Verity (PMOS UK)SyndicatedInterim
Interim Chief Executive Officer (Women's Health Charity)Leadership Consultancy · fractional, interim and permanent leadership leaders
Leadership Consultancy · interim or fractional executive, briefed and shortlisted
leadership consultancy from Fractional Quest means an interim or fractional executive working in your business on a fractional, interim or permanent basis. Fractional Quest is a recruitment agency, not a consulting firm: we do not employ consultants or sell a team. We find an interim or fractional executive for your brief — fractional, interim or permanent — and they contract with you directly.
Reviewed by Fractional Quest · updated 23 October 2026 · 6 sources linked below
- 3–5our shortlist
Fractional seats our founder has held
Climatise
One Up Productions
CK Delta
In the press
- Financial TimesThe executives going ‘fractional’, not freelance
- International FinanceRenting the C-suite, and why the fractional executive era has arrived
The agency
What a leadership consultancy covers
This page sets out what a leadership consultancy engagement covers, how fractional, project and interim compare, how it runs and what the market publishes on rates. The board below shows current interim executive roles.
Leadership consultancy at leadership level is about ownership, not advice. The CEO leads the business: strategy, the leadership team, the board and investors, and the culture that holds it together.
Fractional Quest is a recruitment agency, not a consulting firm: we do not employ consultants or sell a team. We find an interim or fractional executive for your brief — fractional, interim or permanent — and they contract with you directly.
Interim consultants are senior managers and executives hired full-time for a fixed term to lead a defined change; a fractional interim consultant does the same on set days each week. See interim management agency.
The seat in more depth: CEO services · interim executive services · Interim Management Agency · interim management consultants.
On the board · last 90 days
Current interim executive roles on the board
From our jobs feed. Where a posting states no rate, “est” is our estimate from the seat’s published band; ◆ marks days a week the posting states.
8 of 8 roles
Function
Engagement
- Confidential clientOur mandate · available nowInterimInterim Chief Operating Officer
- Marie CurieSyndicatedInterimInterim Head of Edinburgh Hospice Transformation
- Scottish GovernmentSyndicatedInterimEOI - TP - Director of Internal Audit and Assurance
- MotorwaySyndicatedInterimInterim Head of Financial Control (3-6 month contract)
- VoyadoSyndicatedInterimHead of Revenue Enablement (Interim)
- TLT LLPSyndicatedInterimInterim General Counsel – Infrastructure & Energy Projects
- JuroSyndicatedInterimInterim Finance Director
Every fractional role in the UK is on the fractional jobs board.
Three seats
What does a fractional seat look like in practice?
Three fractional seats our founder has held. Real companies, named with their permission; we state only what the seat covered.
Fractional seats our founder has held
ClimatiseFractional · go-to-marketA carbon-reporting software company that needed go-to-market leadership before a full-time hire.
- Seat
- Fractional go-to-market lead
- Days
- Two days a week
- Scope
- Go-to-market
One Up ProductionsFractional · go-to-marketA production company that needed both the go-to-market strategy and its execution.
- Seat
- Fractional go-to-market: strategy and execution
- Days
- Two days a week
- Scope
- Go-to-market
CK DeltaFractional · technologyTechnology work: tech stack implementation.
- Seat
- Fractional technology lead
These are seats our founder has held, not placements.
The scope
What an engagement covers — and what it does not
In scope. Leadership of the business or a function through a gap, change or crisis; turnaround and recovery plans with authority to act; integration after a merger or acquisition; the leadership team’s structure and operating rhythm; a hand-over to the permanent appointment.
Not in scope. Executive coaching and leadership development programmes are bought from coaching firms. Leadership consultancy here means an executive holding a seat and taking decisions, not advising those who do.
The neighbouring seats. The CEO decides where the business goes; the COO makes it run; the chair leads the board that holds the CEO to account.
When companies look for leadership consultancy: A founder stepping back, a board-led succession, a business needing turnaround leadership, or a portfolio company whose plan is off track.
The process
How does a brief become a shortlist?
Six steps, one accountable person at each. We don’t promise a shortlist by a date; the weeks below are what a well-scoped brief usually takes.
