Set the direction
A clear plan for what to do, in what order — and, just as important, what to leave alone.
Lead · 03
A senior AI leader on your team — part-time.
For organizations that need real AI expertise and a steady hand across several efforts, but aren't ready for a full-time hire. We embed, set direction, keep the quality bar high, and grow your team's confidence.
Who it's for
When AI has become an ongoing thing, not a one-off.
A fractional lead is the right call when you recognise a few of these.
- 01
You've got more than one AI effort going, and no one senior holding the whole picture.
- 02
Vendors and tools are piling up, and you need someone who can tell good from hype.
- 03
A board or a funder wants to see AI handled responsibly, with someone accountable.
- 04
Your team is capable but would move faster with senior direction and review.
- 05
You need the expertise, but the workload — or the budget — doesn't justify a full-time hire yet.
What they do
Direction, judgement, and a higher quality bar.
Hold the quality bar
Review the work, catch problems early, and keep everything to a standard that holds up in real use.
Choose tools & vendors
Cut through the noise, pick what fits, and keep you from expensive wrong turns.
Keep it defensible
Make sure your AI can be explained and stood behind — to a board, a donor, or a ministry.
Grow your team
Coach your staff so more of the work stays in-house over time — the goal is to make us less necessary.
Be the point person
One senior contact who knows your context and can be reached when a real decision comes up.
Investment
A monthly retainer, scoped to how much you need.
Priced by days per week, on a rolling monthly basis. Scale it up when there's a push on, down when there isn't.
PriceFrom $6k / moSet by days per week; more involvement, more per month.
CommitmentMonthlyRolling. No long lock-in; adjust or pause as things change.
Good to knowOften fundable as capacity-building in a multi-year grant. Grant-funded retainers welcome.
Included
- Regular time embedded with your team
- Direction, review and vendor calls
- Governance and quality oversight
- Coaching so your team levels up
- A senior contact who knows your context
Not included
- Full hands-on build of a specific tool (that's the AI Pilot Build)
- A full-time commitment or a permanent hire
- Round-the-clock on-call cover
Questions
What people ask.
How many days a week?
Usually one to three, set to what you actually need. We'll recommend a starting point and adjust once we see the real rhythm of the work.
Can you also build things?
A fractional lead is mainly direction, review and judgement. When there's a specific tool to build, we scope that as an AI Pilot Build — sometimes led by the same person.
What if we want to end it?
It's monthly and rolling. Give us reasonable notice and we'll hand over cleanly — the goal is always to leave your team more capable, not more dependent.
Related
Often paired with.
Need senior AI hands, not a full-time hire?
Tell us what's on your plate and we'll suggest a sensible amount of time to start with.