Fractional Leadership Recruitment

Access experienced leadership without making a full-time appointment

Not every business challenge requires a full-time senior hire.

Fractional leadership gives organisations access to experienced senior professionals for an agreed proportion of their time, providing the strategic expertise, leadership and accountability of a senior or executive appointment without the commitment or cost of recruiting someone on a full-time basis.

A fractional leader might work with your business for one or two days each week, several days each month or on another regular arrangement agreed around your requirements. Unlike short-term consultancy focused solely on delivering a defined project, fractional leaders typically become an ongoing part of the leadership team, taking ownership of their function and helping to turn strategy into action.

Ashdown Group recruits experienced fractional leaders across IT, HR, Accountancy & Finance and Marketing, helping organisations access senior expertise at the level and for the time they actually require.

What business problems can a fractional leader solve?

Fractional leadership can be used to address a wide range of strategic and operational challenges.

Typical requirements include:

We have outgrown our existing structure

Rapid growth can expose weaknesses in systems, reporting, processes and management structures.

A fractional leader can assess what needs to change and introduce a more scalable approach.

We need senior expertise but cannot justify a full-time director

Many growing SMEs reach a stage where they need director-level thinking but do not require that expertise five days a week.

Fractional leadership provides access to the appropriate level of experience without creating an unnecessarily large fixed leadership cost.

Our strategy is not translating into delivery

A business may understand what it wants to achieve but lack the specialist leadership to turn its objectives into a deliverable plan.

A fractional leader can take ownership of the function, establish priorities, assign responsibilities and monitor progress.

Our existing team needs experienced leadership

A capable operational team may need someone more senior to provide direction, develop employees and connect their activity with the wider objectives of the business.

We are undertaking a major change programme

Technology implementations, restructuring, mergers, acquisitions, rapid growth and changes in business strategy can all create temporary requirements for additional senior expertise.

We need to build a function from the ground up

A fractional leader can help define the structure, systems, skills and resources needed before helping recruit or develop the permanent team that will ultimately take responsibility for it.

Fractional leadership compared with consultancy

A consultant is usually brought into an organisation to provide specialist expertise, advice or deliver a particular project.

A fractional leader is more likely to become embedded within the organisation and assume ongoing responsibility for a business function.

For example, a marketing consultant might be engaged to develop a new marketing strategy. A fractional Marketing Director could develop that strategy but also take responsibility for the marketing budget, manage the team and agencies, report to the board and oversee its implementation.

There can be overlap between the two models, and the most appropriate arrangement depends on the problem you are trying to solve.

How much does fractional leadership cost?

The cost of fractional leadership varies according to the seniority and specialist expertise required, the amount of time needed and the complexity of the assignment.

Rather than automatically recruiting a full-time executive, a fractional arrangement allows you to purchase the level of senior expertise appropriate to your organisation.

As part of our initial discovery process, Ashdown can provide guidance on market rates, availability and the level of experience likely to be available within your budget.

We can also help you consider whether fractional leadership, interim management, consultancy, contracting or permanent recruitment represents the most appropriate solution.

Why use Ashdown Group for fractional leadership recruitment?

For more than 25 years, Ashdown Group has helped UK organisations find specialist professional and leadership talent across IT, HR, Accountancy & Finance and Marketing.

Our established professional networks give us access to experienced specialists across different industries and levels of seniority.

When you work with Ashdown, we will:

Understand the challenge

We take the time to understand your business objectives, existing team, immediate priorities and what you need the fractional leader to achieve.

Define the requirement

Where the scope is still developing, we can help you consider the seniority, experience, time commitment and type of engagement most appropriate to your requirements.

Research the market

We assess relevant candidate availability, market rates and industry experience to help ensure the brief is realistic and commercially competitive.

Find relevant leadership expertise

We search our existing professional network and the wider market for individuals whose functional experience, industry knowledge and leadership background match your requirements.

Support you throughout the engagement

Our involvement does not stop when the fractional leader starts. We remain available to both parties throughout the assignment and can help as your requirements evolve.