- Day 001The 15-minute callThe seat, the engagement shape, the days or hours, the start date and the budget. No account needed; a call or a written brief.You and us
- Week 102Scope agreed in writingThe outcome the seat exists for, which days, and how the engagement will run for IR35. A brief that describes a person rather than a job, we rewrite with you.Us
- Weeks 1–203Search and approachWe approach people who aren’t looking and verify prior tenure in the seat at your scale and stage.Us
- Weeks 2–304References, taken by usFrom recent clients and boards: what they delivered, not what they titled it.Us
- Week 305Shortlist of three to fiveEach with day rate or salary, availability and IR35 position set out. You interview and decide.You
- Week 406Kick-offScope, first-month outcomes and the contract agreed before day one.You, them and us
What it costs
CEO rates what the published benchmarks say
Every figure is the named source’s own published band. Fractional Quest publishes no fees: each candidate on a shortlist states their own rate.
| Benchmark | Published figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Fractional CEO day rate | £800–£1,500 | FD Capital 2026 |
| Interim CEO day rate | £1,000–£1,800 | Exec Capital 2026 |
| Permanent CEO salary (SME base band) | £120,000–£250,000 | Exec Capital 2026 (UK SME) |
Your figures
What does part of a CEO’s week cost?
Rate × days × weeks, against a loaded full-time package. Move the sliders; the numbers redraw.
- CEO band £800–£1,500 (FD Capital 2026)
Year-one cost, fractional
£105,800
Fractional costs less in year one by£31,450
Our arithmetic. £120,000 Exec Capital 2026 (UK SME) lower-quartile salary + employer NI at 15% above £5,000 (HMRC) = £137,250. Excludes pension, bonus and any search fee.
Against the alternatives
Four ways to buy leadership expertise fractional, project, interim or permanent
The same leadership problem can be bought four ways. The difference is who does the work, for how long, and who is accountable afterwards.
| Fractional leadership leader | Project consultancy firm | Interim executive | Permanent hire | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What you buy | An interim or fractional executive, days a week | A defined deliverable | A leader full-time for a fixed term | A full-time leader for years |
| Who does the work | One named senior person | A team, often with a partner who sold it | One named senior person | Your employee |
| Accountable after | Yes — they stay | No — the project ends | Until the hand-over | Yes |
| Best when | You need senior judgement every week, not every day | The work is a one-off with a clear output | You need full-time cover or a change led now | The seat is full-time work for years |
| Usual contract | Contract for services, often via the leader’s company | Statement of work | Day-rate contract for the mandate | Employment contract |
The decision
When leadership consultancy is the right call
Three situations, and the shape that fits each.
- SuccessionThe chief executive has goneAn unplanned departure leaves the business without a leader. An interim CEO stabilises it while the board searches.
- TurnaroundPerformance has turnedAn interim executive with turnaround experience takes the hard decisions the business needs, with a written mandate.
- OwnershipAn owner stepping backA fractional managing director leads the business a few days a week while the owner steps back or prepares to sell.
Vetting
How do we vet a leadership consultant?
Five stages before anyone reaches a shortlist of three to five.
- Pedigree screenTenureWe verify prior tenure in the seat, at the scale and stage you need. No consultant presenting as an executive.
- Mandate fitFitFit to your stage, sector and the problem the seat exists to solve, not a CV keyword.
- Reference deep-diveVerifyWe take references ourselves, from recent clients and boards: what they delivered, not what they titled it.
- ShortlistShortlistThree to five candidates, each with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out.
- Kick-offStartScope, first-month outcomes and the contract agreed before day one.
The full process is on how we vet.
how it runs
How our leadership consultancy works from brief to the first ninety days
Brief. A scoping call on the problem, the shape (fractional days, an interim mandate or a permanent seat), the start date and what success looks like in the first ninety days. A good brief names the decisions the leadership leader will own.
Shortlist. We search for your brief and come back with a shortlist of 3–5, each with day rate or salary, availability and IR35 position set out, assessed through our five-stage vetting.
Contract. You choose; the consultant contracts with you directly, usually through their own company for fractional and interim work. Agree how the engagement will run in practice, because that decides its IR35 status — HMRC’s guidance for clients sets out who makes the determination.
Cadence. A fractional leadership leader works best on fixed days with a standing slot with the CEO. Review the days each quarter. An interim works to a written mandate with review points and a hand-over date.
fractional or firm
Fractional leadership consultant or a leadership consultancy firm? who stays accountable
Leadership consultancy firms are often coaching or development businesses: they work on how leaders lead. That is a different purchase from putting an experienced executive into the seat to lead the business through a change.
A fractional leadership consultant is a different purchase: one senior person who holds the brief week after week and answers for the outcome. A fractional CEO leads strategy, the leadership team and the board on a standing commitment, typically for smaller businesses, family firms or owners preparing to step back.
