Hire an Interim CSO · Interim CSO Jobs UK
Interim Chief Sustainability Officer Jobs · Hire an interim chief sustainability officer
Hire an interim CSO for full-time temporary sustainability leadership when your organisation requires immediate ESG expertise during a transition — or browse current interim Chief Sustainability Officer opportunities across UK companies for experienced CSOs seeking interim assignments.
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 CSO
Tell us the scope and the days a week. We come back with Interim CSO 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 sustainability officer jobs on the board
No Interim chief sustainability officer roles on the board in the last three months. Showing fractional executive roles instead.
- FractionalSyndicatedFinancial Controller (fractional)
Fermtech · Oxford
est £550/dayOxford - FractionalSyndicatedFractional IT Director – Technology & AI (FTC)
Flat Iron · London
est £1,000/day2 d/wk - FractionalSyndicatedFractional Chief Medical Officer - Tricorder Systems
Founders Factory · Bristol
Rate not statedBristol - FractionalSyndicatedFractional People Director
People Puzzles Ltd · Cambridge
Rate not statedCambridge - FractionalSyndicatedFractional CFO
KeelCFO · England
Rate not statedEngland - FractionalSyndicatedFractional CFO
fin-house · London
£700–£1,000/dayLondon - FractionalSyndicatedFractional General Counsel
Ffern · London
est £1,000/day1 d/wk - FractionalSyndicatedPerformance & Development Lead (Fractional)
Unity Advisory · London
Rate not stated3 d/wk - FractionalSyndicatedFractional CFO
Amitours · United Kingdom
Rate not statedUnited Kingdom
Current interim CSO opportunities
How fractional recruitment agencies compare is set out in one place, including how we work: a Interim CSO brief and a shortlist of three to five.
01/ the role
What is an interim CSO?
An interim Chief Sustainability Officer provides full-time sustainability leadership on a temporary basis.
Exec Capital's 2026 day rates for an interim chief sustainability officer are £1,200–£1,800 at a mid-market business (turnover £50m–£250m), £1,500–£2,200 at a FTSE 250 or large private company and £2,000–£3,000 at a FTSE 100 company or regulated financial services firm.
For the full picture, see interim chief sustainability officer salary.
Companies typically hire an interim CSO during critical ESG situations - regulatory compliance deadlines, sustainability reporting requirements, acquisition integration, or major sustainability transformation initiatives.
They provide immediate expertise, stabilise ESG operations, and implement strategic changes while companies secure permanent sustainability leadership.
How to hire an interim Chief Sustainability Officer
To hire an interim CSO, submit a brief covering the ESG mandate - compliance deadline, incident remediation, or transformation - and we come back with a shortlist of 3–5 matched on sector experience; the start date is then agreed with the candidate.
If the need is part-time rather than full-time, a fractional chief sustainability officer covers ongoing sustainability leadership; Exec Capital puts fractional engagements at two to four days a month.
02/ scope
Core interim CSO responsibilities
ESG compliance and reporting
Ensuring immediate compliance with sustainability regulations, managing ESG reporting deadlines, and implementing frameworks for environmental, social, and governance metrics.
Establishing rapid response capabilities for regulatory requirements and stakeholder reporting.
Many interim CSOs require robust carbon reporting software for accurate emissions tracking and UK SRS compliance.
Stay informed about the UK SRS consultation process and upcoming FCA proposals.
Quoted and large companies already report energy use and emissions under Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting, and the GHG Protocol publishes the most widely used greenhouse gas accounting standards.
Sustainability programme delivery
Leading urgent sustainability initiatives, carbon reduction projects, or ESG transformation programmes that cannot wait for permanent recruitment.
Managing time-sensitive sustainability commitments, regulatory deadlines, or stakeholder requirements requiring immediate senior oversight.
Large undertakings must also meet the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme audit cycle, which sets its own compliance deadlines.
Stakeholder management and transition
Managing relationships with investors, regulators, and sustainability stakeholders during leadership transitions.
Preparing comprehensive handover documentation, establishing processes for successor, and ensuring smooth transition to permanent CSO.
