What is a Fractional Head of Talent?

If you’re building a growing company, you’ll know that hiring can quickly become one of the biggest headaches. Agencies eat into budgets, processes feel messy, and suddenly you’re spending more time on recruitment than on customers or strategy.

That’s where a Fractional Head of Talent comes in - a flexible way to get senior talent expertise without committing to a full-time hire.

What is a Fractional Head of Talent?

Think of it like having a Head of Talent on tap, but part-time and tailored to your business.

Instead of paying a full salary for someone you might not yet need 5 days a week, you bring in a fractional specialist who can design and run the critical parts of your hiring function - and leave you with systems that work. It’s a middle ground: more strategic than an external recruiter, more flexible than a permanent hire.

The Responsibilities of a Fractional Head of Talent

Every business is different, but typically the role might include:

1. Setting up simple, scalable hiring processes

2. Replacing expensive agency dependency with direct sourcing

3. Defining a 12-month hiring roadmap aligned to your growth plans

4. Improving employer brand and candidate experience

5. Embedding tools and data so you know what’s working (and what’s not)

6. Coaching founders and managers to hire and retain better

   
   

Benefits of Hiring a Fractional Head of Talent

Cost-savings

Cut agency fees and avoid a full-time senior salary

Speed

Reduce time-to-hire and fill roles before they become blockers

Focus

Free up founder time while staying close to the high-value decisions

Scalability

Build systems now that still work as you grow

Flexibility

Get the expertise you need, only when you need it

When to Consider a Fractional Head of Talent

• You’re scaling and hiring feels messy

• Recruitment is eating into your week, but you can’t justify a permanent Head of Talent

• Agency spend is spiralling

• You know you need to improve candidate experience and retention, but don’t know where to start

• You’ve got ambitious growth plans and need your people strategy to keep up

  
  

Challenges to Consider

Fractional isn’t a silver bullet. Some things to keep in mind:

• A fractional Head of Talent won’t replace day-to-day recruiters if you’re hiring dozens of roles at once.

• You’ll still need internal buy-in: founders and managers have to commit to better processes.

• It’s best suited to companies in the “building phase” of their talent function, not those with a fully mature HR/Talent team.

Final Thoughts

Hiring doesn’t need to be chaotic, expensive, or founder-led forever. A fractional Head of Talent gives you senior expertise, proven systems, and breathing space - without the commitment of a full-time hire.

If recruitment is slowing down your growth, it might be worth exploring whether a fractional model is the right fit. Contact James Preselo at TalentJP to learn more about how I can help you. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hi, I'm James Preselo. As a fractional talent consultant, I help SMEs build and optimise their in-house talent attraction capabilities - so you can hit growth goals, save money, and protect your most valuable commodity: time.

Three people in the office discussing their talent attraction strategy