor independence, professional judgment, and confidentiality

• Competencies Required for Effective Performance

• Strong commitment to ethical audit practices, confidentiality, independence, objectivity, and professional conduct.
• Ability to apply risk-based thinking to audit planning, finding evaluation, corrective action prioritization, and continuous improvement.
• Ability to champion lean management principles by identifying waste, variation, rework, duplication, and non-value-added activity, and by supporting practical improvements that strengthen process flow, quality, safety, compliance, and customer value.
• Strong attention to detail, documentation discipline, and ability to evaluate objective evidence against regulatory, procedural, and standards-based requirements.
• Strong diplomacy, professional curiosity, interviewing skills, and conflict management skills when working with operational departments and external parties.
• Strong personal accountability, initiative, organization, and ability to manage multiple audit and quality assurance priorities within defined timelines.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to prepare clear audit reports, management summaries, briefing notes, and corrective action communications.
• Ability to work collaboratively with leaders and subject matter experts while exercising diplomacy, professional curiosity, and sound judgment in situations involving competing operational, compliance, quality, or customer-service priorities.
• Ability to partner with operational departments by providing practical, customer-focused quality assurance support while maintaining auditor independence and helping departments achieve compliance, operational effectiveness, and continual improvement.
• Sound knowledge of Sunwest’s safety and quality systems, or the ability to develop that knowledge quickly.
• Competence using Microsoft Office and other approved systems for audit planning, data analysis, records management, reporting, and presentation of quality assurance information.
• Ability to adapt to changing operational scope, regulatory expectations, client requirements, and organizational priorities.

Principal Safety Accountabilities

• Adhere to the safety accountabilities established in Sunwest’s SMS Manual and support the effective functioning of the safety and quality systems by identifying hazards, reporting safety or quality concerns, protecting audit integrity, supporting corrective action completion, championing lean and continuous improvement practices, and promoting practical improvement across assigned operational areas.

Sunwest offers a competitive, performance-based salary and a comprehensive benefits package, including dental, extended health, life insurance, AD&D, short-term & long-term disability, an Employee & Family Assistance Program, and Group RRSP plan matching. Offering a safe, diverse and innovative environment, Sunwest is respected for integrity and is committed to taking care of our customers, our employees, our partners and our community.

Sunwest Aviation is committed to employment equity and will consider the qualifications, education, knowledge and experience of all candidates. We encourage all candidates to apply and the most qualified candidate will be offered the position.