Crisis management and remediation
Addressing urgent sustainability issues, environmental incidents, or ESG compliance failures requiring immediate senior attention.
Implementing remediation plans, managing stakeholder communications, and restoring sustainability credibility.
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 · 9 roles · fractional executive
Engagement
- Fractional9
Seat
- CFO3
- Financial controller1
- CTO1
- Other1
- CHRO1
- General counsel1
- Other seats1
Days a week
- Stated in the posting3
- Not stated6
Day rate
- Verified rate1
- Estimated (est)3
- Rate not stated5
Work arrangement (as the job feed classifies it)
- Remote1
- Hybrid6
- On-site2
Newest posting on the board: 8 Oct 2026.
Postings per week on this board, last 90 days
9 postings on this board in the last 90 days, counted by the week each was published.
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 CSO.The work fills part of the week, so buy the days it needs.
A fractional CSO 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 CSO.The work fills the week, and it has an end: a programme, a cover, a transaction.
An interim CSO 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 CSO after.The seat is full time and long term, and the need is now.
An interim CSO holds it while the permanent search runs, so the seat is not left empty.
The route · Permanent
A permanent CSO.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/ timing
When to hire an interim CSO
Common scenarios where companies hire an interim CSO for immediate sustainability leadership with full-time commitment
Scenario 01
CSO Departure
— your CSO has left and you need immediate sustainability leadership during recruitment
Scenario 02
Regulatory Deadline
— urgent ESG reporting or regulatory requirements need immediate senior oversight
Scenario 03
Environmental Crisis
— environmental incident or ESG failure requires experienced crisis management
Scenario 04
ESG Transformation
— net-zero commitment or sustainability transformation needs dedicated leadership
06/ vetting
How vetting and shortlisting work
Our five-stage process for matching you with the right interim CSO, with emphasis on ESG expertise — we come back with a shortlist of 3–5
- 01
Qualification screen
Verify Interim CSO 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
07/ sustainability interim recruitment
Sustainability interim recruitment: what to test for
Sustainability interim recruitment is harder to get right while the reporting ground keeps moving.
The UK government has published UK Sustainability Reporting Standards S1 and S2, based on the ISSB's global baseline, for voluntary use, and the FCA has consulted on whether listed companies should report against them (GOV.UK: UK Sustainability Reporting Standards).
An interim sustainability leader should be able to explain where your organisation stands against those standards and what the board has to decide next, not just run a carbon inventory.
Test for three things.
First, reporting: has the candidate prepared climate-related disclosures, and can they show the governance behind them?
Second, delivery: have they run a decarbonisation or transition programme with named owners and budgets?
Third, credentials.
The Institute of Sustainability and Environmental Professionals, formerly IEMA, grades its members from Associate through Practitioner to Full and Fellow, and is the largest accreditor of Chartered Environmentalist status (ISEP membership).
Membership is no substitute for a track record, but it is easy to check.
We send a shortlist of 3–5 interim CSOs or interim sustainability leaders, each with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out.
If the need is part-time and ongoing, see fractional sustainability jobs.
08/ green claims
Sustainability fractional CMO or CSO: who owns the green claims?
Companies looking for a sustainability fractional CMO usually have a marketing problem with a sustainability edge: a product, brand or business whose environmental claims now carry legal risk.
The CMA's Green Claims Code says environmental claims must be truthful and accurate, clear and unambiguous, must not omit or hide important information, must compare fairly, must consider the full life cycle and must be substantiated, and the CMA has opened consumer protection cases over green claims (GOV.UK: making environmental claims).
The unfair trading rules those claims are judged against now sit in the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (CMA: unfair commercial practices).
So decide who owns what.
A fractional or interim CMO owns the message, the channels and the campaigns.
A CSO owns the evidence: the data, the methodology and the targets the claims rest on.
The two need an agreed sign-off route before anything is published.
If you are hiring for the marketing side, see hire a fractional CMO or hire an interim CMO; if the evidence is the gap, an interim CSO is the hire.
09/ questions
Interim CSO FAQ
The questions people ask before bringing in an interim CSO.
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.
