The Leadership.
Fractional and Accountable.
You bring in a fractional leader when a permanent hire would take too long, cost too much, or end up the wrong shape for what the work actually needs. The permanent hire comes later, once you can see what the role should look like.
Systems, data or operations, wherever the gap is.
Two ways to put
someone on the hook.
Fractional Programme Lead
When a new ERP, a finance system or a core platform replacement needs someone running it day to day, not a PM updating a status report on Fridays.
See the systems track →Fractional Data & Operations Lead
When a data migration, a reporting rebuild or an ops team needs a senior owner who stays through go-live and the messy weeks after.
See the data track →What I do
I join the team and run the function as a principal. For three to six months it's mine: the team, the rhythm, the decisions, the data and vendor work, and the awkward calls. Where the work needs more hands, my team at Stratford Ellis comes in behind me.
What it produces
A team that keeps running after I'm gone. The proof of a decent engagement is that my exit doesn't cause a wobble.
What it isn't
Not a report-and-leave job. I'm on the hook for the outcome.
Typically 3 to 6 months · Statement of Work, not day rate · Embedded, not advisory
Principal,
not consultant.
I work with organisations sitting in front of the bigger calls on data, systems and operations, the ones that move cost, risk and timing. Over the last decade I've led these programmes across sectors: data migrations, new core systems, replacements, reporting and analytics, and the operating models around them, across ERP, finance, CRM and data platforms.
I run Stratford Ellis as Lead Data Consultant. What I'm good at is reading how a system, a dataset and an operating model actually fit together, spotting where delivery will break, and putting a number on what a decision will cost before it gets made. I've built the systems and I've been the customer integrating them.
These situations are familiar from the inside, as a principal rather than a consultant. I know what good looks like at your stage, and what it usually takes to get there.
When the function
needs an owner.
Urgency
Hiring a permanent lead takes three to six months. The work is now, or your previous lead has just left. You need someone running it in weeks.
Leader bottleneck
You're still running the programme by default. You need to step out, but you're not ready to make the permanent hire until you know what the role really needs. A fractional lead runs it properly while you figure that out.
Capable but untested team
A strong team that hasn't done a migration, an implementation or a transformation at this scale. You need someone to set up how the work runs and lead the first one, then leave.
Board or investor signal
A board, investors or a funder want to see real delivery maturity. A new job title won't do it. A credible senior operator in the role will.
Transformation mandate
The business is making a big move: a new core system, a new data platform, a new operating model. Nobody on the team has done this before. You need the right person for this phase, not forever.
Stabilisation
Something's gone wrong. A stalled migration, a rough go-live, a programme that's drifted. You need an experienced operator to steady it, not a consultant to write up what went wrong.
Silent dysfunction
There's a gap between what leadership thinks is happening and what's actually being delivered. Nobody internal can say it without paying a political price. A temporary outsider can.
Internal candidate
You've got a delivery manager who should be running this in twelve months. You need someone to hold it now, develop them, and hand it over cleanly when they're ready.
If one of these
is your situation.
Tell me where delivery's breaking down. I'll tell you whether a fractional lead is the right answer.
What people
ask first.
- What is a fractional delivery lead?
- An experienced programme leader working with you part-time for a defined three to six month engagement. I run the function, make real decisions and step out cleanly once the foundations are in place. I sit in the leadership team and own the outcomes. That's what separates this from consulting.
- When should I bring one in?
- When a data, systems or operations programme is slowing the business and you're not ready for, or don't need, a full-time hire. Maybe you haven't found the right person yet. Maybe you want someone to build the function first and hand it over.
- How is this different from a consultant?
- A consultant gives advice and writes documents. A fractional lead takes ownership. I sit in leadership meetings, run the delivery team, set the plan and own what ships. I'm inside the organisation, not advising from outside it.
- What is an interim lead?
- Someone who fills a full-time role temporarily, during a transition, a hiring gap or a big moment in a programme. The Leadership engagement works the same way: properly inside, making real decisions, with a defined exit.
- How is this different from a project manager?
- A project manager tracks tasks, dates and risks against a plan someone else has set. The Leadership engagement owns the design of how the work happens: the operating model, the data and system choices, the team, the accountability. At this level the title matters less than who can actually make the call.
- How is this different from hiring Stratford Ellis directly?
- Stratford Ellis is the firm that delivers the work at scale, with a team behind it. The Leadership engagement is me, personally, stepping in to run the function from inside your organisation for a fixed period. Where the work needs more hands, the firm provides them. Where it needs an owner, that's me.
- How long does it last?
- Most run three to six months. The aim is to build the function, set up clear ways of working, and hand over cleanly to either a permanent hire or a strong internal team. These engagements are built to end, not to drift.
- How much does it cost?
- Depends on scope and how much time you need. I work on a Statement of Work rather than a day rate, so you're paying for a defined outcome and a clean exit, not open-ended time. You get senior delivery leadership straight away, with no long-term commitment, while you work out what the permanent role should eventually look like.
Words from the room.
A handful of notes from leaders, founders and chairs I've worked alongside.
Barbs walked into a programme that had been stuck for nine months and had us all reading off the same page inside a fortnight. The plan we left with was the one we actually ran.
She tells you what she thinks. No fluff, no vendor agenda. Our board got a read on our data we could finally act on, and a short list of fixes we could start on Monday.
Having Barbs in the room changed how we made the call. She knew the context from month two and saved us from at least one expensive mistake on the systems side.