Interim head of sales salary · pro-rata, 2026
What an interim head of sales earns, the permanent salary by the day
No independent UK source publishes an interim head of sales day rate.
The figures here are the permanent head of sales salary from IT Jobs Watch spread across working days — our arithmetic, a pro-rata floor for comparison, not a market rate.
On that basis, an interim head of sales salary over 148 days, the IIM’s figure for days billed in a year, comes to £50,320 at the £75,000 median of IT-sector job ads (our arithmetic).
When you hire an interim head of sales 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 head of sales
Tell us the scope and the days a week. We come back with Interim Head of Sales 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 Head of sales jobs on the board
No Interim Head of sales roles on the board in the last three months. Showing interim executive roles instead.
- InterimSyndicatedInterim Chief Executive Officer (Women's Health Charity)
Verity (PMOS UK) · United Kingdom
Rate not stated3 d/wk - InterimSyndicatedInterim Finance Director
Pragmatic Semiconductor · Cambridge
est £1,400/day5 d/wk - InterimSyndicatedInterim Finance Director
Juro · United Kingdom
£800–£1,000/dayUnited Kingdom - InterimExclusiveInterim Chief Operating Officer
Confidential client (Fractional Quest mandate) · London
Rate not stated5 d/wk
Interim sales roles on the board
Fractional Quest is a fractional recruitment agency: send a Interim Head of Sales brief and we come back with a shortlist of three to five vetted candidates.
01/ the role
How we work out the figure, and what it is not
An interim head of sales holds the seat full-time for a fixed period: a departure, a new market, a sales team that has lost its number.
The interim invoices for the days worked.
There is no salary, pension or paid holiday behind the rate.
No independent source we can verify publishes a day rate for the seat.
So we start from the permanent salary.
IT Jobs Watch puts the head of sales salary at a £75,000 median in IT-sector permanent job ads over the six months to 4 October 2026, from 62 quoted salaries, with a range of £65,000–£100,000.
London ads had a £90,000 median.
We divide the salary by 220 working days, our assumption, to get a day equivalent, and round it to the nearest £10.
We multiply that by 148 days.
Across all functions, the Institute of Interim Management’s 2026 survey puts the average days billed in a year at 148.
The result is a floor for comparison.
It is what the permanent salary comes to for the same days.
It is not what an interim head of sales charges, and it leaves out commission and the costs an interim carries between assignments.
The quotes you receive are the real figures.
02/ scope
How to hire an interim head of sales
1. Define the mandate and its end
Say what the interim must deliver and by when: a rebuilt pipeline, a forecast the board trusts, a team hired, a handover to a permanent head of sales.
A mandate with an end date is easier to quote for.
2. Decide IR35 status at the start
If your business is medium or large, you make the status determination for the engagement and give the interim your reasons.
Settle it before you go to market, because it changes the rate candidates quote.
3. Match the record to the mandate
Ask for outcomes from comparable assignments: the pipeline on arrival and on exit, the hires made, the number delivered.
The Institute of Sales Professionals’ Sales Capability Framework sets out the capabilities sales work draws on; say which the mandate needs.
What we do on an interim brief
We recruit interim, fractional, part-time, temporary and permanent sales leaders, 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.
Permanent roles are on head of sales 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 · 4 roles · interim executive
Engagement
- Interim4
Seat
- Finance director2
- CEO1
- COO1
Days a week
- Stated in the posting3
- Not stated1
Day rate
- Verified rate1
- Estimated (est)1
- Rate not stated2
Work arrangement (as the job feed classifies it)
- Remote1
- Hybrid1
- On-site1
- Not classified1
Newest posting on the board: 18 Sept 2026.
Postings per week on this board, last 90 days
4 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 head of sales.The work fills part of the week, so buy the days it needs.
A fractional head of sales 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 head of sales.The work fills the week, and it has an end: a programme, a cover, a transaction.
An interim head of sales 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 head of sales after.The seat is full time and long term, and the need is now.
An interim head of sales holds it while the permanent search runs, so the seat is not left empty.
The route · Permanent
A permanent head of sales.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 head of sales salary pro-rata, by the day and the year
Our arithmetic on IT Jobs Watch’s permanent head of sales salaries (IT-sector job ads, six months to 4 October 2026). Day equivalent = salary ÷ 220 working days, rounded to the nearest £10. Over 148 days = day equivalent × 148, the IIM’s 2026 all-function figure for days billed in a year. A pro-rata floor for comparison, not a market rate.
06/ economics
What to check in the quotes before you agree a day rate
Read every quote on three terms: the day rate, the days a week, and the notice on both sides.
Agree the length of the assignment and what happens if it runs over.
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.
The rules apply contract by contract.
HMRC’s CEST tool gives its view on one engagement; our IR35 guide sets out the tests.
If the interim’s company is registered for VAT, VAT is added to the invoice.
A day rate carries no employer pension: an employer pays into a workplace pension for an employee, not for a supplier.
Nor does it carry paid holiday: the client pays for the days worked.
07/ vetting
How we vet interim head of saless
What we undertake on every brief, before a candidate reaches you.
- 01
Qualification screen
Verify Interim Head of Sales 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/ interim head of sales day rate
Interim head of sales day rate: why we print a floor, not a rate
We looked for an interim head of sales day rate we could stand behind.
The contract surveys we can verify publish other sales titles, not this one, and the rest are providers’ own price lists.
None is an independent count of what the seat is paid.
So the page shows one verified number, the permanent salary, and our arithmetic on it.
At the £75,000 median of IT-sector job ads, the day equivalent is £340.
At the £90,000 London median, it is £410 (our arithmetic, rounded to the nearest £10).
For the interim market as a whole, the IIM’s 2026 survey puts the average day rate at £907 across all functions (IIM).
That figure covers every interim role, not head of sales, and measures a different thing from the day equivalent here.
The two are not comparable.
09/ the other routes
Interim, permanent or fractional: three ways to fill the seat
A permanent hire is paid a salary, commission and package; see head of sales salary for the benchmarks.
If the work fits into part of the week, see fractional head of sales salary.
For the seat above, see interim sales director salary.
For what the seat does day to day, see what a head of sales does.
10/ questions
Interim head of sales salary FAQ
The questions people ask before bringing in an interim head of sales.
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.
