Senior Manager Quality Management Systems and Governance

We at Yara are part of a global network, collaborating to profitably and responsibly solve some of the world's key challenges - resource scarcity, food insecurity and environmental change.

About the Unit

Yara Africa & Asia (YAA) produces, sells, distributes and markets fertilizers and industrial products across Asia Pacific and Africa. With offices location and operational units in 20 countries, the region employs over 2000 employees and has a long history in the Asian Pacific and African markets, focusing on developing crop nutrition concepts that increase food production and creating value to the growers - in particular smallholder farmers - whilst minimizing environmental impact of agricultural activities.

YAA is currently undergoing a major transformation, aimed at shifting the existing business models, to generate new revenue streams and ultimately deliver profits in line with Yara’s stragtegy. A disruptive growth agenda has therefore been put in place to optimize the current portfolio, accelerate digital adoption, partnerships and improve sustainability and farmer’s livelihoods in the YAA countries.

The Senior Manager, Quality Management Systems & Governance (Africa & Asia) is a senior functional specialist responsible for driving excellence, consistency, and compliance in Quality Management Systems (QMS) and governance frameworks across Yara Africa & Asia (YAA). This role provides expert guidance, ensures alignment with global standards, supports regional/business unit leaders, and strengthens the organisation’s ability to deliver safe, compliant, and high-quality operations. The position influences through expertise rather than direct people management and plays a key role in capability building, assurance, and continuous improvement..

The role reports to VP HESQ & Operations Yara Africa & Asia (YAA).

Responsibilities

QMS Leadership & Governance

Act as the regional subject-matter expert for QMS, governance, and related standards.
Ensure that Yara’s Steering System (YSS) framework, policies, and procedures are effectively deployed across Africa & Asia, ensuing regional ownership across all domains/functions.
Maintain alignment with global QMS and HESQ governance requirements, including ISO standards, corporate frameworks, and industry best practice.
Support countries and business units in preparing for and maintaining external certifications (e.g., ISO 9001/14001/45001 and International Fertiliser Association Protect & Sustain, where applicable).
Ensure governance mechanisms (document control, change management, Management Reviews) are robust and consistent.

Assurance & Compliance

Provide expert oversight on QMS compliance and maturity across the region.
Conduct or support regional audits, maturity assessments, and gap analyses—ensuring availability of regional and local audit plans.
Monitor performance indicators and governance metrics; identify systemic issues and improvement opportunities.
Track and report regional compliance risks, corrective actions, and trends to YAA leadership.
Conduct and monitor YAA’s Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) assessment with YAA leadership.

Continuous Improvement & Standardisation

Manage development, harmonisation and maintenance Africa & Asia’s regional Yara Management System (YMS) across all functions.
Lead in the development of local YMS sites across all countries and business units in YAA.
Support in development and harmonisation of YAA’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system.
Facilitate knowledge transfer, best practice sharing, and adoption of digital tools and QMS technology platforms.

Regional Support & Collaboration

Provide expert guidance, coaching, and advisory support to local HESQ leads, and operations, in YAA.
Work closely with regional leadership, global QMS leads, and functional specialists to ensure integrated governance.
Contribute to global QMS development by bringing insights from YAA into the Corporate HESQ team.
Provide subject‑matter input into global HESQ policy updates, system redesign, and governance evolution.
Support post‑incident learning processes where QMS or governance elements are relevant.

Capability Building

Strengthen organisational capability in QMS and governance through training, mentoring, and development support.
Develop tools, guides, templates, and training materials to enhance local competency and consistency.

Profile

Essential

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Quality, Operations, HESQ, or a related technical field.
Extensive experience (7–12+ years) working with QMS, including ISO 9001 and related management systems.
Proven track record in governance, quality systems implementation, and assurance in a regional or multi‑country context.
Strong understanding of audit methodologies, compliance processes, and continuous improvement tools.
Ability to influence at senior levels without direct authority.
Excellent communication skills across cultures and geographies.

Preferred/Advantageous

Experience working in Africa and/or Asia across multiple markets.
Certified Lead Auditor (ISO 9001, 45001, or 14001).
Experience in multinational, matrixed organisations.
Experience in digital platforms, like SharePoint, Synergi, PowerBI
Exposure to digital QMS platforms and governance tooling.

Additional Information

The role location is negotiable within YAA

Please note that this role is not open to an International Assignment.

Contact details

Annaline du Toit

Apply no later than

Apply before or on 8 April 2026

Knowledge grows through differences
Yara is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We believe that creating a diverse and inclusive work environment is not only the right thing, but also the smart thing to do. To deliver on this, Yara has firmly anchored Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) in our business strategy and has more than 400 employees worldwide involved in D&I ambassadors networks.

As part of our recruitment process, where permitted by local law, we may conduct reference and background checks. These checks will only be performed when deemed necessary for the nature of the job. Candidates will be informed by HR before any background checks are initiated.