Why QA hiring is different
Quality and Technical leaders sit at the intersection of food safety, customer assurance, and operational throughput. They own BRCGS Global Standard compliance, retailer Code of Practice adherence, HACCP integrity, and the technical relationship with major customers such as Tesco, M&S, Sainsbury's, Aldi and Lidl. A weak hire here doesn't just underperform — it exposes the business to delisting.
What to look for beyond the CV
- Audit track record. BRCGS AA/AA+ grades held across multiple unannounced audits, not just a single announced pass.
- Customer credibility. Demonstrated ability to host retailer technical visits and defend the site under pressure.
- Root cause discipline. Evidence of closing complaint categories permanently, not cycling through corrective actions.
- Cross-functional authority. Willingness to stop the line, and the political capital to make that stick.
- Regulatory currency. Working knowledge of FSA, allergen labelling changes (Natasha's Law), and category-specific hazards.
The BRCGS readiness lens
We interview QA candidates against the current issue of the BRCGS Global Standard for Food Safety. That means testing them on fundamentals — senior management commitment, HARA/HACCP, site security and food defence, high-risk/high-care zoning — and on the behaviours the standard rewards: openness, evidence, and a culture of challenge.
Common failure modes
The three patterns we see most often in mis-hires: technical brilliance without commercial fluency; audit-week heroics with weak day-to-day systems; and strong individual contributors who cannot build a bench beneath them. Our assessment maps each of these explicitly.
How EgoFactor searches for QA leaders
Every QA and Technical Manager search we run pairs a targeted market map with a behavioural assessment covering leadership, resilience, and cultural alignment. We reference audit performance directly with prior sites where possible, and we benchmark shortlist candidates against the specific retailer profile the client supplies to.