CFO jobs · Chief financial officer vacancies · Permanent, interim and fractional
CFO jobs · permanent, interim and fractional
CFO jobs are chief financial officer roles: the most senior seat in a company’s finance function, leading the team, setting financial strategy and reporting to the board.
They come as permanent full-time posts, interim assignments and fractional or part-time seats.
The board below shows the CFO roles on our board, with permanent roles first where the posting says full-time.
We recruit permanent, interim, fractional and part-time finance leaders, and non-executive directors.
Hiring rather than looking?
On every brief we send a shortlist of 3–5, each with pay or day rate, availability and IR35 position set out.
How a brief runswhat we undertake
- 01Brief30-MINUTE SCOPING CALLDay 0
- 02Shortlist of 3–5VETTED · RATE BENCHMARK · IR35After the brief
- 03InterviewsYOU MEET THE SHORTLISTYour diary
- 04Scoped startFIRST-MONTH OUTCOMES AGREEDYou set the date
- 05Fractional, interim and permanentIR35 POSITION SET OUTOn every brief
Shortlist3–5
In the press
Financial Times The executives going ‘fractional’, not freelance (paywall)
Some senior finance leaders now hold leadership seats in several companies at once rather than one permanent post. It is one of the choices in front of anyone looking at CFO jobs today.
15 minutes · video or phone
Book 15 minutes to hire a CFO
Tell us the scope and the days a week. We come back with CFO candidates, their day rates and availability.
- 0115 minutes, video or phone
- 02We scope the role and the days a week
- 03A shortlist of 3–5 after the call
- 04Fractional, interim and permanent briefs
Pick a day that suits · live availability
On the board · last 3 months
CFO jobs jobs on the board
Current CFO roles on our board
How fractional recruitment agencies compare is set out in one place, including how we work: a CFO brief and a shortlist of three to five.
01/ the cross
Where a permanent hire becomes cheaper.
Move the day rate and the days a week: the rising line is a month of part-week cost, the flat line a permanent hire’s month. Where they cross, the seat should go full-time.
At 4.7 days a week a permanent hire costs less.
Our arithmetic. Permanent a month = the salary ÷ 12 plus 15% employer NI, plus the 30% search fee spread over 12 months — the calculator’s inputs. Hover, tap or use the arrow keys for each step.
Permanent = the £176,500 Robert Half 2026 median salary. The full calculator below adds the months, the totals and the currency tabs.
- The fractional CFO at 2 days a week never passes permanent inside 24 months.
- Interim passes permanent at month 8.
Our arithmetic, cumulative. Permanent = the salary’s 30% search fee in month 0, then salary ÷ 12 plus 15% employer NI each month. Interim = the midpoint of the published interim band (£1,100 a day, FD Capital 2026) × 5 days × 4.33 weeks. Hover, tap or use the arrow keys for each month.
02/ the route
Fractional, interim or permanent?
Four taps. The answer names the route for the seat and the page that covers it.
The route · Fractional
A fractional CFO.The work fills part of the week, so buy the days it needs.
A fractional CFO holds the seat on agreed days for as long as the seat is needed, and works for other clients on the rest.
The route · Interim
An interim CFO.The work fills the week, and it has an end: a programme, a cover, a transaction.
An interim CFO takes the seat full time for that stretch and hands it over when it is done.
The route · Interim, then permanent
Interim now, a permanent CFO after.The seat is full time and long term, and the need is now.
An interim CFO holds it while the permanent search runs, so the seat is not left empty.
The route · Permanent
A permanent CFO.A full-time seat that sits at the table for years is a permanent hire.
There is time to run a search, so run one.
03/ the role
CFO jobs: what the board holds
The board on this page holds the CFO roles on our board: chief financial officer, group CFO and CFO roles in every mode of work.
Roles whose posting says full-time come first.
Interim, fractional and part-time CFO roles follow, and where a posting states how the role is engaged, the listing says so.
When there are few CFO roles, the board widens to the finance director and financial controller seats below it, and says that it has.
What the seat does
ICAEW describes the CFO or finance director as the most senior role in the finance function: leading and mentoring the finance team, overseeing budgeting, forecasting and planning, managing financial risk, reporting to the board and to outside stakeholders, and leading on investment, mergers and acquisitions.
Robert Half’s CFO profile adds cash flow, fundraising, banking covenants and investor relations.
For the day-to-day picture, see what a CFO does.
One seat, several ways to hold it
A permanent CFO is employed full-time and owns the function for years.
An interim CFO holds the seat for a fixed period, to cover a departure or carry a transaction.
A fractional or part-time CFO holds it for agreed days a week, often in a smaller business that needs board-level finance without a full-time salary.
The job title is the same; the contract, the days and the tax position are not.
04/ scope
How to get a CFO job
1. Qualify as an accountant
Most CFO postings ask for a chartered qualification.
Robert Half’s CFO profile expects a qualified accountant (ACA or equivalent) and says an MBA can help.
The three routes are the ICAEW’s ACA (technical learning, practical experience and professional skills), the ACCA qualification (exams, ethics and professional experience) and CIMA’s CGMA Professional Qualification, whose Strategic level covers financial strategy and risk.
2. Run a finance function first
The usual path runs through financial controller and finance director.
ICAEW’s account of one finance manager who became a CFO describes the FD seat as the point where the board starts testing you, and the CFO seat as the step into strategic leadership.
Our guide on how to become a CFO sets out the steps.
