Managing director jobs · MD vacancies · Permanent, interim and fractional
Managing director jobs · permanent, interim and fractional
Managing director jobs are the senior general-management roles: the person who runs a company or a division, answers to the board or the group for its results, and leads the team that delivers them. In an owner-managed business the MD is the top executive; in a group, the MD runs one business inside it. The seat comes as a permanent post, an interim assignment or a fractional one. The board below shows the roles on our board for this seat, permanent roles first where the posting says full-time.
We recruit permanent, interim, fractional and part-time executives, and non-executive directors. Hiring rather than looking? On every brief we send a shortlist of 3–5, each with pay or 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 a managing director
Tell us the scope and the days a week. We come back with managing director 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
Managing director jobs jobs on the board
Managing director roles sit with chief executive roles on our board.
Current managing director and chief executive roles
Fractional recruiting starts with the brief, not the CV pile. Send a managing director brief and we come back with a shortlist of three to five candidates, each through five-stage vetting.
01/ the role
Managing director jobs: what the board holds
Managing director roles sit with chief executive roles on our board, because employers use the two titles for the same seat. The board on this page shows those roles in every mode of work, with roles whose posting says full-time first. Interim and fractional roles follow, and where a posting states how the role is engaged, the listing says so. If the seat has nothing current, the board says so and shows the nearest senior roles, labelled as what they are.
What the seat does
A managing director owns the results of a business: the plan and the budget, the customers and the market, the leadership team, and the day-to-day decisions that keep it running. In a standalone company the MD usually reports to the board and the owners; in a group, to the group chief executive. For the closest page we keep, see what does a CEO do.
Most MD jobs come with a directorship, and the law follows the title. A director must perform the general duties of a director in the Companies Act 2006, including promoting the success of the company, and must now verify their identity with Companies House. The HSE notes that a director can be prosecuted personally where a health and safety offence is attributable to their neglect.
One seat, several ways to hold it
A permanent MD is employed full-time and runs the business for years. An interim MD holds the seat for a set period, to cover a departure, a turnaround or the run-up to a sale. A fractional MD holds it for agreed days a week, usually beside an owner who wants to step back. The title is the same; the contract, the days and the tax position are not. The nearest pages we keep are for interim CEO and fractional CEO roles.
02/ scope
How to get a managing director job
1. Own a profit and loss account
There is no single qualification for the seat. An MD shortlist is decided on results you owned: a P&L, a team, a market. The usual path runs through a functional director’s seat (sales, operations or finance) into general management of a unit, a region or a subsidiary. See operations director jobs and commercial director jobs for two common routes in.
2. Add the board credentials
Where a posting asks for one, it is usually a board or management credential. The IoD’s Chartered Director Programme runs in three stages: the Certificate in Company Direction (the role of the board, finance, strategy and leadership), the Diploma in Company Direction, then an interview and assessment of business experience. CMI’s Chartered Manager status is the Royal Charter mark for management and leadership.
3. Show the board work
Expect to be tested on the plan you set and delivered, the hardest people decision you made, and how you worked with a board, owners or investors. In an FCA-regulated firm, the most senior decision makers hold senior management functions, chief executive and executive director among them, and must be approved before they start. Our guide on how to become a CEO covers the same ground for the top seat.
4. Pick the route in
Not every MD job is permanent. Interim CEO jobs cover a gap, a turnaround or a sale; fractional CEO jobs hold the seat for set days a week. If you work through your own company, the off-payroll working rules (IR35) may apply: status turns on how the engagement runs, and a medium or large client makes the determination. Our IR35 guide sets out the tests.
03/ related roles
Managing director jobs by type
The pages we keep for the top executive seat, one per kind of role or question. We recruit permanent, interim, fractional and part-time executives.
04/ vetting
How we vet managing directors
What we undertake on every brief, before a candidate reaches you.
- 01
Qualification screen
Verify managing director 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
05/ md jobs
MD jobs reading the title
MD jobs are advertised under several titles. Managing director, MD, general manager and chief executive can all describe the person running a business; country manager and divisional MD describe the same job inside a group. Read the posting for what the seat owns: a full P&L, a board seat and the leadership team, or one site or function.
Two uses of the title are a different job. In investment banking and some professional firms, managing director is a seniority grade, not the role that runs the business. And many general manager vacancies are for running one hotel, restaurant or store. Neither is the seat this page covers.
Search managing director, MD, chief executive and general manager together, then sort by what each role owns. Managing director vacancies at board level are often filled through a search rather than an open advert.
06/ permanent managing director jobs
Permanent managing director jobs the market and the pay
Permanent managing director jobs are full-time employed roles, and they are the ones listed first on this page. Exec Capital’s 2026 director salary guide gives a base salary band of £130,000–£280,000 for a managing director at a mid-market business (£20m–£200m revenue). Exec Capital is a recruiter; the band is base pay only, and it says smaller businesses sit at the lower end.
Base pay is one part of a permanent package. Bonus, equity, pension and notice period vary widely by company stage and ownership, and in a private equity-backed business much of an MD’s reward can come through equity. Compare offers line by line. For the top seat’s pay, see our CEO salary guide.
For a hirer, a permanent MD search starts with what the seat owns and who it answers to. Our hire a CEO page sets out how we run an executive brief.
07/ questions
Managing director jobs FAQ
The questions people ask before bringing in a managing director.
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.
