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Fractional CTO · hiring brief

Fractional CTO for Hire

Fractional CTO for Hire: agree the days and the technical decisions the CTO owns, and name the engineer who covers incidents between days.

Brief us on this role →See CTO 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
Fractional CTO for Hire: a technology leader sketching a system architecture on a whiteboard (illustration)

On the board · last 90 days

Which roles are on the board now?

Fractional CTO 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

Fractional CTO for Hire: what must the role own?

Architecture, suppliers and hiring.

  • 01DecisionsArchitecture, suppliers and hiring.
  • 02SecurityThe baseline they own.
  • 03CoverIncident handling between days.
  • 04ExitWhat the team runs alone at the end.

Role reference: SFIA leadership responsibilities. SFIA describes senior technology leadership by its decisions and accountability, which a fractional CTO for hire must be given.

For hire

Fractional CTO for hire: what you are buying

Decisions on a few days a week, not a part-time developer.

A fractional CTO for hire is right when the company needs technical leadership but not five days of it. It is wrong when the gap is delivery capacity; hire engineers for that.

Set the cover between days before the start; incidents do not wait.

The working pattern

What changes when the CTO is fractional?

A fractional CTO for hire owns technology leadership on agreed days: architecture, security baseline and engineering hiring. Delivery continues with the team between days.

The illustrative brief: an agency-built product moving in-house. An external agency built the product; the company is hiring its first engineers.

The appointment owns: A fractional CTO for hire plans the move and the first hires, two days a week.

Another owner retains: The founders keep product priorities and budget.

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

From brief to start

How do you hire a fractional CTO for hire, step by step?

Fractional CTO 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 CTO 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
    Access
    Code, cloud and contracts.
    You
  5. Before day one · 2
    05
    Cover
    Name the incident contact.
    You
  6. Before day one · 3
    06
    Plan
    Hiring plan draft.
    You
  7. Before day one · 4
    07
    Review
    A first-month risk review.
    You

Your figures

What does part of a senior week cost?

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

  • CTO band £1,000–£1,600 (Leadership Services 2026)
Year-one cost, fractional
£119,600
2 days a week · 46 weeks · day fees, before tax · our arithmetic
Fractional executive£119,600
Full-time CTO, loaded£183,825£836 a day over 220 days · our arithmetic
Fractional costs less in year one by£64,225

Our arithmetic. £160,500 Robert Half 2026 median salary + employer NI at 15% above £5,000 (HMRC) = £183,825. Excludes pension, bonus and any search fee.

Assessment

How should you assess each candidate?

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

  1. Comparable work
    Ask for an in-house transition they led.
  2. Authority
    Test a supplier decision needing approval.
  3. Team
    Ask how they hired first engineers.
  4. Handover
    Ask what they left documented.

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

Fractional CTO for Hire: questions, answered

A brief to hire a fractional CTO for hire begins with decisions: Architecture, suppliers and hiring. 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 leadership responsibilities 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

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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