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Permanent CEO · hiring brief

CEO for Hire

CEO for Hire: agree the board’s mandate first (a turnaround, a transition, a founder stepping back or a permanent appointment), then choose the engagement and test candidates against that mandate.

Brief us on this role →See CEO roles

Reviewed by Fractional Quest · updated 1 November 2026 · 5 sources linked below

  • 3–5on every shortlist
  • 5stages of vetting
  • IR35set out on every brief
CEO for Hire: leadership meeting in a Covent Garden office (illustration)

On the board · last 90 days

Which roles are on the board now?

Permanent CEO roles first, then the seat in any engagement and the wider function when the board runs short.

Roles

See every role on the board →

Every fractional role in the UK is on the fractional jobs board.

In the press

The brief

CEO for Hire: what must the role own?

State why the board needs a chief executive now: a departure, a turnaround, a sale or a founder moving to another role.

  • 01MandateState why the board needs a chief executive now: a departure, a turnaround, a sale or a founder moving to another role.
  • 02AuthorityWrite which decisions the CEO takes alone and which the board or shareholders keep.
  • 03FounderIf a founder stays, set out their role, and who decides when the two disagree.
  • 04ExitAgree the end point: a permanent appointment, a sale, or a stable business handed back.

Role reference: Institute of Directors: role of the managing director. The IoD describes the chief executive or managing director as accountable for company performance within the strategy the board sets, which is the accountability a CEO for hire takes on for the agreed period.

For hire

CEO for hire: interim, fractional or permanent?

Three routes into the chief executive seat, each suited to a different board decision.

Interim: a full-time chief executive for a defined assignment, often a turnaround, a transition or the period before a permanent appointment. This is the usual meaning of a CEO for hire.

Fractional: a chief executive on agreed days, which suits a small company where the founder still runs much of the day-to-day. Permanent: an appointment for years, made by the board.

Whichever route, the board writes the mandate first. A CEO for hire without a minuted mandate is an adviser with a title.

The working pattern

What changes when the CEO is permanent?

A CEO for hire is accountable to the board for the whole company’s performance for the period agreed. Most CEO-for-hire briefs are interim: a fixed assignment with an exit. Fractional chief executives are rarer and suit smaller companies where a founder stays involved.

The illustrative brief: a founder-led business after a missed year. The founder wants to step back to product. Revenue has stalled and the board has no successor ready.

The appointment owns: An interim CEO for hire runs the business for nine months, resets the plan and leads the search for a permanent chief executive.

Another owner retains: The board appoints the permanent CEO; the founder keeps product; shareholders keep any sale decision.

The case is illustrative; it does not describe a Fractional Quest placement.

From brief to start

How do you hire a CEO for hire, step by step?

CEO for Hire, in practice: the first three steps are ours; the last four are what has to be true before the first day. We don’t promise a shortlist by a date.

  1. Day 0
    01
    The 15-minute call
    What the CEO must own, the working pattern, the start date and the budget.
    You and us
  2. Week 1
    02
    Scope agreed in writing
    The outcome the seat exists for, the days, and how the engagement will run for IR35.
    Us
  3. Weeks 1–3
    03
    Search, references, shortlist
    We approach people who aren’t looking, verify tenure, take references ourselves and return three to five.
    Us
  4. Week 4
    04
    Board mandate
    Minute the mandate, authority, term and review dates.
    You
  5. Before day one · 2
    05
    Information
    Provide the plan, accounts, pipeline, people data and shareholder agreements.
    You
  6. Before day one · 3
    06
    Introductions
    Introduce the leadership team, key customers, lenders and investors.
    You
  7. Before day one · 4
    07
    First 30 days
    Ask for a written assessment of the business and the plan to the first review.
    You

Your figures

What does part of a senior week cost?

Rate × days × weeks, against a loaded full-time package. Move the sliders; the numbers redraw.

  • CEO band £800–£1,500 (FD Capital 2026)
Year-one cost, fractional
£105,800
2 days a week · 46 weeks · day fees, before tax · our arithmetic
Fractional executive£105,800
Full-time CEO, loaded£137,250£624 a day over 220 days · our arithmetic
Fractional costs less in year one by£31,450

Our arithmetic. £120,000 Exec Capital 2026 (UK SME) lower-quartile salary + employer NI at 15% above £5,000 (HMRC) = £137,250. Excludes pension, bonus and any search fee.

Assessment

How should you assess each candidate?

CEO for Hire on evidence: put the same work in front of each candidate before comparing answers.

  1. Comparable decision
    Ask for a company they led through a comparable moment, and what changed under them.
  2. Authority
    Test a decision the board has reserved, such as a restructuring or a sale.
  3. Team
    Ask how they worked with a founder or chair who stayed close to the business.
  4. Handover
    Ask how they handed over to the next chief executive.

Acas recommends a consistent, fair selection process: choosing who to interview.

Vetting

What happens before anyone reaches your shortlist?

Five stages before a candidate reaches a shortlist of three to five.

  1. Pedigree screen
    Tenure
    We verify prior tenure in the seat, at the scale and stage you need. No consultant presenting as an executive.
  2. Mandate fit
    Fit
    Fit to your stage, sector and the problem the seat exists to solve, not a CV keyword.
  3. Reference deep-dive
    Verify
    We take references ourselves, from recent clients and boards: what they delivered, not what they titled it.
  4. Shortlist
    Shortlist
    Three to five candidates, each with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out.
  5. Kick-off
    Start
    Scope, first-month outcomes and the contract agreed before day one.

The full process is on how we vet.

The right pattern

Does this hiring pattern fit the work?

Test the amount of the week, the expected end and the continuity needed before writing the contract.

Questions

CEO for Hire: questions, answered

Usually yes: an interim chief executive is often appointed to the board for the assignment, and the general duties of a company director then apply. Agree the appointment and its end in writing.

Read next

Related hiring and role pages

Sources

Where does every reference on this page come from?

  • iod.com
  • HMRC
  • legislation.gov.uk
  1. 1
    Institute of Directors: role of the managing director iod.com
  2. 2
    Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027 HMRC
    Employer National Insurance at 15% above £5,000 a year.
  3. 3
    Understanding off-payroll working (IR35) HMRC
    Status depends on how the engagement runs; medium and large clients make the determination.
  4. 4
    Check employment status for tax (CEST) HMRC
    HMRC’s own status check for each engagement.
  5. 5
    Employment Agencies Act 1973 legislation.gov.uk
    The law a recruitment agency works under; no fee to a work-seeker.

For hiring managers

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  1. A shortlist of 3–5, each with day rate, availability and IR35 position
  2. Fractional, interim, part-time, temporary or permanent — and non-executive directors
  3. Every candidate through our five-stage vetting
  4. Your briefs and their candidates, in one room