Hire an interim CHRO
for the gap.
Hire an interim CHRO or interim HR Director — full-time people leadership on a fixed-term assignment — for a restructure, a TUPE transfer, a post-deal integration or cover through a vacancy. Also searched as interim Chief People Officer. Or browse live interim HR leadership jobs below.
Book 15 minutes to hire an interim CHRO
Tell us the situation and the start date. We come back with interim CHRO candidates, their day rates and availability.
- 15 minutes, video or phone
- We scope the assignment and the start date
- Shortlist target: 48 hours after the call
- No retainer — 12% only if you sign
What is an interim CHRO?
An interim CHRO — or interim HR Director, or interim Chief People Officer — leads the people function full-time for a fixed term. Not an HR consultancy and not a part-time fractional CHRO: the person accountable for people risk and the people plan until the job is done.
Full-time
The CHRO seat, five days a week.
An interim CHRO takes the role in full — the people plan, employee relations, reward and the HR team — rather than advising from outside it.
Fixed-term
Starts quickly
Outcome-led
What an interim HR Director or CHRO owns
The interim carries people accountability for the term; HR business partners and operations keep the casework.
✓ OWNS
- People strategy and plan
- Organisation design and restructuring
- Consultation, TUPE and redundancy process
- Employee relations and risk
- Reward and pay frameworks
- Culture and engagement through change
- Board and remuneration committee reporting
- Handover to the permanent CHRO
× DELEGATES
- Individual casework
- Payroll processing
- Recruitment administration
- Onboarding logistics
- HRIS data entry
- Training delivery
Interim CHRO vs fractional, HR consultancy and permanent
The same seat, four ways of filling it.
Interim CHRO and HR Director day rates, UK 2026
Published figures only, each with its source. The mandate sets the rate: steady-state cover at the bottom, transformation in the middle, listed-company CHRO at the top.
Bars are published bands; the tick marks each band’s midpoint (our arithmetic, not a published average).
| Engagement | Published figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Interim HR Director, steady-state cover (mid-market) | £500–£750 a day | Exec Capital HR Director guide |
| Interim HR Director, transformation brief | £750–£1,100 a day | Exec Capital HR Director guide |
| Interim CHRO, large corporate or listed | £1,100–£1,800 a day | Exec Capital HR Director guide |
| Contract CHRO / Chief People Officer, London | £900–£1,500 a day | Robert Walters |
| Permanent CHRO / Chief People Officer | £110,250–£183,750, median £147,000 | Robert Half 2026 |
| Permanent HR Director | £92,000–£128,750, median £110,250 | Robert Half 2026 |
Six months full-time (about 130 working days) is roughly £65,000–£97,500 for steady-state cover and £97,500–£143,000 for a transformation brief, before our fee — our arithmetic on the Exec Capital bands.
What an interim CHRO costs
Model a fixed-term interim CHRO against a permanent Chief HR Officer over the same period.
Is an interim CHRO tax-deductible?
General position under UK rules, with the HMRC source for each point. Not tax advice — check your own case with your accountant.
The fees are a business expense
An interim CHRO’s fees, like a salary, are deductible against profits when incurred wholly and exclusively for the trade (HMRC BIM37000). At the 25% main rate, each £1,000 of fees costs a profitable company £750 after relief.
Outside IR35, no 15% on top
A permanent CHRO carries employer National Insurance at 15% (gov.uk). An interim engaged through their own company outside IR35 does not. Inside IR35, the fee-payer deducts tax and NI and pays employer NI.
IR35 status, by company size
Medium and large clients determine the interim’s status themselves; for a small private-sector client, the interim’s own company decides (HMRC off-payroll guidance).
When to hire an interim HR Director
Four situations where companies hire an interim CHRO or HR Director — and where most interim HR leadership jobs come from.
A restructure
Redundancies, a new operating model or a site closure that must be run carefully and lawfully.
A deal
An acquisition, a TUPE transfer or a PE investment with a people plan attached.
A vacancy
The HR Director or CHRO leaves with change programmes half-done.
A reset
Employee relations, culture or HR systems have drifted and need a senior owner for a period.
Hiring an interim CHRO or HR Director: what to get right
Pick the level. An interim HR Director runs the function and the casework through change; an interim CHRO or Chief People Officer owns people strategy at board level. Exec Capital prices them differently: £500–£1,100 a day for HR Director mandates, £1,100–£1,800 for a listed-company CHRO.
Start with the outcome and the risk. Restructures, TUPE transfers and redundancy programmes carry legal exposure; the brief should name the programme, the dates and who signs off.
Choose between interim and fractional. If the people function needs a full-time owner through a programme, hire an interim. If it needs senior HR judgement a day or two a week, a fractional CHRO costs less.
Budget from the published bands, not a general average. Robert Walters puts London contract CHRO work at £900–£1,500 a day; a permanent CHRO is a median £147,000 and a permanent HR Director £110,250 (Robert Half), before on-costs and a retained search fee.
If you are looking for interim HR Director jobs or interim CHRO roles rather than hiring, the live board below lists current roles; fractional CHRO jobs cover the part-time market.
IR35 for an interim CHRO
Our contracts are drafted to sit outside IR35. Status still turns on how the assignment runs day to day, and a full-time interim needs more care here than a fractional role. Medium and large clients make the determination; for a small private-sector client the interim’s own company does. See the IR35 guide.
Substitution
The contract is with the interim’s limited company and carries a genuine right to send a qualified substitute.
Control
You set the outcomes for the assignment; the interim decides how the work gets done.
Mutuality
No obligation to offer or accept work beyond the agreed assignment and term.
How to hire an interim CHRO with us
What we undertake on every brief. No retainer; you pay only if you sign.
Brief
A 30-minute call on the assignment, the start date and what the interim CHRO must have delivered by the end of the term.
DAY 0Search
We search and screen against that brief: track record at your stage and in your situation, and references we take ourselves.
SCREENINGShortlist
Three to five candidates with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out. We aim to send it within 48 hours.
48H TARGETStart
You interview and choose. Our fee is 12%, charged on signing, with flexible fee clawback agreed case by case.
12% ON SIGNINGInterim CHRO FAQ
Hiring an interim Chief HR Officer, or looking for interim CHRO jobs.
Need an interim CHRO this month?
Book 15 minutes. We aim to have a shortlist with you within 48 hours of the call.
Book a call →Related pages
Interim, fractional and cost guides for the same seat.
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Part-time people leadership, plus fractional CHRO jobs.
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CHRO Headhunters
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Interim Executive Recruitment
Every interim C-suite role, with published day rates.
Interim Recruitment Agencies
The UK interim management firms, compared.
Interim CHRO jobs · last 3 months
Live Interim CHRO jobs
No live Interim CHRO roles right now.
We only show real, verified vacancies from the last three months — we never pad the board with fabricated listings. New Interim CHRO roles appear here as our pipeline finds them.
