Job families with the most fractional and interim roles
Key facts
- #1 Executive Leadership, Job family: 1.72%
- #2 Academic, Job family: 1.43%
- #3 Finance, Job family: 0.69%
- 10 job families ranked across all job families
- Data as of November 2026
For comparison: 0.22% across all job families.
- 1Executive Leadership Job family1.72%
- 2Academic Job family1.43%
- 3Finance Job family0.69%
- 4Clinical Job family0.57%
- 5Human Resources Job family0.42%
- 6Marketing Job family0.29%
- 7Legal Job family0.21%
- 8Sales Job family0.08%
- 9Operations Job family0.07%
- 10Engineering Job family0.04%
What stands out
- The lead is wide: Executive Leadership (1.72%) is well clear of Engineering at #10 (0.04%).
- Academic reaches #2 on a sample of 1,401 openings, a smaller market than most of the top ten, so its rank can move more from month to month.
- Engineering is the largest market in the top ten, with 87,056 openings behind its figure.
- Job families with fewer than 1,000 openings are not ranked, and small differences between neighbouring ranks are not meaningful.
Why this ranking matters
What it shows
Fractional and interim roles are part-time or temporary leadership and specialist work. The share of openings shows which fields and industries use them most.
How to use it
If you want independent work between jobs or as a career, start with the fields near the top and read how employers describe the engagement.
The top 25
- 1
Executive Leadership Job family
1.72%
- Fractional and interim openings
- 40
- All openings
- 2,323
- Contract openings
- 2
Based on 2,323 openings.
- 2
Academic Job family
1.43%
- Fractional and interim openings
- 20
- All openings
- 1,401
- Contract openings
- 2
Based on 1,401 openings.
- 3
Finance Job family
0.69%
- Fractional and interim openings
- 241
- All openings
- 34,687
- Contract openings
- 345
Based on 34,687 openings.
- 4
Clinical Job family
0.57%
- Fractional and interim openings
- 59
- All openings
- 10,309
- Contract openings
- 57
Based on 10,309 openings.
- 5
Human Resources Job family
0.42%
- Fractional and interim openings
- 61
- All openings
- 14,526
- Contract openings
- 360
Based on 14,526 openings.
- 6
Marketing Job family
0.29%
- Fractional and interim openings
- 41
- All openings
- 14,245
- Contract openings
- 144
Based on 14,245 openings.
- 7
Legal Job family
0.21%
- Fractional and interim openings
- 27
- All openings
- 12,953
- Contract openings
- 365
Based on 12,953 openings.
- 8
Sales Job family
0.08%
- Fractional and interim openings
- 33
- All openings
- 41,887
- Contract openings
- 67
Based on 41,887 openings.
- 9
Operations Job family
0.07%
- Fractional and interim openings
- 34
- All openings
- 47,185
- Contract openings
- 464
Based on 47,185 openings.
- 10
Engineering Job family
0.04%
- Fractional and interim openings
- 36
- All openings
- 87,056
- Contract openings
- 976
Based on 87,056 openings.
Full ranking
All 10 job families that qualified, with the figure each is ranked on.
| Rank | Job family | Score | Sample |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Executive Leadership Job family | 1.72% | 2,323 |
| 2 | Academic Job family | 1.43% | 1,401 |
| 3 | Finance Job family | 0.69% | 34,687 |
| 4 | Clinical Job family | 0.57% | 10,309 |
| 5 | Human Resources Job family | 0.42% | 14,526 |
| 6 | Marketing Job family | 0.29% | 14,245 |
| 7 | Legal Job family | 0.21% | 12,953 |
| 8 | Sales Job family | 0.08% | 41,887 |
| 9 | Operations Job family | 0.07% | 47,185 |
| 10 | Engineering Job family | 0.04% | 87,056 |
How this ranking works
A job family's score is the share of its open professional roles that the posting describes as fractional (part-time executive or specialist work for several employers) or interim (a temporary leadership or specialist stand-in).
Only job families with at least 1,000 openings and 20 such roles are ranked. These roles are a small part of the board (about 0.5% for fractional and interim), so shares are small and move with a few postings. Only roles verified on the employer's own career site in the last week are counted.
Sample bar: job families with fewer than 1,000 openings are not ranked.
Sources: NextChapter job data: open professional roles on employer career sites, verified in the last week. Data as of November 2026.
Our job data covers professional roles on the career sites of employers we track, so figures describe that market, not every job. Spot an error? Tell us.
Questions
- Which job family ranks first: job families with the most fractional and interim roles?
- Executive Leadership leads: 1.72% of its professional openings are fractional or interim roles, against 0.22% across all job families.
- How many job families are ranked?
- 10 job families have at least 1,000 openings, so the list has 10 entries.
- How is the ranking calculated?
- A job family's score is the share of its open professional roles that the posting describes as fractional (part-time executive or specialist work for several employers) or interim (a temporary leadership or specialist stand-in). Only job families with at least 1,000 openings and 20 such roles are ranked. These roles are a small part of the board (about 0.5% for fractional and interim), so shares are small and move with a few postings. Only roles verified on the employer's own career site in the last week are counted.
- How often is it updated?
- Every month. This is the November 2026 edition. Older editions stay on this site at their own dated addresses.
More rankings
Cite this ranking
NextChapter, “Job families with the most fractional and interim roles,” November 2026 edition. https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/job-families-with-the-most-fractional-and-interim-roles
Link to it: <a href="https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/job-families-with-the-most-fractional-and-interim-roles">Job families with the most fractional and interim roles (NextChapter, November 2026)</a>
Download the data: CSV · JSON. Free to use with a link back.
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