Fractional, the way it should work. A senior who has run the function before, sitting on your leadership team, at a fraction of the cost because they're sharing time across three clients - not because they're junior.
We don't sell a generic "fractional" person and force them into your gap. Pick the role; we send a senior who's done it before, in your sector, at your size of business.
These are examples of how we can work with you. We tailor the responsibilities, time commitment, meetings and reporting to what your business needs. The timings below illustrate one possible arrangement; your scope and fee are agreed together.
Cost that drifts past what we agreed. Slide decks instead of decisions. A different person every quarter. A surprise invoice in month two.
These are starting points, not packages. Where you land depends on the role, the sector and how much of the month the work actually needs. Build work is priced and contracted separately, never stealthily billed against your fractional cover.
Four representative profiles from our current bench. Named identities are shared on the matching call. Everyone listed below is a leader from the AssurePath Bench, background-checked, with prior board exposure.
20 years engineering leadership. Ex-Head of Engineering at a UK fintech (Series C, sold). Now CTO at 2 mid-market SaaS firms + 1 PE-backed retailer.
CISSP, CISM. 15 years cyber leadership. Named CISO on three FCA permissions. ISO 27001 lead auditor. Built two cyber programmes from zero to certification.
CIO of a 600-staff professional services firm pre-acquisition. Specialises in M365 + Azure consolidation, business systems and post-merger IT integration.
Ex-Head of IT at three SMEs (80–220 staff). Specialises in stretched IT managers, MSP rationalisation, and small-team operating models. Down-to-earth.
The fractional scopes the programme, then leads our build team. One throat to choke, no consulting handover.
ExploreThe CISO owns the controls; we operate them. SOC, EDR, vulnerability management, incident response.
ExploreThe IT Director sets the SLA, picks the vendors, signs off the operating model - and we run it underneath.
ExploreThe questions clients ask before they pick a fractional role. We answer them again, properly, on the call.
A fractional CTO is a part-time, contract technology executive who sits on your leadership team, owns your technology strategy, and reports to the board. AssurePath fractional CTOs are senior engineers who have run technology functions at scale, working with your team on responsibilities, availability and reporting tailored to your business. From £1,950 per month, with the actual figure set by how much of the month the role needs.
A fractional Head of AI, sometimes called a Chief AI Officer (CAIO), owns AI priorities, tool decisions, delivery oversight and adoption. They work with your team to choose useful use cases, set acceptance criteria and measure results. The monthly fee is priced on scope; engineering, software subscriptions and ongoing support are agreed separately.
Starting points are: Fractional DPO from £950/month, Fractional IT Director from £995/month, Fractional CIO from £1,250/month, Fractional CISO from £1,350/month and Fractional CTO from £1,950/month. Head of AI is priced on scope, with no fixed starting rate. The starting figures illustrate one day of cover per month; they are not fixed packages. Most engagements sit above them because the role needs more of the month, and we agree the figure with you on the matching call before anything is signed. Pricing reflects role seniority and the cover required, not headcount-by-hour.
It depends on what you need. We agree the responsibilities, time commitment, meetings, reporting and availability with you. That might include leadership meetings, work with your team, supplier decisions or board updates. The calendar and timings on this page are examples, not a prescribed engagement. We review the arrangement with you as your priorities change.
Yes. We tailor the fractional leader's role around your existing team and providers, agreeing who owns decisions, priorities and delivery. You do not have to change your IT support provider or buy AssurePath managed IT. Any additional delivery work is scoped and priced separately.
No. Most clients are, because leadership works best with a rhythm and the value compounds over quarters rather than weeks. If what you need is bounded (a roadmap, a technology due diligence, one platform decision), we will scope and price that on its own and tell you honestly whether it needs to become ongoing.
Three reasons. One: cost. A full-time CTO at this seniority is £150k–£220k base plus equity and recruitment fees. A fractional gives you the same person for a fraction of that. Two: speed. A fractional is in the seat in 14 days, not 4 months. Three: fit. You can change your mind. A fractional engagement is a working trial, not a redundancy conversation.
Yes. Our fractional CISO service is built for FCA-regulated firms, IFAs, wealth managers and EMIs. We provide named-CISO cover for SM&CR governance, sign as the cyber lead on Consumer Duty submissions, hold Cyber Essentials Plus oversight, support ISO 27001 certification, and provide audit-ready evidence trails. The CISO is the audit point of contact.
A fractional CTO owns the product, the engineering org and the technology stack you build for customers. A fractional CIO owns the internal IT estate, business systems, automation and the operating model. Most clients with 50–250 staff only need one; we'll tell you which on the matching call. Above 250 staff or with a customer-facing product, both roles often run in parallel.
A 45-minute matching call with the partner leading our fractional practice. We confirm role, sector and cadence, then introduce one or two named candidates from the bench - all of them senior, all of them background-checked, all of them with prior board exposure. You meet, choose, and start the trial month. If the first match isn't right we swap, no fee penalty.
Yes - and most clients prefer that. The same fractional who writes your AI strategy can scope, price and lead the AssurePath build team that ships it. We do not separate 'advice' from 'delivery' the way larger consultancies do. Delivery work is scoped and priced separately, and we agree the ongoing leadership role with you as the work progresses.
