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Permanent CHRO · hiring brief

CHRO for Hire

CHRO for Hire: name the people problem growth or change is creating, separate strategy from HR administration, then choose fractional, interim or permanent.

Brief us on this role →See CHRO 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
CHRO for Hire: leadership meeting in a Covent Garden office (illustration)

On the board · last 90 days

Which roles are on the board now?

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

No roles on the board for this seat right now.

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

In the press

The brief

CHRO for Hire: what must the role own?

Name it: rapid hiring, a restructure, a merger, retention or leadership capability.

  • 01People problemName it: rapid hiring, a restructure, a merger, retention or leadership capability.
  • 02Strategy and adminSay who handles payroll, contracts and casework so the CHRO is not hired to do them.
  • 03AuthorityWrite which reward, structure and policy decisions the CHRO takes.
  • 04BoardAgree how people matters reach the board and the remuneration committee.

Role reference: CIPD Profession Map. The CIPD Profession Map sets out people-profession standards at strategic level, the level a CHRO for hire should be assessed against.

For hire

CHRO for hire: which engagement?

CHRO and chief people officer are usually the same seat; the engagement is the choice.

Fractional suits a growing company that needs people strategy but not five days of it. Interim suits a defined change, such as a restructure or a merger, with an end date.

Permanent suits a company large enough to need a people executive and a team every day. Whichever you choose, a CHRO for hire is briefed on strategy; HR administration needs its own owner.

The working pattern

What changes when the CHRO is permanent?

A CHRO for hire owns people strategy: organisation design, leadership capability, reward and culture, with the board. HR administration and employee relations casework sit with an HR manager, not the CHRO.

The illustrative brief: a company doubling headcount in a year. Hiring is running ahead of managers’ ability to lead. Levels, pay and promotion are decided case by case.

The appointment owns: A fractional CHRO for hire sets a levelling framework, a pay approach and a manager development plan, two days a week.

Another owner retains: The CEO approves the pay budget; an HR manager runs contracts and casework.

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

From brief to start

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

CHRO 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 CHRO 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
    Mandate
    Write the people problem, decisions, days or term, and review date.
    You
  5. Before day one · 2
    05
    Data
    Provide headcount, attrition, pay data, engagement results and open cases.
    You
  6. Before day one · 3
    06
    Team
    Introduce the HR team, managers and the remuneration committee chair.
    You
  7. Before day one · 4
    07
    First output
    Ask for a written view of the biggest people risk in the first fortnight.
    You

Assessment

How should you assess each candidate?

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

  1. Comparable decision
    Ask for an organisation design or reward change they led, and its effect.
  2. Authority
    Test how they would handle a pay decision the CEO wants to make differently.
  3. Team
    Ask how they built line managers’ capability rather than handling every case.
  4. Handover
    Ask what frameworks they left in place for the next people leader.

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

CHRO for Hire: questions, answered

Usually. The titles describe the same people-strategy seat; companies choose the name. The brief, not the title, decides what the role owns.

Read next

Related hiring and role pages

Sources

Where does every reference on this page come from?

  • cipd.org
  • HMRC
  • legislation.gov.uk
  1. 1
    CIPD Profession Map cipd.org
  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