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Fractional CIO · hiring brief

CIO for Hire

CIO for Hire: decide whether IT needs a leader for part of each week or for a programme, then give them systems, supplier and risk decisions to own.

Brief us on this role →See CIO roles

Reviewed by Fractional Quest · updated 28 October 2026 · 5 sources linked below

  • 3–5on every shortlist
  • 5stages of vetting
  • IR35set out on every brief
CIO for Hire: a technology leader sketching a system architecture on a whiteboard (illustration)

On the board · last 90 days

Which CIO roles are on the board?

Fractional CIO 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

CIO for Hire: what must the role own?

Name the systems they own.

  • 01SystemsName the systems they own.
  • 02SuppliersList IT suppliers and contracts.
  • 03RiskSet IT and cyber risk reporting.
  • 04EngagementDays a week or an end date.

Role reference: SFIA: information systems coordination. SFIA’s information systems coordination skill describes the CIO’s remit across systems and suppliers.

The working pattern

What changes when the CIO is fractional?

A CIO for hire owns internal systems, suppliers and IT risk, fractionally on days or as an interim for a programme.

The illustrative brief: an ERP replacement. A mid-sized business is replacing its ERP with no IT leader.

The appointment owns: The CIO for hire owns the programme and supplier, three days a week.

Another owner retains: The finance director owns the business case.

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

From brief to start

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

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 CIO 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 decisions and days.
    You
  5. Before day one · 2
    05
    Contracts
    Provide supplier contracts.
    You
  6. Before day one · 3
    06
    Risk
    Provide the risk register.
    You
  7. Before day one · 4
    07
    Plan
    Agree the programme plan.
    You

Your figures

What does part of a CIO’s week cost?

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

  • CIO band £800–£2,000 (Exec Capital 2026)
Year-one cost, fractional
£128,800
2 days a week · 46 weeks · day fees, before tax · our arithmetic
Fractional executive£128,800
Full-time CIO, loaded£172,038£782 a day over 220 days · our arithmetic
Fractional costs less in year one by£43,238

Our arithmetic. £150,250 Robert Half 2026 (national) median salary + employer NI at 15% above £5,000 (HMRC) = £172,038. Excludes pension, bonus and any search fee.

Assessment

How should you assess CIO candidates?

Put the same work and evidence in front of each candidate before comparing answers.

  1. Comparable decision
    Ask for a systems programme they led.
  2. Authority
    Test a supplier decision needing approval.
  3. Team
    Ask how they led an IT team.
  4. Handover
    Ask what they handed over.

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

CIO for Hire: questions, answered

A brief to hire a CIO for hire begins with systems: Name the systems they own. Then a stated working pattern and the evidence you will ask every candidate to show.

Read next

Related hiring and role pages

Sources

Where does every reference on this page come from?

  • sfia-online.org
  • HMRC
  • legislation.gov.uk
  1. 1
    SFIA: information systems coordination sfia-online.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

Bring the brief. We bring the shortlist.

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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