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part-time executive recruitment

Hire a Part-Time CTO

Hire a Part-Time CTO: design a continuing employed technology leadership role for fewer hours, with clear technical authority and a named response path outside the agreed days.

Brief us on this role →
CTO briefChoose a part of the brief

Part 01 / 04

Continuing seat

Set the technical strategy, architecture and team responsibilities that remain with the CTO.

Hire a Part-Time CTO: what must the role own?

Set the technical strategy, architecture and team responsibilities that remain with the CTO.

Continuing seatSet the technical strategy, architecture and team responsibilities that remain with the CTO.
Working daysAgree when technical decisions, leadership meetings and reviews occur.
EscalationName who handles incidents or urgent risk outside those days.
EmploymentWrite hours, reporting line and benefits into the employed role.

Role reference: Acas part-time workers guidance. Acas explains the treatment of part-time employees and workers relative to comparable full-time colleagues.

What changes when the CTO is part-time?

Part-time describes the employee’s working pattern. The CTO still holds continuing technology responsibility, so the job must make management, risk escalation and cover workable.

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 small engineering organisation

A product business has a small engineering team and needs a continuing technical leader, but the leadership workload does not fill a full week.

The part-time CTO owns architecture direction, team leadership and technical risk on agreed working days.

The appointment owns

The part-time CTO owns architecture direction, team leadership and technical risk on agreed working days.

Another owner retains

A named engineering lead handles operational incidents between days; the CEO retains company investment approval.

How should you assess CTO 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

Technical ownership

Ask for a decision that balanced product goals, architecture and operational risk.

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 CTO

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

Read the part-time CTO hiring brief →

What must happen before the CTO starts?

Agree employed hours, days, reporting line and benefits.

A clear startChoose a part of the brief

Part 01 / 04

Contract

Agree employed hours, days, reporting line and benefits.
  1. 1

    Contract

    Agree employed hours, days, reporting line and benefits.

  2. 2

    Access

    Provide architecture, roadmap, incident history and team introductions.

  3. 3

    Cover

    Introduce the engineering lead who handles matters outside working days.

  4. 4

    First review

    Choose one current architecture or risk decision for the CTO to review.

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

What should the brief say?

Hire a Part-Time CTO begins with continuing seat, a stated working pattern and the evidence you will ask every candidate to show.

15 minutes · video or phone

Brief us on a CTO

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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