Out of scope either way. Executive coaching and leadership development programmes are bought from coaching firms. Leadership consultancy here means an executive holding a seat and taking decisions, not advising those who do.
Standing. Check professional standing before you sign: the Institute of Interim Management — the professional body for interim managers and executives; the Institute of Directors — the professional body for directors and boards.
The right route
Agency, recruiter, interim or permanent?
Three taps. Say how much senior work there is, for how long, and whether it is one leader or a run of hires; the tool names the route.
The route · Fractional recruiter
An embedded fractional recruiter.
A hiring plan to work through below the leadership team is a talent-acquisition job: a recruiter inside your business for part of the week, paid for their time. We don’t supply them; the page below explains the role.
The route · Non-executive director
A non-executive director.
Independent oversight and constructive challenge, not executive direction. We recruit NEDs through the same brief process.
The route · Advisor
An advisor, not yet a seat.
Less than a day a week of senior input is advisory. Buy it as a scoped engagement; when it grows into a day or more, brief us for a fractional executive.
The route · Interim
An interim executive.
Four or five days for a fixed period is interim: cover for a departure, a turnaround or a transaction. The IIM puts the UK average at £907 a day and ten months.
The route · Permanent
A permanent search.
Four or five days of work, ongoing, is a full-time seat. We recruit permanent executives through the same brief process.
The route · Fractional executive
Brief a fractional recruitment agency.
Senior judgement for part of the week: a fractional CFO, CTO, CMO or COO on one to three days. We come back with a shortlist of three to five, each with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out.
We recruit executives. We don’t supply embedded fractional recruiters; where that is the right route, the tool says so.
Clients
What do companies say about our fractional work?
From a company where our founder has held a fractional seat. Name and logo given with the client’s permission.
“Excellent fractional support for building both our go-to-market strategy and our execution.”
Charlie AndersonDirector, One Up ProductionsWhere we are
Where is Fractional Quest?
Where we are
71–75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9JQ
Fractional Quest Ltd, registered in England and Wales, no. 17322105. This is our registered office; meetings are by appointment, and most briefs start on a 15-minute call.
Questions
Leadership Consultancy questions, answered
Leadership consultancy puts senior leadership expertise into a business. Through Fractional Quest that means an interim or fractional executive on a fractional, interim or permanent basis, owning: leadership of the business or a function through a gap, change or crisis; turnaround and recovery plans with authority to act; integration after a merger or acquisition.
Fractional Quest is a recruitment agency, not a consulting firm: we do not employ consultants or sell a team. We find an interim or fractional executive for your brief — fractional, interim or permanent — and they contract with you directly. You get one named senior person rather than a team sold by a partner, and they stay accountable for as long as you need them.
Fractional when you need senior leadership judgement every week but not every day; a project consultancy when the work is a one-off with a clear deliverable; interim when you need full-time cover or a change led now; permanent when the seat is full-time work for years.
It depends on the shape and the days. Published bands for the seat: Fractional CEO day rate £800–£1,500 (FD Capital 2026); Interim CEO day rate £1,000–£1,800 (Exec Capital 2026); Permanent CEO salary (SME base band) £120,000–£250,000 (Exec Capital 2026 (UK SME)). Fractional Quest publishes no fees; each candidate on a shortlist states their own rate, so the cost of leadership consultancy is the rate times the days you agree.
It depends on how the engagement runs in practice — control, substitution and whether the leadership consultant is part and parcel of your organisation, not on the label "consultant". For medium and large private-sector clients the client makes the status determination. Every candidate on our shortlist states their IR35 position.
No. Coaching develops the leaders you have. Leadership consultancy through Fractional Quest puts an experienced interim or fractional executive into the seat to lead through a gap or a change.
With a written mandate: the outcome, the authority, the review points and the end date. Interim executives are judged on the mandate, and good ones plan the hand-over from the first week.
Sources
Where does every figure on this page come from?
The primary publisher for each number, linked. Where a figure is our own arithmetic, the page says so where it appears.
- FD Capital
- Exec Capital
- HMRC
- legislation.gov.uk
- 1How much does a CFO earn? 2026 FD CapitalFractional CFO £700–£1,400 a day; London premium of 15–20%.
- 2Salary guides UK 2026 Exec Capital
- 3Understanding off-payroll working (IR35) HMRCStatus depends on how the engagement runs; medium and large clients make the determination.
- 4Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027 HMRCEmployer National Insurance at 15% above £5,000 a year.
- 5
- 6Employment Agencies Act 1973 legislation.gov.ukThe law a recruitment agency works under; no fee to a work-seeker.
