Hire an interim executive
for the gap.
Interim executive recruitment for UK companies: a full-time interim CEO, CFO, CTO, COO, CMO or HR Director on a fixed-term assignment, shortlisted against your brief. Interim management without the day-rate mark-up — one fee, 12%, charged on signing.
Book 15 minutes to hire an interim executive
Tell us the situation and the start date. We come back with interim executive 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 interim executive recruitment?
Finding a senior leader who will run a function full-time for a fixed term — a vacancy, a turnaround, a deal, a programme — and then hand over. Interim management is the model; interim executive search is how you find the right person quickly.
Full-time
The seat, five days a week.
An interim executive holds the role in full — the team, the budget, the decisions — rather than advising from outside it.
Fixed-term
Starts quickly
Outcome-led
Which interim roles we recruit
Every C-suite and director seat, full-time and fixed-term. Each role has its own page with published day rates.
✓ OWNS
- Interim CEO
- Interim CFO and Finance Director
- Interim CTO and CIO
- Interim COO and Operations Director
- Interim CMO and Marketing Director
- Interim CHRO and HR Director
- Interim CRO and Sales Director
- Interim CPO, CISO and General Counsel
× DELEGATES
- Temporary staff below director level
- Project contractors
- Day-to-day agency temps
- Consultancy teams
- Outsourced functions
- Permanent-only searches
Interim executive vs fractional, consultancy and permanent
Four ways to fill a senior seat, and when each wins.
Interim executive day rates, UK 2026
Exec Capital publishes an interim day-rate band for each C-suite role; the IIM’s annual survey gives the market-wide averages. Straightforward cover sits at the lower end of each band, transformation and turnaround 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 CEO | £1,000–£3,500 a day | Exec Capital 2026 |
| Interim CFO | £700–£2,000 a day | Exec Capital 2026 |
| Interim COO | £800–£2,000 a day | Exec Capital 2026 |
| Interim CTO | £800–£1,800 a day | Exec Capital 2026 |
| Interim CIO | £800–£2,000 a day | Exec Capital 2026 |
| Interim CMO | £700–£2,000 a day | Exec Capital 2026 |
| Interim HR Director | £500–£1,800 a day | Exec Capital 2026 |
| Interim Sales Director | £600–£1,800 a day | Exec Capital 2026 |
| All UK interims, average | £907 a day (private sector £1,004; public £700) | IIM Interim Management Survey 2026 |
| Outside vs inside IR35, average | £949 vs £830 a day | IIM Interim Management Survey 2026 |
IIM 2026 also reports an average assignment of 10 months, 148 days billed a year and a 3.2-month average gap between assignments.
What an interim executive costs
Model a fixed-term interim executive against a permanent executive over the same period.
Is an interim executive 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 executive’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 executive 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 executive
The four situations behind most interim management assignments in the UK.
A sudden vacancy
A departure, long-term leave or a failed hire leaves a C-suite seat empty mid-plan.
A turnaround
Cash, trading or delivery has broken down and needs a leader with nothing to prove and no career to protect.
A transaction
A sale, an acquisition, a refinancing or a new PE owner’s first 100 days.
A programme
An ERP, a replatform, an AI plan, a regulatory deadline — with a date and no internal owner.
Interim management in the UK: how to hire well
Interim management is the practice of bringing in an experienced executive, full-time, for a defined period. The Institute of Interim Management’s 2026 survey — the UK’s long-running benchmark — puts the average interim day rate at £907, rising to £1,004 in the private sector, with assignments averaging 10 months.
Interim executive recruitment is how you find that person. Many UK interim management agencies (interim service providers) earn a margin on every day the interim bills. We charge one fee, 12%, when you sign, and disclose it upfront. If you want to compare firms before choosing, our independent list of UK interim recruitment agencies sets out who does what.
Budget from the published band for the role, not a general average. Exec Capital’s 2026 guide runs from £500–£1,800 a day for an interim HR Director to £1,000–£3,500 for an interim CEO; each role page below carries the detail, with a calculator comparing interim cost against a permanent hire over the same months.
Write the outcome into the brief. An interim executive is hired to leave something finished — a function stabilised, a deal closed, a programme live, a successor in post. The brief should say what that is and when.
Choose between interim and fractional deliberately. If the seat needs a full-time owner for a few months, hire an interim. If it needs senior judgement a day or two a week for the foreseeable future, a fractional executive costs less and stays longer.
IR35 for an interim executive
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 executive 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 executive 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 executive FAQ
Hiring an interim executive, or looking for interim executive jobs.
Need an interim executive 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.
Hire an Interim CEO
£1,000–£3,500 a day (Exec Capital).
Hire an Interim CFO
£700–£2,000 a day (Exec Capital).
Hire an Interim Finance Director
£600–£1,000 a day (FD Capital).
Hire an Interim CTO
£800–£1,800 a day (Exec Capital).
Hire an Interim CIO
£800–£2,000 a day (Exec Capital).
Hire an Interim CISO
£1,000–£1,500+ a day (Barclay Simpson).
Hire an Interim COO
£800–£2,000 a day (Exec Capital).
Hire an Interim Operations Director
£500–£1,800 a day (Exec Capital).
Hire an Interim CMO
£700–£2,000 a day (Exec Capital).
Hire an Interim Marketing Director
£500–£1,800 a day (Exec Capital).
Hire an Interim CHRO / HR Director
£500–£1,800 a day (Exec Capital).
Hire an Interim CRO / Sales Director
£500–£1,800 a day (Exec Capital).
Hire an Interim CPO
Chief Product Officer: £900–£1,400 a day (Leadership Services).
Hire an Interim General Counsel
£800–£1,100 a day contract (Robert Walters).
Interim Recruitment Agencies
The UK interim management firms, compared.
Fractional Recruitment Agency
Part-time C-suite leadership, 1–3 days a week.
Interim executive jobs · last 3 months
Live Interim executive jobs
- InterimSyndicated
Interim Chief Executive Officer (Women's Health Charity)
Verity (PMOS UK) · United Kingdom
Rate n/a3 d/wk - InterimExclusive
Interim Chief Operating Officer
Confidential FMCG Brand · London
Rate n/a5 d/wk
Interim roles across the C-suite. Each role page carries its own board.
