How is a fractional executive different from a consultant?

A consultant advises on a defined question and leaves the doing to your team. A fractional executive joins your leadership team for part of every week, owns results in their remit and does the work alongside your people.

How many days a week does a fractional executive work?

Usually between one day a month and three days a week, set by the stage and the role. Most engagements start at one or two days a week and change as the business does.

How long does an engagement last?

Typically six to eighteen months, reviewed every quarter. The aim is either a permanent successor or a function that no longer needs senior help every day.

Is it cheaper than hiring full time?

For the same number of senior days, usually, because there is no search fee, employer National Insurance, pension or long notice period. Try the calculator on this page with your own numbers.

Can a fractional executive sit on the board?

Yes, as an executive or in an advisory role. Agree it in writing, along with the authority that comes with it.

Do they work remotely?

Mostly, with in-person days for the moments that matter: leadership meetings, the board, key customers and time with the team.

How does Saizen work?

We start with the problem, then match a practitioner from The Council who has done the job at your stage. You get one point of contact, and a review every quarter.

What if it is not working?

Short notice periods are normal. Agree a review at the end of the first month, and at every quarter after that.

Saizen InsightsFeatured read · 10 min

Senior leadership, by the day.

Why fractional executive talent is the future of business growth: what it is, what a senior seat really costs, where it pays, and how to make it work.

Start reading Find your fractional leader

By Saizen Acuity · 21 October 2026

01 / What it is

Part of your team. Part of the week.

A fractional executive is an experienced leader, a CFO, CTO, CMO or COO, who works with a small number of companies at once, a set number of days each week, for as long as the stage needs them.

Unlike a consultant, they do not hand over a report and leave. They join the leadership team, own outcomes in their remit and do the work from the inside. Unlike a full-time hire, you pay for the judgement you need, not the five days you do not.

The leadership spectrum

A typical week

Best for

02 / Why now

Leadership, unbundled.

For most of the last century, senior expertise came in one size: a full-time seat. Four shifts have pulled that bundle apart.

One full-time executive. Five days of one person’s expertise, whether the week needs it or not.

01
Presence became flexible.
Board meetings, stand-ups and reviews happen on video. A leader can be fully present on Tuesday and Thursday without moving cities.
02
Expertise got specialised.
AI, data, security and revenue operations each need senior judgement. Few companies need all of it every day.
03
Leaders chose portfolios.
Many seasoned executives now work across several companies, and bring the pattern recognition from each into the others.
04
Capital wants efficiency.
Investors and boards ask for experience in the room and discipline in the cost base. Fractional leadership answers both.

03 / The cost of a seat

What a senior seat really costs.

A full-time executive costs far more than the salary. Set the numbers for your case, and compare it with the same expertise for part of the week.

The role

Full-time hire

Base salary Bonus

Fractional

Days a week Day rate

For how long

Full-time hire

Fractional

Full-time, per working day
Fractional, per day

What is in the full-time figure

Illustrative. Employer National Insurance: 15% above £5,000 from April 2025. Pension: the 3% minimum employer contribution under auto-enrolment, on salary for simplicity. Search fee: retained executive search commonly runs at about a third of first-year cash pay. Fractional time over 46 working weeks a year.

04 / Where it pays

The moments that need a senior hand.

Fractional leadership fits best at turning points: a raise, a first big hire, a platform rebuild, a new market. Point at a square to see the moment.

05 / The first 90 days

The first ninety days.

A good engagement starts with listening and ends with a handover. Here is how the time typically goes, at two days a week.

Day1of 90

Weeks 1 to 3

Listen and diagnose.

Meet the team, read the numbers, sit in the meetings that matter. Name the three problems worth solving first.

You getA one-page diagnosis the board agrees with.

Weeks 4 to 8

Plan, and win early.

A twelve-month plan with owners and measures. Fix what is quick to fix, so the team sees momentum while the bigger work starts.

You getThe plan, and two or three visible wins.

Weeks 9 to 13

Embed, and build the bench.

Install the operating rhythm, coach the team, and hire or grow the people who will run it, so it holds without them in the room.

You getA function that runs on its own rhythm.

06 / The trade-offs

The trade-offs, honestly.

Fractional is not right for every role. These are the questions to ask, and how a good engagement answers them. Turn a card to see the answer.

07 / Find your leader

Find the leader your stage needs.

Three questions. We suggest the role, the shape of the engagement, and practitioners from The Council with that background.

Our suggestion

The first ninety days

In The Council with this background

Discuss this with us

08 / Questions

Asked and answered.

The right leader, at the right time.

Tell us the moment you are in. We will come back with the role, the shape of the engagement and the practitioner.

Discuss a fractional leader See the service

Part of your team. Part of the week.

Presence became flexible.

Expertise got specialised.

Leaders chose portfolios.

Capital wants efficiency.