Chief of Staff Services | Fractional, Interim & Part-Time

15 minutes · video or phone

Book 15 minutes to hire a chief of staff

Tell us the scope and the days a week. We come back with Chief of Staff Services 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

Prefer email? Use the booking page →

Pick a day that suits · live availability

Open the booking calendar →

01/ the role

What chief of staff services cover

The chief of staff extends the CEO’s reach: running priorities, the leadership rhythm, special projects and the follow-through that keeps decisions moving.

In scope: the leadership team’s operating rhythm and meetings; tracking company priorities and decisions to completion; special projects the CEO cannot run personally; board preparation and internal communication; acting as a trusted adviser and sounding board to the CEO.

The chief of staff does not replace functional leaders; they coordinate and unblock.

Diary and inbox management belong to an executive assistant.

Executives looking for this work can see current chief of staff roles.

02/ scope

Four ways to buy the chief of staff seat

Fractional Chief of Staff services

A fractional chief of staff holds the chief of staff seat on a standing weekly commitment, usually alongside a small number of other clients, and owns outcomes rather than hours.

A fractional chief of staff runs the leadership rhythm and key projects on a standing weekly commitment for a CEO who needs leverage but not a full-time hire.

Fractional chief of staff services sets out the scope, the rates and how we shortlist.

Interim Chief of Staff services

An interim chief of staff works full-time for a fixed term to cover a gap, lead a change or see a transaction through, then hands over.

Interim executives are hired for immediate impact: they expect to take decisions from the first week.

Interim chief of staff services sets out the scope, the rates and how we shortlist.

Part-Time Chief of Staff services

A part-time chief of staff works set days each week for one organisation.

A part-time chief of staff works set days each week alongside the CEO, suited to smaller leadership teams.

Part-Time chief of staff services sets out the scope, the rates and how we shortlist.

Permanent Chief of Staff

A permanent chief of staff is right when the CEO’s load and the leadership team’s size need full-time coordination.

03/ the route

Fractional, interim or permanent?

Four taps. The answer names the route for the seat and the page that covers it.

How much of the week does the work fill?

Is there a fixed end or a programme?

Does the seat sit on the board for years?

Is the need now, or can it wait for a search?

The route · Fractional

A fractional chief of staff services.

The work fills part of the week, so buy the days it needs.

A fractional chief of staff services holds the seat on agreed days for as long as the seat is needed, and works for other clients on the rest.

The fractional chief of staff services route Talk it through

04/ comparison

Four ways to buy a chief of staff fractional, interim, part-time or permanent

The same chief of staff seat can be filled four ways. The difference is commitment, contract and how long you need it.

FractionalInterimPart-timePermanent

CommitmentDays a week, ongoingFull-time, fixed termSet days each weekFull-time, open-ended

Usual contractContract for services, often via the executive’s companyDay-rate contract for the mandateOften pro-rata employment; sometimes a contractorEmployment contract

Clients at onceA small portfolioOneOneOne

Best whenYou need chief of staff judgement every week, not every dayYou need full-time cover or a change led nowYou want the same person on the same days for the long termThe seat is full-time work for years

ExitNotice period, or convert to permanentHand-over at the end of the mandateEmployment noticeResignation or redundancy

05/ timing

Which shape fits your situation

Match the shape to the work, not the title.

Scenario 01

Weekly judgement

Fractional

You need a chief of staff to own decisions every week, but the work does not fill five days.

A CEO who is the bottleneck, decisions that do not get followed through, a leadership team without a rhythm, or a big change programme with no owner.

Scenario 02

Now, full-time

Interim

An interim chief of staff runs the programme office for a major change full-time.

Scenario 03

Long term

Part-time or permanent

A part-time chief of staff works set days each week alongside the CEO, suited to smaller leadership teams.

A permanent chief of staff is right when the CEO’s load and the leadership team’s size need full-time coordination.

06/ vetting

How we vet the shortlist

Five stages: qualification, mandate fit, reference deep-dive, shortlist and analysis, kick-off.

01
Qualification screen
Verify Chief of Staff Services 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

07/ before you brief

Before you buy chief of staff services what to decide first

The decisions.

Write down the three decisions the chief of staff will own in the next ninety days.

That list decides the shape: weekly decisions point to fractional, a time-bound programme to interim, a steady load to part-time.

The neighbours.

A chief of staff manages priorities and projects; an executive assistant manages the CEO’s time; a COO owns operations.

The checks.

Directors stay legally responsible whoever they bring in: see GOV.UK guidance on being a company director.

For a contractor engagement, agree how it will run in practice, because that decides IR35 status; HMRC’s guidance for clients sets out who makes the determination.

08/ questions

Chief of Staff services FAQ

The questions people ask before bringing in a chief of staff.

Ways of filling the chief of staff seat without, or before, a permanent hire: fractional (days a week, ongoing), interim (full-time, fixed term) and part-time (set days, one employer), alongside a permanent search. The chief of staff extends the CEO’s reach: running priorities, the leadership rhythm, special projects and the follow-through that keeps decisions moving.

Fractional when you need chief of staff judgement every week but not every day; interim when you need full-time cover or a change led now; part-time when the load is steady and you want the same person long term; permanent when the seat is full-time work for years.

Rates depend on scope, sector and days, and no source we can verify publishes a band for this seat. Each candidate on our shortlist states their own rate, so you compare like with like.

The chief of staff does not replace functional leaders; they coordinate and unblock. Diary and inbox management belong to an executive assistant.

You brief us on scope, shape and start date. We come back with a shortlist of 3–5, each with rate, availability and IR35 position set out, assessed through our five-stage vetting.

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.

Book a call →Submit a brief

09/ related

Keep exploring

Adjacent roles and reading.

/fractional-chief-of-staff-servicesFractional Chief of Staff Services

An ongoing weekly commitment.

/interim-chief-of-staff-servicesInterim Chief of Staff Services

Full-time for a fixed term.

/part-time-chief-of-staff-servicesPart-Time Chief of Staff Services

Set days each week.

/vettingHow we vet

The five-stage process behind every shortlist.

Executive servicesChief of Staff services hubThe chief of staff seat, fractionalIR35 guide

Chief of Staff Services · fractional, interim, part-time and permanent