CHRO recruitment · CHRO recruiters · chief people officer recruitment
CHRO Recruitment · how it works
CHRO recruitment is the work of finding, assessing and appointing a chief human resources officer, the seat many businesses call chief people officer.
It needs a brief built around the people problem the board wants solved, a search that reaches leaders in post, and a selection process fair enough to show the candidate how you work.
We are a recruiter for fractional, interim, part-time, temporary and permanent executives, and non-executive directors.
On every brief we send a shortlist of 3–5, each with pay or day rate, availability and IR35 position set out, after five-stage vetting.
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)
On senior people who choose to work at leadership level in several companies at once. Worth reading before you decide whether the seat is permanent or part of the week.
15 minutes · video or phone
Book 15 minutes to hire a CHRO
Tell us the scope and the days a week. We come back with CHRO 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
CHRO roles jobs on the board
No CHRO roles roles on the board in the last three months. Showing HR leadership roles instead.
Current people leadership roles
Fractional Quest is a fractional recruitment agency: send a CHRO brief and we come back with a shortlist of three to five vetted candidates.
01/ the role
CHRO recruitment: how it works
A recruiter either introduces candidates you then employ, or supplies people who work for you on contract.
GOV.UK’s guide to the Conduct Regulations calls the first an employment agency and the second an employment business.
A permanent CHRO is introduced; an interim or fractional one may be introduced or supplied, often through their own company.
Decide which seat you are filling
An HR director runs the people function well.
A CHRO sets people strategy in front of the board: organisation design, succession, reward and the workforce plan.
At a smaller company one person may do both, so brief on the work, not the title.
If the gap is the function rather than the strategy, see HR director recruitment.
Use the profession’s own standard
The CIPD Profession Map is the international standard for people professionals, written at four impact levels, and the CIPD lists designing a role and recruiting people professionals among its uses.
Map the brief to the senior level before the search, and test candidates against it.
02/ scope
What good CHRO recruiters do
1. They take a full brief
Under Regulation 18 of the Conduct Regulations (GOV.UK), an agency must not introduce a candidate until it has enough from you to choose a suitable one: who you are, what the business does, the start date, how long the work lasts, the duties, location, hours, and any experience or qualifications you need.
For a permanent seat it also needs the minimum pay, benefits and notice period.
A good recruiter goes further: headcount now and in two years, where the business is hiring, what is changing in structure, and which people decisions the board is waiting on.
2. They search beyond the market
Strong people leaders are usually in post.
CHRO recruiters who only advertise reach the few who are looking.
For a confidential permanent seat, a CHRO headhunter runs the direct-approach search end to end.
3. They run a fair, structured process
The CIPD’s selection methods factsheet says clear, objective, structured and transparent processes are fairer for candidates, and that recruiters should tell candidates in advance what to expect.
For this seat the process is also a test of you: a strong candidate will judge the business by how it hires.
4. They check standing and right to work
CIPD Chartered Membership is for experienced people professionals with strategic and operational expertise, and Chartered Fellow for those influencing at senior levels.
Confirm a grade with the CIPD; it is a signal, not a requirement.
For an employed hire, you must check the right to work before the start date.
How we run a brief
We send a shortlist of 3–5, each with pay or day rate, availability and IR35 position set out.
Every candidate goes through our five-stage vetting first.
03/ 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 · 1 role · HR leadership
Engagement
- Fractional1
Days a week
- Stated in the posting1
- Not stated0
Day rate
- Verified rate0
- Estimated (est)0
- Rate not stated1
Work arrangement (as the job feed classifies it)
- Remote0
- Hybrid0
- On-site1
Newest posting on the board: 2 Oct 2026.
04/ comparison
HR director or chief people officer: which search to run
The two seats overlap at smaller companies. Choose the search by what the person will own and who they answer to.
05/ vetting
How we vet CHROs
What we undertake on every brief, before a candidate reaches you.
- 01
Qualification screen
Verify CHRO 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
06/ chro recruitment agency
CHRO recruitment agency: how to judge one
A CHRO recruitment agency should be able to tell you, before the search starts, who runs the brief day to day, how candidates are found and assessed, which checks it makes itself, and what you will pay, in writing.
We do not publish a ranking of agencies or of CHRO recruiters UK-wide; judge any of them, us included, on those answers.
The law gives you a baseline.
GOV.UK’s Conduct Regulations guide says agencies may not charge candidates for finding them work, that the Act does not regulate what they charge you, the hirer, and that executive search consultants are covered too.
The Fair Work Agency is now the state regulator for agencies in England, Scotland and Wales.
Some duties stay with you.
GOV.UK warns employers they might be breaking the law if discrimination happens in recruitment, even when an agency runs it.
The ICO’s recruitment and selection guidance is written for employers and for recruitment agencies and head-hunters alike, so ask how candidate data is held and deleted.
For how a direct-approach search runs, see CHRO executive search.
07/ chief people officer recruitment
Chief people officer recruitment for permanent, fractional and interim seats
Chief people officer recruitment for a permanent seat ends in an employment contract.
Robert Half’s 2026 salary guide puts a CHRO or chief people officer at £110,250 to £183,750, with a median of £147,000.
Chief people officer recruiters should agree the band with you before the first approach.
For a fractional CHRO (agreed days a week) or an interim CHRO (full-time for a fixed term, often a restructure, an integration or a sale), the candidate often works through their own company.
To go the part-week route, hire a fractional CHRO; to see the permanent seats on the board, browse chief people officer jobs.
When the person works through their own company, the off-payroll working rules (IR35) may apply.
Status turns on how the engagement runs, contract by contract; a medium or large client makes the determination, and for a small client outside the public sector the worker’s company decides.
CHRO recruiters should set out each candidate’s position.
Our IR35 guide sets out the tests.
08/ questions
CHRO recruitment FAQ
The questions people ask before bringing in a CHRO.
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.
