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Portfolio Chief Technology OfficerFractional Technology Consultancy · fractional, interim and permanent technology leaders
Fractional Technology Consultancy · fractional CTO or CIO, briefed and shortlisted
fractional technology consultancy from Fractional Quest means a fractional CTO or CIO 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 a fractional CTO or CIO 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 fractional technology consultancy covers
This page sets out what a fractional technology consultancy engagement covers, how fractional, project and interim compare, how it runs and what the market publishes on rates. The board below shows current technology leadership roles.
Fractional technology consultancy at leadership level is about ownership, not advice. The CTO owns the technology the product is built on: architecture, engineering team, delivery and technical risk.
Fractional Quest is a recruitment agency, not a consulting firm: we do not employ consultants or sell a team. We find a fractional CTO or CIO for your brief — fractional, interim or permanent — and they contract with you directly.
A CTO consultant is usually a fractional CTO consultant — a chief technology officer on a standing weekly commitment — or an interim CTO for a rescue or a transaction. See fractional CTO.
The seat in more depth: CTO services · CIO services · CTO recruitment agency · CTO consultants.
On the board · last 90 days
Current technology leadership 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.
6 of 6 roles
Function
Engagement
- Reg Advantage LtdSyndicatedFractionalProduction Lead and Fractional CTO
- Flat IronSyndicatedFractionalFractional IT Director – Technology & AI (FTC)
- Flat IronSyndicatedFractionalFractional IT Director – Technology & AI
- Green Orbit LtdSyndicatedFractionalFractional CTO Wanted | Green Orbit | Initially Equity Only | UK-Based
- Maxima Opus Ltd | Cloud, Cyber & CTO ConsultingSyndicatedFractionalFractional CTO
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. Technical strategy and architecture decisions; building and leading the engineering team; delivery cadence, quality and engineering process; security, scalability and technical debt; technical due diligence for investors or acquirers.
Not in scope. Writing the code and running the infrastructure belong to engineers, an agency or a managed service provider. A fractional CTO directs and assures that work; one asked to code full-time has been mis-scoped.
The neighbouring seats. A CTO builds the product’s technology; a CIO runs the company’s own systems. Early-stage businesses need the CTO first.
When companies look for fractional technology consultancy: A non-technical founding team, an agency-built product that needs taking in-house, a raise that will include technical due diligence, or engineering velocity that has stalled.
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
CTO 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 CTO day rate | £1,000–£1,600 | Leadership Services 2026 |
| Interim CTO day rate | £800–£1,800 | Exec Capital 2026 |
| Permanent CTO salary (25th–75th percentile) | £120,000–£201,500 | Robert Half 2026 |
Your figures
What does part of a CTO’s week cost?
Rate × days × weeks, against a loaded full-time package. Move the sliders; the numbers redraw.
- CTO band £1,000–£1,600 (Leadership Services 2026)
Year-one cost, fractional
£119,600
Fractional costs less in year one by£64,225
Our arithmetic. £160,500 Robert Half 2026 median salary + employer NI at 15% above £5,000 (HMRC) = £183,825. Excludes pension, bonus and any search fee.
Against the alternatives
Four ways to buy technology expertise fractional, project, interim or permanent
The same technology problem can be bought four ways. The difference is who does the work, for how long, and who is accountable afterwards.
| Fractional technology leader | Project consultancy firm | Interim executive | Permanent hire | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What you buy | A fractional CTO or CIO, 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 fractional technology consultancy is the right call
Three situations, and the shape that fits each.
- No technical founderA product built by an agencyThe product was built by an agency and needs bringing in-house. A fractional CTO sets the architecture and hires the first engineers.
- DiligenceInvestors will look under the bonnetA raise or sale will include technical due diligence. An interim or fractional CTO prepares the architecture, security and team story.
- SystemsA systems programme off trackAn ERP or CRM programme is late and over budget. A fractional or interim CIO takes ownership and holds the suppliers to the plan.
Vetting
How do we vet a technology 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 fractional technology 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 technology 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 technology 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 technology consultant or a technology consultancy firm? who stays accountable
Technology consultancy firms are usually IT services businesses: they sell a team to build, migrate or run something. That is delivery capacity, not a technology leader. Fractional technology consultancy is the leader who decides what to build and holds the supplier to it.
A fractional technology consultant is a different purchase: one senior person who holds the brief week after week and answers for the outcome. A fractional CTO sets architecture, hires and leads the first engineers, and represents technology to the board and investors on a standing weekly commitment, leaving day-to-day coding to the team.
Out of scope either way. Writing the code and running the infrastructure belong to engineers, an agency or a managed service provider. A fractional CTO directs and assures that work; one asked to code full-time has been mis-scoped.
Standing. Check professional standing before you sign: BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT — the chartered body for IT, whose Professional Register is a public record of technology professionals; the GOV.UK Service Manual — a public reference for agile delivery, user research and service design.
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
Fractional Technology Consultancy questions, answered
Fractional technology consultancy puts senior technology expertise into a business. Through Fractional Quest that means a fractional CTO or CIO on a fractional, interim or permanent basis, owning: technical strategy and architecture decisions; building and leading the engineering team; delivery cadence, quality and engineering process.
Fractional Quest is a recruitment agency, not a consulting firm: we do not employ consultants or sell a team. We find a fractional CTO or CIO 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 technology 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 CTO day rate £1,000–£1,600 (Leadership Services 2026); Interim CTO day rate £800–£1,800 (Exec Capital 2026); Permanent CTO salary (25th–75th percentile) £120,000–£201,500 (Robert Half 2026). Fractional Quest publishes no fees; each candidate on a shortlist states their own rate, so the cost of fractional technology consultancy is the rate times the days you agree.
It depends on how the engagement runs in practice — control, substitution and whether the technology 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.
A senior technology leader — a fractional CTO or CIO — working in your business a set number of days a week, owning architecture, the engineering team and technical risk. It differs from IT consultancy, which usually sells delivery capacity rather than leadership.
A CTO builds the product’s technology; a CIO runs the company’s own systems. Early-stage product companies need the CTO first; a business with no software product but a lot of systems usually needs the CIO shape.
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.
- Leadership Services
- Exec Capital
- HMRC
- legislation.gov.uk
- 1
- 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.