3. Show the board work
A CFO shortlist is decided on board reporting, investors, the bank and transactions, not on the close.
In a listed company the board works under the FRC’s UK Corporate Governance Code, which, for financial years from 1 January 2026, asks boards to declare whether their material internal controls are effective.
In an FCA-regulated firm, the most senior decision makers hold senior management functions and must be approved before they start.
4. Pick the route in
Not every CFO job is permanent.
Interim CFO jobs cover a gap or a transaction for a set period; fractional CFO jobs and part-time CFO jobs hold the seat for set days a week, and many are remote CFO jobs.
If you work through your own company, the off-payroll working rules (IR35) may apply: status turns on how the engagement runs, and a medium or large client makes the determination.
Our IR35 guide sets out the tests.
05/ the maths
What the seat costs, by the days a week
Move the day rate, the days a week and the months: the totals and the permanent comparison for the period. The curve above shows where a permanent hire becomes the cheaper seat.
The slider runs across the published band for a fractional CFO: £700–£1,400 a day (FD Capital 2026).
Cost over 12 months
£109,200
104 working days · 2 d/wk · 12 mo · before tax
Fractional costs less over 12 months£146,725
Fractional CFO, 12 months£109,200
Fractional CFO, a month at 2 d/wk£9,093
Permanent CFO, same period£255,925
Fractional CFO, 12 months$144,679
Fractional CFO, a month at 2 d/wk$12,047
Permanent CFO, same period$339,075
Converted from £ at $1.3249 per £1 (Bank of England spot rate), 2 Oct 2026. A conversion, not a US market rate. Source ↗
Fractional CFO, 12 months€128,266
Fractional CFO, a month at 2 d/wk€10,681
Permanent CFO, same period€300,610
Converted from £ at €1.1746 per £1 (Bank of England spot rate), 2 Oct 2026. A conversion, not a EU market rate. Source ↗
Our arithmetic, indicative. Permanent = the £176,500 Robert Half 2026 median salary pro rata for the same months, plus 15% employer NI, plus a 30% search fee on the annual base (UK retained search runs 25–35%, Headhunters.co.uk). Excludes pension, bonus and equity.
06/ the week
How a week divides.
The days you buy are yours; the rest of the week goes to other clients. Move the days a week in the calculator above and the week redraws.
Illustration only: one way a fractional CFO’s week can divide at 2 days a week for you. Each block is half a day.
07/ the board
What the board holds.
A read of the roles on the board on this page, counted as they stand: how each is engaged, whether the posting gives the days and the rate, and where the work happens.
On this board, last 90 days · 3 roles · CFO jobs
Engagement
- Fractional3
Days a week
- Stated in the posting0
- Not stated3
Day rate
- Verified rate1
- Estimated (est)0
- Rate not stated2
Work arrangement (as the job feed classifies it)
- Remote1
- Hybrid1
- On-site1
Newest posting on the board: 5 Oct 2026.
08/ related roles
CFO jobs by type
Every page we keep for the CFO seat, one per kind of role or question. We recruit permanent, interim, fractional and part-time CFOs.
09/ vetting
How we vet CFOs
What we undertake on every brief, before a candidate reaches you.
- 01
Qualification screen
Verify CFO tenure, sector context and stage fit.
SOURCING - 02
Mandate fit
Match to your situation — stage, board dynamics, timing.
MATCHING - 03
Reference deep-dive
We take references ourselves, from recent past clients — real outcomes, not titles.
VERIFY - 04
Shortlist
Three to five candidates with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out.
SHORTLIST OF 3–5
10/ chief financial officer jobs
Chief financial officer jobs the seat and its titles
Chief financial officer jobs are advertised under several titles.
Chief financial officer and CFO are the same seat; group CFO runs finance across a group of companies.
In owner-managed and mid-sized businesses the top finance seat is often called finance director, and ICAEW treats the two together.
Robert Half’s profile puts the CFO on the executive board as the CEO’s adviser on financial activity, with commercial projects, cash flow, planning and risk in the brief.
Some chief financial officer jobs carry a statutory duty with them.
In a company that qualifies, HMRC requires a Senior Accounting Officer: the director or officer with overall responsibility for the company’s financial accounting arrangements.
It must be a director or officer, so it cannot be handed to an adviser.
Ask whether the seat carries it before you accept.
Read the posting for who the seat reports to and what it owns.
A CFO job reporting to a founder before a funding round is a different job from a group CFO seat in a listed company, even with the same title.
11/ permanent cfo jobs
Permanent CFO jobs the market and the pay
Permanent CFO jobs are full-time employed roles, and they are the ones listed first on this page.
Robert Half’s 2026 salary guide puts a full-time UK CFO at £132,500 at the 25th percentile, £176,500 at the median and £220,500 at the 75th percentile, with a financial services CFO median of £177,500 (Robert Half).
Robert Half is a recruiter, and these are its own starting-salary projections.
Base pay is one part of a permanent package.
Bonus, equity, pension and notice period vary widely by company stage and ownership, so compare offers line by line.
For the pay picture across permanent, interim and fractional seats, see our CFO salary guide.
Some permanent CFO searches are run by a headhunter rather than an open advert.
Our CFO headhunter page sets out how a permanent CFO search works from the hiring side.
12/ questions
CFO jobs FAQ
The questions people ask before bringing in a CFO.
Book 15 minutes · shortlist of 3–5
Bring the brief. We architect the team.
A shortlist of 3–5 with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out, after five-stage vetting.
