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Fractional Head of AI · hiring brief

Hire a Fractional Head of AI

Hire a Fractional Head of AI: name the AI use cases worth pursuing, the governance and data protection they must set, and who builds between their days.

Brief us on this role →How it works

Reviewed by Fractional Quest · updated 28 October 2026 · 4 sources linked below

  • 3–5on every shortlist
  • 5stages of vetting
  • IR35set out on every brief
Hire a Fractional Head of AI: leadership meeting in a Covent Garden office (illustration)

In the press

The brief

Hire a Fractional Head of AI: what must the role own?

Name the problems AI should address.

  • 01Use casesName the problems AI should address.
  • 02GovernanceSet data protection and risk rules.
  • 03BuildSay who builds: team or supplier.
  • 04MeasuresAgree how value is measured.

Role reference: ICO: guidance on AI and data protection. The ICO’s guidance on AI and data protection sets out obligations a head of AI must build into governance.

The working pattern

What changes when the Head of AI is fractional?

A fractional head of AI owns AI priorities and governance on agreed days; engineers and suppliers build.

The illustrative brief: a services firm with scattered AI pilots. Teams run AI pilots with no shared rules or measures.

The appointment owns: The fractional head of AI sets priorities and governance, one day a week.

Another owner retains: Team leads run pilots; the DPO keeps data protection sign-off.

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

From brief to start

How do you hire a Fractional Head of AI, step by step?

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 Head of AI 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
    Mandate
    Write remit and days.
    You
  5. Before day one · 2
    05
    Inventory
    List current pilots and data.
    You
  6. Before day one · 3
    06
    Rules
    Agree interim rules.
    You
  7. Before day one · 4
    07
    Review
    Review in a month.
    You

Assessment

How should you assess Head of AI candidates?

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

  1. Comparable decision
    Ask for an AI use case they took to production.
  2. Authority
    Test a data protection decision.
  3. Team
    Ask how they guided teams without owning delivery.
  4. Handover
    Ask what governance they left.

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

Hire a Fractional Head of AI: questions, answered

A brief to hire a Fractional Head of AI begins with use cases: Name the problems AI should address. 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?

  • ico.org.uk
  • HMRC
  • legislation.gov.uk
  1. 1
    ICO: guidance on AI and data protection ico.org.uk
  2. 2
    Understanding off-payroll working (IR35) HMRC
    Status depends on how the engagement runs; medium and large clients make the determination.
  3. 3
    Check employment status for tax (CEST) HMRC
    HMRC’s own status check for each engagement.
  4. 4
    Employment Agencies Act 1973 legislation.gov.uk
    The law a recruitment agency works under; no fee to a work-seeker.

For hiring managers

Bring the brief. We bring the shortlist.

Sign up now →Book a call

  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