Interim chief of staff salary · pro-rata, 2026
What an interim chief of staff earns, pro-rata of the permanent salary
No independent UK source publishes an interim chief of staff day rate.
The figures here are the permanent chief of staff salary from PayScale spread across working days — our arithmetic, a pro-rata floor for comparison, not a market rate.
On PayScale’s £78,000 median, an interim chief of staff salary comes to about £350 a day pro rata.
Over 148 days, the IIM’s average days billed in a year across all interim functions, that is £51,800 (our arithmetic).
The rate you pay is the rate each candidate quotes.
When you hire an interim chief of staff through us, we send a shortlist of 3–5, each with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out.
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
15 minutes · video or phone
Book 15 minutes to hire an interim chief of staff
Tell us the scope and the days a week. We come back with Interim Chief of Staff 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
On the board · last 3 months
Interim Chief of staff jobs on the board
No Interim Chief of staff roles on the board in the last three months. Showing interim operations leadership roles instead.
Interim chief of staff roles on the board
Fractional recruitment works differently from a permanent search — shorter, scoped by days a week, and priced on the engagement. Send a Interim Chief of Staff brief and we come back with a shortlist of three to five vetted candidates.
01/ the role
How interim cover is paid, and why there is no published rate
An interim chief of staff holds the seat full-time for a fixed period: a new chief executive’s first months, a restructuring, a merger, or the gap before a permanent hire.
The interim invoices for the days worked.
There is no salary, employer pension or paid holiday behind the rate.
No independent UK source publishes a day rate for the seat.
The figures we found were either not independent or were temporary hourly rates, and neither is an interim market rate.
So this page starts from what employers pay a permanent chief of staff and divides it across the working year.
The method is simple.
Take the permanent base salary and divide it by 220 working days to get a day equivalent.
Then multiply by 148 days, the average days billed in a year in the Institute of Interim Management’s 2026 survey.
The 220 days is our assumption for a full-time year, not a published figure.
For context across every interim function, the IIM’s 2026 survey puts the average day rate at £907.
That figure covers all functions, not this seat, so it is context and not a chief of staff rate.
02/ scope
What to check before you agree a rate
1. Define the mandate and its end
Say what the interim must deliver and by when: an operating rhythm for a new leadership team, a programme of change, a handover to a permanent hire.
Where the work is change, the CIPD’s change management factsheet sets out what the work involves.
2. Compare quotes, not headlines
Ask every candidate for the same three things: the day rate, the expected length of the assignment, and the notice either side can give.
Then compare the quotes with each other and with the pro-rata line in the table below.
3. Decide tax status at the start
If your business is medium or large, you make the off-payroll status determination for the engagement and give the interim your reasons (HMRC guidance for clients).
Settle it before you go to market, because it changes how the fee is taxed.
4. Check the record
There is no single qualification for the seat.
Some chiefs of staff hold the CMI’s Chartered Manager status, a professional credential in management and leadership.
Ask for outcomes from comparable assignments and references from the executives they served.
What we do on an interim brief
We recruit interim, fractional, part-time, temporary and permanent executives, and non-executive directors.
We send a shortlist of 3–5, each with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out, and every candidate goes through our five-stage vetting first.
If the seat needs a permanent owner after the interim, hire a chief of staff on that basis.
03/ the board
What the board holds.
A read of the roles on the board on this page, counted as they stand: how each is engaged, whether the posting gives the days and the rate, and where the work happens.
On this board, last 90 days · 1 role · interim operations leadership
Engagement
- Interim1
Days a week
- Stated in the posting1
- Not stated0
Day rate
- Verified rate0
- Estimated (est)0
- Rate not stated1
Work arrangement (as the job feed classifies it)
- Remote0
- Hybrid0
- On-site0
- Not classified1
Newest posting on the board: 1 Sept 2026.
04/ the route
Fractional, interim or permanent?
Four taps. The answer names the route for the seat and the page that covers it.
The route · Fractional
A fractional chief of staff.The work fills part of the week, so buy the days it needs.
A fractional chief of staff holds the seat on agreed days for as long as the seat is needed, and works for other clients on the rest.
The route · Interim
An interim chief of staff.The work fills the week, and it has an end: a programme, a cover, a transaction.
An interim chief of staff takes the seat full time for that stretch and hands it over when it is done.
The route · Interim, then permanent
Interim now, a permanent chief of staff after.The seat is full time and long term, and the need is now.
An interim chief of staff holds it while the permanent search runs, so the seat is not left empty.
The route · Permanent
A permanent chief of staff.A full-time seat that sits at the table for years is a permanent hire.
There is time to run a search, so run one.
05/ rates by stage
Interim chief of staff salary pro-rata, our arithmetic
Permanent base salaries as PayScale and Lily Shippen publish them for 2026, spread across the working year. Our arithmetic: salary ÷ 220 working days, rounded to the nearest £10; that day × 148 days, the IIM’s 2026 average days billed across all interim functions. A pro-rata reference for comparison, not a market rate and not a quote.
06/ economics
What a day rate leaves out, and what it adds
A day rate carries no benefits.
There is no employer pension, sick pay or paid holiday inside it, and the interim carries the gaps between assignments.
An employee, by contrast, must be enrolled in a workplace pension that the employer pays into (GOV.UK), and the employer pays National Insurance on their salary (HMRC rates and thresholds).
VAT may sit on top.
If the interim invoices through a business that is registered for VAT, VAT is added to each invoice.
Ask whether a quote includes it.
Tax status turns on how the engagement runs, not on the title or the contract alone.
Under the off-payroll working rules (IR35), a medium or large client makes the status determination; for a small client outside the public sector, the interim’s own company decides.
HMRC’s CEST tool gives its view on one engagement, and GOV.UK explains how employment status differs between employment law and tax.
Our IR35 guide sets out the tests.
07/ vetting
How we vet interim chiefs of staff
What we undertake on every brief, before a candidate reaches you.
- 01
Qualification screen
Verify Interim Chief of Staff 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
08/ the quote
Reading a quote: day rate, length and notice
The pro-rata table gives you a reference line.
It does not tell you what anyone will quote.
Each interim sets their own rate for the mandate, its length and the notice they offer.
Put the quotes side by side on the same basis.
Multiply each day rate by the working days in the assignment you expect.
Check whether VAT is included, and how much notice either side must give.
To model a few options, use the rate calculator.
We set out each candidate’s day rate, availability and IR35 position on the shortlist, so the comparison is ready when you see it.
09/ the other routes
Interim, permanent or fractional: three ways to pay for the seat
A permanent hire is paid a salary and package; see chief of staff salary for the published benchmarks in full.
If the work fits into part of the week, see fractional chief of staff salary for the same arithmetic by days a week.
A fractional chief of staff is paid only for the days bought.
Roles on the board are listed on fractional chief of staff jobs.
10/ questions
Interim chief of staff salary FAQ
The questions people ask before bringing in an interim chief of staff.
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.
