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Consumer brands increasingly fill leadership gaps with fractional and interim talent while a permanent search runs, or instead of one. Here is what that talent earns per hour, how long the engagements last, and how often contract to hire becomes a permanent hire.
This is the eighth finding in The Price of Talent 2026, and the only one drawn from ace Talent Curators, Protis Global's sister company for flexible talent. The figures cover 78 interim, fractional and contract placements made between January 2024 and October 2026. Hourly pay is what the consultant earns.
The price list
Median hourly pay by role family:
Fractional leaders (CFO, COO, CMO, and marketing, e-commerce and operations directors): $106
Commercial consultants: $110
Quality and regulatory: $102
Finance and accounting: $80
Marketing and brand: $62
HR and talent acquisition: $55
Supply chain and operations: $46
Field sales and business development: $22
The middle half of fractional leaders earn $90 to $140 an hour, with a full range of $77 to $185. Contract specialists at the manager level earn $45 to $80 an hour at the median, depending on the role family.
How long an engagement lasts
The median engagement runs 123 days. Seventy-two percent run three to six months. Twenty-one percent are part-time at 10 to 30 hours a week; the rest are full time. Three to six months is long enough to cover a gap, run a project, or let a business earn the right to a full-time leader, and short enough that the decision stays reversible.
Contract to hire: one in six
Thirteen of the 78 engagements, one in six, were structured as contract to hire from the start. The company gets three to six months of real work before it commits. The consultant tests the team, the culture and the scope before taking the badge. Both sides make the permanent decision with evidence instead of interviews.
Fractional versus permanent
A fractional leader at the median $106 an hour, 20 hours a week, earns roughly $110,000 a year. Permanent C-level placements at Protis Global since 2019 median $325,000 in base salary alone. The fractional path is not a discount on the same work. It buys senior judgment by the hour while the business earns the right to a full-time leader.
With the median Director search now at 70 days and a C-level search at 113, the gap between an empty seat and a signed offer is a quarter of real work. Interim talent exists for that quarter.
Frequently asked questions
What does a fractional CFO or COO cost per hour?
In ace Talent Curators placements since 2024, fractional leaders median $106 an hour in consultant pay, with the middle half between $90 and $140 and a full range of $77 to $185.
How long does a contract or interim engagement usually last?
The median is 123 days, and 72 percent of engagements run three to six months. About one in five is part-time at 10 to 30 hours a week.
How often does contract to hire turn into a permanent job?
One in six ace engagements since 2024 (13 of 78) was structured as contract to hire from the start, with the permanent decision made after three to six months of work.
The full report, The Price of Talent 2026, is free to download at protisglobal.com/price-of-talent-2026. For interim, fractional or contract talent, ace Talent Curators covers the seat while the search runs.
