Testing, inspection and certification executive search
Retained search across the TIC industry, from laboratory testing and field inspection through certification and assurance. Operational, technical and commercial leadership, from vice president to C‑suite.
Overview
What we do in TIC
Metric Bio places senior and executive leaders across testing, inspection and certification, covering laboratory testing, field inspection, certification bodies and assurance services. The work spans the end markets TIC serves rather than sitting inside any one of them. Searches are retained and run from vice president through C-suite.
TIC runs on two things at once. Margin comes from utilization and network efficiency, and the business only exists because clients and regulators trust the mark on the certificate. Technical leadership carries both. That is why these searches are usually less about who has run a business of a similar size and more about who the market and the accreditation bodies already take seriously.
Roles
The roles we place in TIC
- Managing Director Full profit and loss leadership across a laboratory business or site.
- VP Operations Laboratory and site operations leadership across a testing network.
- Technical Director Technical authority, accreditation and method development.
- Head of Quality & Accreditation GLP, GCP and ISO 17025 compliance, audit readiness and inspection response.
- Commercial Director Client growth across pharma, biotech and service lines.
- Head of Laboratory Operations Throughput, turnaround and capacity across sites.
- Head of Bioanalytical Services Regulated bioanalysis from method validation through sample analysis.
- Chief Operating Officer Operational leadership across service lines and geographies.
- Head of Preclinical & Pathology Services Toxicology, pathology and safety assessment leadership.
+ many others
Within this sector
What TIC covers
Laboratory Testing
Analytical and physical testing leadership across end markets.
Inspection Services
Field inspection, asset integrity and site based assurance.
Certification & Assurance
Certification bodies, scheme management and audit leadership.
Technical & Accreditation
The technical authority that holds scope and accreditation in place.
Market
Hiring in TIC right now
TIC has consolidated steadily, and the hiring follows the deals. A group that has bought three laboratories needs someone who can integrate them without losing the accreditation or the people, and that is a narrower skill than general operations leadership.
Digitalization is the other pressure. Clients increasingly want the data and the dashboard more than the certificate, and the businesses moving fastest on that are hiring operational leaders who are comfortable with systems and analytics. There are not many of those in this industry yet, so a good number of these searches reach outside it.
Technical leadership is the constraint that does not move. Accreditation scope depends on named individuals, so losing one can cost a business a service line. Companies tend to underestimate how much notice that needs, and how long it takes to find someone the accreditation body will accept.
Common questions
TIC hiring questions
The questions clients ask most often before briefing a TIC search.
How long does a TIC leadership search take?
Do you work retained or contingent?
Do you place below vice president?
Do you work across all end markets, or only life sciences?
Sector specialists
Testing, inspection & certification team
Let's build together
Ready to brief us on a TIC search?
Tell us about the role and we'll give you a clear read on the market, the people worth speaking to and how quickly we can move.