Insights — Executive Recruitment — 3 min read
Permanent vs Interim vs Fractional Commercial Director
Permanent is a long-term appointment. Interim is immediate and time-limited. Fractional is ongoing senior capability without a full-time appointment. The requirement decides which.
In short
A permanent Commercial Director is a long-term appointment that owns the commercial remit indefinitely. An interim Commercial Director provides immediate, time-limited leadership against a defined mandate such as departure cover or turnaround. A fractional Commercial Director provides ongoing senior commercial leadership on part of a week, where the capability is needed continuously but a full-time appointment is not justified.
Businesses usually arrive at this question having already decided they need commercial leadership. What they have not decided is how much of it, for how long, and with what degree of commitment.
The three models are not tiers of quality or price points for the same thing. They answer different questions about time, permanence and scope.
The three models side by side
| Permanent | Interim | Fractional | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nature | Long-term appointment | Immediate, time-limited | Ongoing, part of a week |
| Typical duration | Indefinite | Defined period against a mandate | Continuing, reviewed periodically |
| Best for | A remit that will exist for years | Gap, change or turnaround now | Capability needed regularly, not daily |
| Availability | Notice periods apply | Fastest to start | Usually quick to start |
| Ownership | Full ownership of the remit | Ownership for the mandate period | Ownership of the commercial framework |
| Team leadership | Builds and develops the function | Stabilises and hands over | Guides and develops existing people |
When permanent is right
Choose a permanent appointment when the commercial remit will clearly exist in three years' time, when the role needs to build and develop a team, and when the business can carry the full cost without constraining the rest of the plan. Permanent appointments also suit situations where continuity of customer and partner relationships is itself a commercial asset.
The honest constraint is speed. Senior commercial people are usually in post and on notice, so a permanent process plus notice period is a realistic planning assumption rather than an obstacle.
When interim is right
- A Commercial Director has left, and the remit cannot sit unowned while a permanent process runs.
- A turnaround is needed: margin recovery, contract renegotiation, exit from unprofitable channels or customers.
- An acquisition or integration requires commercial decisions on a compressed timetable.
- The permanent remit is genuinely unclear, and the business would benefit from someone establishing it before recruiting to it.
Interim work is defined by its mandate. A good interim brief states what must be true at the end of the engagement, which usually includes a handover position for whoever comes next.
When fractional is right
Fractional commercial leadership suits businesses where the thinking is needed continuously but the workload does not fill a full week — typically owner-managed businesses between roughly £3m and £15m turnover, businesses with a capable sales team and no commercial governance, and businesses entering a new market where senior commercial judgement is needed alongside an existing structure.
It is not a cheaper permanent appointment. The value comes from the quality of decision-making applied to price, terms, partners and bids — not from hours on site. Where a business needs someone present daily to manage people and activity, fractional is the wrong model.
Cost is a structure question, not just a number
Permanent cost is salary, employer costs, bonus and the ongoing commitment. Interim cost is a day rate over a defined period with no long-term liability. Fractional cost is a recurring fee for agreed time. Comparing headline figures across the three is misleading because the commitments differ; comparing the total cost of the decision over the period the capability is genuinely needed is more useful.
Choosing: three questions
- 01Will this remit still exist, at this size, in three years? If yes, lean permanent.
- 02Does something have to change in the next quarter, regardless of what happens afterwards? If yes, lean interim.
- 03Is the capability needed every month but not every day? If yes, lean fractional.
Discuss a Commercial Director requirement
Permanent, interim or fractional. The conversation starts with what the role must own — price, margin, terms and partners — rather than with a job title.
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Written by
International Sales & Market Development Director, Evans Sales Consultancy
Published 17 September 2026 — 3 min read