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part-time hiring brief

Hire a Part-Time Finance Director

Hire a Part-Time Finance Director: appoint an employed finance director on reduced hours while keeping the close, controls and approvals covered across the full week.

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Finance Director briefChoose a part of the brief

Part 01 / 04

Finance remit

Name the reporting, planning, controls and team decisions the FD will own.

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

Name the reporting, planning, controls and team decisions the FD will own.

Finance remitName the reporting, planning, controls and team decisions the FD will own.
Close calendarPlace board packs, payroll, tax and month-end approvals against the agreed hours.
DelegationName who can act on payments, exceptions and routine reporting outside FD hours.
Board lineSet which decisions reach the CEO or board and when the FD must attend.

Role reference: ICAEW: finance careers and the Finance Director role. ICAEW describes finance leadership, planning, controls and board reporting. For an employed reduced-hours FD, the accounting close and approvals need named cover outside the agreed working days.

What changes when the Finance Director is part-time?

Part-time is a continuing employee pattern. A fractional FD may be an external practitioner with agreed days and a contract; an interim FD takes a finite assignment. Write the employment relationship and daily finance cover clearly.

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 company with a capable controller

The controller runs daily transactions and the close, but the board needs continuing senior judgment on forecasts, controls and investment. That work fits a reduced employed week.

The part-time FD leads the finance plan, reviews the close and advises the board on scheduled days.

The appointment owns

The part-time FD leads the finance plan, reviews the close and advises the board on scheduled days.

Another owner retains

The controller keeps daily processing and escalates exceptions; directors retain their legal duties and material approvals.

How should you assess Finance Director 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

Close continuity

Ask candidates how they have kept deadlines and controls working on reduced hours.

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 Finance Director

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

Read the part-time Finance Director hiring brief →

What must happen before the Finance Director starts?

Agree hours, continuing authority and reporting line.

A clear startChoose a part of the brief

Part 01 / 04

Contract

Agree hours, continuing authority and reporting line.
  1. 1

    Contract

    Agree hours, continuing authority and reporting line.

  2. 2

    Calendar

    Map close, reporting and board dates to working days.

  3. 3

    Cover

    Record delegated approvals and urgent escalation outside those days.

  4. 4

    First review

    Test whether the pattern supports timely finance decisions after one close cycle.

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

What should the brief say?

Hire a Part-Time Finance Director begins with finance remit, a stated working pattern and the evidence you will ask every candidate to show.

15 minutes · video or phone

Brief us on a Finance Director

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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