Senior AI leadership, without the £150k hire.

Why fractional

A capable full-time AI lead costs £120,000–£180,000 a year — if you can find one. Most mid-sized organisations do not need forty hours a week of AI leadership; they need the right decisions made consistently: what to build, what to buy, what to stop, and whether what has been delivered is actually any good. Twenty-five focused hours a month covers that, at a fraction of the cost and none of the hiring risk.

What the role covers

• Strategy ownership — a living AI roadmap tied to your commercial goals, reviewed and re-prioritised monthly.
• Delivery oversight — internal projects and external suppliers held to scope, budget and quality; problems surfaced early.
• Vendor management — tool selection, contract review and renewal challenges, with no reseller incentives behind any recommendation.
• Governance and risk — usage policies, data protection alignment (UK GDPR), and a clear line of human accountability for automated decisions.
• Board reporting — a monthly written report in commercial language: progress, spend, risk, and what needs a decision.
• Team capability — steadily raising your organisation's own AI competence so value stays in-house.

How it works in practice

A fixed monthly rhythm: a leadership session to set priorities, working time on the month's agreed focus, supplier and project reviews as needed, and the written board report. Hours are tracked transparently and unused strategy time rolls into delivery work — not the other way round. You get one senior, accountable person, not a rotating cast.

Why a 12-month term

AI capability is built, not bought. The organisations that get ahead are the ones that make good decisions repeatedly for a year — not the ones that buy a burst of advice and drift. The minimum term reflects how long meaningful change actually takes; most of the value compounds in the second half.