Interim CISO salary · day rates, assignments and IR35
What an interim CISO earns, by the day and by the assignment
An interim CISO salary is a day rate, not an annual salary.
Exec Capital’s 2026 technology guide publishes £900–£2,000 a day for an interim CISO.
In job ads, the median advertised CISO contract rate was £663 a day over the six months to 5 October 2026, on ITJobsWatch’s count of 12 rates quoted.
The rate buys full-time cover for a fixed term, with no pension, holiday pay or bonus from the client.
When you hire an interim CISO 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 CISO
Tell us the scope and the days a week. We come back with Interim CISO 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 CISO jobs on the board
No Interim CISO roles on the board in the last three months. Showing fractional CISO roles instead.
Roles on the board: interim security leadership
Fractional recruitment works differently from a permanent search — shorter, scoped by days a week, and priced on the engagement. Send a Interim CISO brief and we come back with a shortlist of three to five vetted candidates.
01/ the role
What an interim CISO is paid for, and why the unit is the day
An interim CISO takes the security seat full-time for a fixed term: after a breach, through a certification or regulator review, or between two permanent appointments.
For the role itself, see interim CISO.
The interim works through their own company or an umbrella and invoices by the day.
Exec Capital says an interim CTO, CIO or CISO suits a defined-period need: a transformation programme, a leadership gap, or a build ahead of a permanent hire.
Barclay Simpson’s 2026 survey of cyber security employers found the main reason for using interim support was specific projects, for 40% of them, and the inability to source permanent staff for 15%.
The work is often urgent.
An interim brought in after an incident leads the response the NCSC’s incident management guidance describes, and may own the report to the regulator: the ICO asks organisations to report a personal data breach early and update later.
02/ scope
How to hire an interim CISO and set the rate
1. Define the outcome and the end
Write down what done looks like: the incident closed and reported, the certificate issued, the regulator’s findings answered, the permanent CISO appointed.
That sets the term, and the term sets what you pay overall.
2. Price the scope, not the title
A Global or EMEA remit sits at £1,000–£1,500+ a day in Barclay Simpson’s guide; a head of information security on contract at £700–£900.
Exec Capital also notes a premium for CISO appointments at FCA-authorised firms.
3. Settle IR35 before the start date
Status depends on how the engagement runs in practice.
Under the off-payroll working rules, a medium or large client decides the status and issues a status determination statement; for a small client outside the public sector, the interim’s own company decides.
HMRC’s CEST tool can help.
Our IR35 guide sets out the tests.
What we do on an interim CISO brief
We recruit interim, fractional, permanent, part-time and temporary security leaders, and non-executive directors.
We send a shortlist of 3–5, each with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out, after our five-stage vetting.
To see the roles and brief us, go to interim CISO jobs.
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 · fractional CISO
Engagement
- Fractional1
Days a week
- Stated in the posting1
- Not stated0
Day rate
- Verified rate0
- Estimated (est)1
- Rate not stated0
Work arrangement (as the job feed classifies it)
- Remote1
- Hybrid0
- On-site0
Newest posting on the board: 27 Sept 2026.
04/ rates by stage
Interim CISO salary day rates by source
Day rates as each source publishes them. Exec Capital, Barclay Simpson and Optima Europe are recruiters publishing ranges; ITJobsWatch counts rates quoted in IT contract job ads; the IIM surveys interim managers across all functions.
05/ economics
A day rate is not a salary: how to compare them
People turn a day rate into a salary by multiplying by working days.
At ITJobsWatch’s median of £663, 220 days comes to £145,860.
That is our arithmetic for a full working year, which few interims bill, not what one earns.
Interims do not bill every day.
The Institute of Interim Management’s 2026 survey found an average of 148 days billed in the year, an average assignment of 10.0 months and an average gap of 3.2 months between assignments.
At £663 a day, 148 days is £98,124, again our arithmetic, before the interim pays for their own pension, insurance and time between roles.
For the client, the comparison runs the other way.
A day rate carries no employer’s National Insurance, pension, holiday pay or bonus, and it stops when the work does.
For permanent pay and the package around it, see CISO salary; for part-time security leadership, fractional CISO salary.
06/ vetting
How we vet interim CISOs
What we undertake on every brief, before a candidate reaches you.
- 01
Qualification screen
Verify Interim CISO 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/ interim ciso day rate
Interim CISO day rate: what moves it
The published interim CISO day rate runs from £900 to £2,000 in Exec Capital’s 2026 guide.
Barclay Simpson puts a Global or EMEA CISO on contract at £1,000–£1,500+, and Optima Europe gives £1,200–£2,000 as one band for fractional and interim CISOs.
Advertised rates sit lower.
ITJobsWatch found a median of £663 a day across 12 CISO contract rates quoted in the six months to 5 October 2026, with the middle half between £563 and £875.
Ads outside London had a median of £575.
Read the figure as advertised rates, not board-level mandates.
Scope and sector move the rate.
Barclay Simpson’s Global or EMEA CISO band sits above its head of information security band, and Exec Capital notes a premium for CISO appointments at FCA-authorised firms.
08/ interim chief information security officer salary
Interim chief information security officer salary and IR35
An interim chief information security officer salary depends on tax status as well as the rate.
The IIM’s 2026 survey, across all functions, found an average day rate of £949 for interims working outside IR35 and £830 for those inside it.
Inside IR35 is common in cyber security.
Barclay Simpson’s 2026 survey found only 54% of cyber security contractors working outside IR35, while 86% preferred to.
Inside IR35, an interim pays broadly the same Income Tax and National Insurance as an employee, and the IIM found umbrella companies the main way interims are paid on those assignments.
Status is decided contract by contract, by how the work is done.
A board that wants its interim CISO to own risk under the government’s Cyber Governance Code of Practice should expect that control and direction to weigh in the determination.
09/ questions
Interim CISO salary FAQ
The questions people ask before bringing in an interim CISO.
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.
