Which fractional C-suite roles are most in demand?
The ranking moves week to week, so read it live: the Fractional Working Index ranks six roles, fractional CFO, CMO, CTO, COO, CRO and interim CEO, on US advertised demand over a trailing seven days. Over the longer run, Heidrick & Struggles reports CFOs as 51% of interim leadership requests on its platform.
The live ranking
Pulse publishes a 0 to 100 advertised-demand index for each of six roles. Each has its own page, rebuilt from the public data on every deployment:
Each page shows the role's level, its band, its change against the previous seven days, the six-role average and the role's rank. The same data is one keyless request away:
curl https://dtlcprcpvdomrehbejhw.supabase.co/functions/v1/fwi-rolesRead rank for the order, demand and band for the level, change7d for the movement and asOf for the end of the seven-day window. Quote the rank with its date, because it can change the following week.
How each role is measured
Each role index counts job postings that name the exact phrase, for example "fractional CFO" or "interim CEO", from a US job-board index and a Google Jobs cross-check. Each source is averaged over a trailing seven-day window, the sources are averaged together, and the result is normalised onto the same 0 to 100 scale as the FWI demand pillar. The two discovery sources may overlap and are not described as independent.
The bands match the headline index: Surging at 75 and above, Growing from 60, Stable from 45, Cooling from 30 and Contracting below 30.
What the longer-run evidence says
- Finance leads in provider data. Heidrick & Struggles' 2026 High-End Independent Talent Report puts CFOs at 51% of the leadership requests on its platform, and interim leadership at 51% of its private equity project mix. That is one provider's book, so it is strong evidence about that provider and medium evidence about the market.
- Free role benchmarks exist elsewhere. Go Fractional publishes role-level demand and rate data from its own platform and surveys.
What a role ranking cannot tell you
- Referral work is invisible. A large share of fractional engagements never reach a job board, and a posting count cannot see them.
- Postings are not rates. A high demand reading is not evidence of willingness to pay, achieved fees or pricing power. Pulse does not publish rate data.
- Supply is not split by role. Pulse does not publish a per-role supply or availability score, because its supply sources are not role-differentiated once normalised.
- Six roles, one country. Roles beyond the six, and markets outside the US, are not measured.
Sources
- Per-role demand indices (JSON, no key)
- Heidrick & Struggles, 2026 High-End Independent Talent Report
- Go Fractional, State of Fractional Work
- Fractional CFO demand index
Frequently asked questions
Is fractional CFO the most in-demand fractional role?
Provider data points that way over the longer run: Heidrick & Struggles reports CFOs as 51% of leadership requests on its platform. For this week's order of the six roles on US advertised demand, read the live rank on the role pages.
What does the chief executive lane count?
It counts postings that name the exact phrase "interim CEO". The page lives at /fractional-ceo alongside the other five roles, but the phrase it searches for is "interim CEO", and the page names that phrase so the number can be checked.
What should a fractional CMO or CTO charge?
Pulse does not publish achieved-rate, willingness-to-pay or win-rate data and will not invent a fee. Use the role reading as advertised-demand context next to your own pipeline evidence.
Are UK roles included?
No. The role-demand collectors are US-scoped, and Pulse does not publish a UK benchmark.