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part-time executive recruitment

Hire Part-Time Chief Digital Officer

Hire Part-Time Chief Digital Officer: create a continuing employed digital-leadership seat with fewer hours, clear portfolio decisions and cover for live services.

Brief us on this role →
Chief Digital Officer briefChoose a part of the brief

Part 01 / 04

Continuing portfolio

Define the digital services, channels and delivery priorities the employee will own.

Hire Part-Time Chief Digital Officer: what must the role own?

Define the digital services, channels and delivery priorities the employee will own.

Continuing portfolioDefine the digital services, channels and delivery priorities the employee will own.
Working patternPlace portfolio and executive decisions within agreed hours where possible.
Team boundaryName product, technology and service leaders who carry day-to-day delivery.
Live-service coverGive another owner authority for urgent service incidents outside those hours.

Role reference: Acas guidance on part-time workers. Acas explains reduced-hours employment and protection from less favourable treatment. The employer still needs operational cover for digital services outside the executive’s hours.

What changes when the Chief Digital Officer is part-time?

Part-time is a continuing employed pattern, not a temporary transformation project. The Chief Digital Officer owns an ongoing service portfolio; operational teams need named authority outside the employee’s hours.

part-timeChoose a part of the brief

Part 01 / 04

Employment

Define the employed part-time role and its continuing responsibilities.

How would this work in a real brief?

The hiring decision becomes clearer when the work and its boundary are written down together.

Illustrative brief · a mature service team needing a continuing digital owner

Product and technology teams can deliver daily changes, but service priorities and channel choices need a senior owner. The continuing workload fits a reduced week.

The part-time Chief Digital Officer owns the service portfolio and leads regular cross-team decisions.

The appointment owns

The part-time Chief Digital Officer owns the service portfolio and leads regular cross-team decisions.

Another owner retains

The operations lead handles daily incidents; the data lead owns definitions, quality and governance.

How should you assess Chief Digital Officer candidates?

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

The evidenceChoose a part of the brief

Part 01 / 04

Portfolio continuity

Ask how the candidate kept digital priorities moving across a reduced working week.

Acas recommends a consistent, fair selection process: choosing who to interview.

Does this hiring pattern fit the work?

Test the amount of the week, the expected end and the continuity needed before writing the contract.

How much of the week does the work fill?
Is this a defined assignment with an end?
For a continuing part-week role, is this an employee?

The working pattern · part-time

A part-time Chief Digital Officer

An employee holds a continuing seat for fewer hours. Agree the schedule, employment terms and cover outside working hours.

Read the part-time Chief Digital Officer hiring brief →

What must happen before the Chief Digital Officer starts?

Confirm employed hours, reporting line and portfolio ownership.

A clear startChoose a part of the brief

Part 01 / 04

Contract

Confirm employed hours, reporting line and portfolio ownership.
  1. 1

    Contract

    Confirm employed hours, reporting line and portfolio ownership.

  2. 2

    Calendar

    Set portfolio decisions and service reviews within the agreed pattern.

  3. 3

    Cover

    Write down who can act on urgent digital-service issues outside those hours.

  4. 4

    First review

    Review whether hours and delegation let teams make timely decisions.

A useful Chief Digital Officer brief names the decision, the working pattern and the evidence before it names a candidate.

What should the brief say?

Hire Part-Time Chief Digital Officer begins with continuing portfolio, a stated working pattern and the evidence you will ask every candidate to show.

15 minutes · video or phone

Brief us on a Chief Digital Officer

Tell us what the role must own, how it will work and when it must start.

  1. 01A brief built around the decisions and working pattern.
  2. 02A shortlist of 3–5 with pay or day rate, availability and IR35 position set out.
  3. 03Five-stage vetting before a candidate reaches you.
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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
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