Fractional FD jobs · Part-time FD · Owner-managed businesses
Fractional FD jobs · hire a fractional FD, or hire an FD for good
Fractional FD jobs are finance director roles held for part of the week, usually in owner-managed businesses and SMEs that need a senior finance lead but not a full-time one. To hire a fractional FD, decide what the FD will own (the numbers, the cash, the bank, the board pack) and how many days that takes.
We recruit fractional, interim, part-time, temporary and permanent finance leaders. 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. Looking for work? Live finance director roles are on the board below.
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
FM Magazine (AICPA & CIMA) How to make the fractional CFO-client relationship effective · 20 May 2026
Practitioners on making a part-week finance leader work: clear scope, access to people and data, and regular communication. The same rules apply to a fractional FD in an owner-managed business.
International Finance Renting the C-suite, and why the fractional executive era has arrived · 17 Sep 2026
Argues that fractional leadership has moved from a start-up stopgap into the mid-market, with finance leading the shift. That is where most fractional FD jobs sit.
15 minutes · video or phone
Book 15 minutes to hire a fractional FD
Tell us the scope and the days a week. We come back with FD 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
Live roles · last 3 months
Live Finance director jobs
Live finance director roles
Fractional Quest is a fractional recruitment agency: send a FD brief and we come back with a shortlist of three to five vetted candidates.
01/ the role
Fractional FD jobs: what an FD does in an owner-managed business
“FD” is the word owner-managed businesses use. In a larger company the finance director may sit under a CFO; in a family firm, a founder-led company or a business owned by its managers, the FD is usually the most senior finance person there is, and often the only one on the leadership team. Fractional FD jobs are that seat, held for one or more days a week.
What the FD owns
Robert Half’s finance director profile lists the core of it: managing cash flow, preparing the monthly management accounts, overseeing reporting, forecasting and budgeting, supporting tax, audit and risk, managing the relationships with banks and auditors, and running processes, controls and finance systems. In a smaller business the FD does more of this personally, with a bookkeeper or a small team beneath them. The British Business Bank’s guide to small business finance management sets out the questions an FD answers first: is the business plan and forecast current, who chases late payers, and is there a sales budget compared with actual performance.
When an owner-managed business needs one
The usual moment is growth past what the founder and the external accountant can keep up with: the bank wants monthly figures, cash gets tight despite a full order book, a buyer or investor starts asking questions, or the owner wants to step back from the numbers. The trigger is the work, not a turnover figure. For the full guide to the role, rates and the portfolio model, see fractional finance director.
02/ scope
How to hire a fractional FD
1. Scope the seat
List what the FD will own, who they report to (usually the owner or managing director) and whether they join the board. Then decide the days. A business whose books are sound but whose owner needs a forecast and a bank relationship needs fewer days than one whose month-end is late and whose controls are thin.
2. Choose FD, controller or CFO
If the real gap is the close, the ledgers and the controls, hire a fractional financial controller first. If the work is fundraising, investors or a sale, hire a fractional CFO. If the seat is empty and needs someone full-time for a fixed term, bring in an interim finance director. The table below sets out the difference.
3. Check the qualification
Robert Half says finance directors should be qualified accountants (ACA, ACCA or CIMA). The ICAEW’s ACA is its chartered accountant qualification; the ACCA qualification combines exams, ethics and professional experience; CIMA’s CGMA Professional Qualification is built around management accounting, financial reporting and financial strategy. For an owner-managed business, a management-accounting background often matters as much as the audit side. Confirm membership with the body itself.
4. Test the work and check the history
Give candidates a real set of your management accounts and a cash forecast and ask what they would change first. Take references from owners they worked for, and a lender or auditor. Read their directorship history on the Companies House register.
What we do on an FD brief
We send a shortlist of 3–5 candidates, each with pay or day rate, availability and IR35 position set out. Every candidate goes through our five-stage vetting first.
03/ comparison
FD vs financial controller vs CFO
Three finance seats that overlap in a smaller business. Choose by what the person will own.
04/ vetting
How we vet fractional FDs
What we undertake on every brief, before a candidate reaches you.
- 01
Qualification screen
Verify FD 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
05/ part-time fd
Part-time FD: employed for set days, or fractional through a company?
People searching for a part-time FD usually want the same thing as a fractional FD: a finance director for part of the week. The difference is in the contract. A part-time FD is usually employed on reduced hours, with PAYE and employment rights. A fractional FD usually invoices through their own limited company and may hold other clients.
Either way, the label does not settle the status. GOV.UK notes that a person may be an employee in employment law but have a different status for tax purposes, and that employers must work out both. Where the FD works through their own company, the off-payroll working rules (IR35) may apply: in most cases the client decides the status, while for a small client outside the public sector the FD’s own company decides. Status turns on how the engagement runs in practice. Our IR35 guide sets out the tests.
For roles advertised as part-time, see part-time finance director jobs; for a controller on fixed days, part-time financial controller jobs.
06/ board duties
When the FD is a director: what the law expects
Many owner-managed businesses put their FD on the board. That brings the statutory duties with it. The company must keep adequate accounting records, sufficient to show and explain its transactions and to disclose its financial position with reasonable accuracy at any time. Its statutory accounts go to shareholders, Companies House and HMRC, and the balance sheet must be signed by a director. GOV.UK is plain that directors can hire others to manage these things day to day but remain legally responsible for the company’s records, accounts and performance.
A director must also exercise reasonable care, skill and diligence, judged both against what can be expected of someone in that role and against the knowledge and experience the director actually has. A qualified accountant on the board is measured against that expertise. If a company goes into insolvent liquidation, a director who knew or ought to have concluded that there was no reasonable prospect of avoiding it can be made to contribute to its assets under the wrongful trading provisions, unless they took every step to minimise the loss to creditors. An FD who sees cash trouble coming has to say so.
Agree in writing whether the fractional FD joins the board or leads finance while reporting to it, and check the directors’ and officers’ insurance before the appointment.
07/ fd pay
What an FD earns, and what a fractional FD costs
Robert Half’s 2026 salary guide puts a full-time finance director in the UK at £89,750 (25th percentile) to £138,000 (75th), median £109,500. In London the range is £122,000 to £187,750, median £149,000 (Robert Half). A CFO sits higher: Robert Half gives £132,500 to £220,500, median £176,500.
A fractional FD costs the day rate times the days worked. We set out each candidate’s day rate on the shortlist rather than quote a market band. For published fractional and part-time FD figures, see the fractional finance director salary page.
08/ questions
Fractional FD jobs FAQ
The questions people ask before bringing in a fractional FD.
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.
