I’m a Quality Assurance Coordinator based in Frascati, Italy, where I’ve worked for nearly 6 years. My work is very varied and I enjoy working with many extremely competent colleagues!
What’s your role?
I’m a Quality Assurance Coordinator for Starion Group. I’m based in Frascati, Italy, though I also work remotely from Florence sometimes. I’ve worked for the company for almost 6 years now.
What’s a typical day in your working life like?
Luckily, my ‘typical day’ is not always the same. I do have some recurring tasks, such as coordinating quality-related activities with site and process owners and other colleagues. I also manage the documents in the company’s Integrated Management System (IMS) as well as dealing with non-conformities and process improvements.
That said, I usually have the freedom to be flexible about how I organise my workload and the number of meetings, documents and ad-hoc projects I am involved in varies a lot during the year. Autumn is my busiest season, because of all the organisation, communication and activities related to our external audits.
What do you enjoy most about your job?
It is great to have a team helping you to give your best all the time!
I also really appreciate the opportunities that I have to deal with different processes and across different sites within the company, to meet with extremely competent colleagues and to be able to have an overview of many activities in the organisation. The balance that I have between self-organised work and interactions with people is another thing I enjoy.
Generally, trying to contribute towards improvements is always a good motivation – and a good reward when they come to fruition.
What has been your most memorable career achievement?
I believe more in team achievements – for us it is about passing audits successfully.
Personally, I’ve had the pleasure to work at a client’s premises in the past and now I work within Starion’s Business Services team – that’s probably a combination of luck and, hopefully, something I deserved too.
Do you have any tips for people trying to get jobs in your area of expertise?
Getting certified or at least familiar with ISO9001 and ISO27001 standards is a good start. Also, having a good balance between attention to detail and to the big picture and, mostly, a lot of patience, because colleagues sometimes have other priorities!
How do you wind down?
A 10-minute meditation in the middle of the day helps. Then I enjoy walking, good food and spending time with my cat after work.