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Professional Interim – a great choice for your career

4 September 2026

Professional Interim – a great choice for your career

​Did you know you can become self-employed without having to start up your own business? This is an option for many professionals who have extensive expertise and experience under their belt and are looking for flexibility in their career with the ability to make an impact and influence the businesses they work with. It can be the perfect lifestyle choice for those professionals looking for more freedom and autonomy over their working schedule. 


A different way of working

Unlike in a permanent role, as a professional interim you can often choose hours/days to suit you and as long as the work is delivered to the client’s timeframes, requirements and satisfaction the ‘how’ is largely left up to you. This can be a very different experience to permanent employment where the politics of the team, policies and ‘precedents’ only too
o
ften get in the way! 

We recruit for short-term, longer-term, open-ended and part-time professional interim opportunities. Most interim roles have the ‘feel’ of a meeting rather than an interview, a partnership rather than an employment. A great choice for someone who has climbed the career ladder, delivered in a permanent team structure and is seeking a more value add/impactful flexible career choice.


Professional Interim Opportunities  

There are many opportunities for high-level professionals to work on short-term or consultancy projects. Here are some of the most frequent
reasons for considering high-level interim support
, but there are many more:

  • Businesses growth

  • Business change or transformation projects 

  • Systems implementation or upgrades 

  • Company restructures

  • Merger and acquisition work

  • Launch of new services or products

  • Specific project-based work

  • Interim ‘business as usual’ roles e.g. maternity or vacancy cover

Another key aim of this type of professional interim placement is to transfer knowledge onto current staff and cover any gaps in the current leadership or management teams. The blueprint of a successful interim is to add value, upskill the permanent team and leave a strong legacy.  

The
benefit of this type of working is the flexibility and autonomy it provides along with the ability to influence and make real impact without getting involved in the day to day of office politics! Whether your assignment is a short sharp delivery-based project or a longer-term business change role, you can be sure that your involvement will make a difference. 


High Demand

There is a high demand for professional interims willing to join a business at relatively short notice and for a limited period of time. Employers also know the value that these professional interims can add to their organisation and so are happy to pay competitively for the right person.
 Day rates are typical in these roles.  


IR35

There has been much discussion and change to the IR35 legislation over the last 3 years. To bring yourself fully up to speed with current legislation please read our IR35 article

here


.


Is it right for you? 

If you are an experienced professional with strong decision-making skills, general leadership abilities and industry insight, you may well be able to command high rates of pay in the professional interim market
and enjoy the flexibility and positioning that a Professional Interim assignment or career will offer.

You will
h
ave the option of selecting the right opportunities for you to suit your own preferences and needs. You don’t need to agree to any long-term commitment plans with a single employer and you’re also able to take

breaks
in-between

as
s

ignments. That said, many of our experienced, well-networked professional interims find it difficult to take time off due to being so integral to the business they are working with, and often being extended for months on end. Undoubtedly a good thing to be in demand and valuable, but not if you want to take a 3-month break to your house in Spain, or similar! A tough life?   Maybe, maybe not.


Where are these opportunities? 

Our specialist consultants partner closely with our clients and will often have prior knowledge of pending projects or change which will necessitate interim support. They will be well-placed to discuss with you the benefits and challenges of this kind of work and be able to offer specific opportunities for you to consider. 

Our clients understand the importance of finding the right candidates for these crucial types of role, so they choose to work with us when they want to employ a professional interim. Our consultants know their job market inside out, and understand the needs of both their clients and the talented professionals they work with, so are able to match suitable opportunities with the right person.

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THE ONE GROUP

Where we're from,
and how we got here

Twenty years of specialist recruitment in the East – and a lot of small decisions that added up.

TOG started in Peterborough in 2004 with a small team and a simple idea: that recruitment is a people business, done best by specialists who stay in their sector long enough to know it properly.

More than two decades on, we've grown into four offices across the East of England and Home Counties. We recruit for finance leaders, HR directors, engineering managers, tech founders, scientists, and the commercial teams that keep businesses running day to day. Between us, we've built up over 258 years of collective recruitment experience across our specialist divisions, and a network of more than 150,000 candidates we've placed, coached, or come to know across two decades in the region.

The founding principle hasn't changed. Recruitment as it should be.

OUR STORY

Key events timeline

2004

Doors open in Peterborough.

Our first office launches with a team of six on Lynch Wood. Cambridge follows the same year, giving us two offices before our first anniversary.

2015

Northampton makes it three.

Our third office opens with a team of five, quickly growing to eleven consultants covering the wider Midlands region.

2017

Peterborough moves across the road.

The team has outgrown the founding office. We move into Arena House on Lynch Wood, big enough for a growing consultant base and the back-office team that supports the whole group.

2018

Cambridge moves too.

Our second office relocates to Cambourne Business Park, giving the growing Cambridge team the space it now needs.

2023

Four offices, three counties, one very good year.

The Hertfordshire & Essex office opens in Potters Bar, extending our footprint into the Home Counties.

In the same year, we're named Business of the Year in Northamptonshire, and Employer of the Year in both Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire at the regional SME Business Awards. Three counties, three panels.

TODAY

Still growing.

Four offices, more than 258 years of collective recruitment experience across our specialist divisions, and a network of over 150,000 candidates.

Same founding principle.

SPECIALISTS BY DESIGN

What we do

We're specialists, not generalists. Every consultant at TOG focuses on one sector and stays in it. Not because it's the only way to do recruitment, but because it's how you build the depth to spot the difference between a strong CV and a strong hire.

It's also why so many of our clients come back to us years, even decades, after a first placement.

01
Accountancy & Finance
→
 02
Human Resources
→
 03
Commercial Office
Administration, customer service, project management and more
→
 04
Technology
→
 05
Engineering & Manufacturing
→
 06
Scientific
→
 07
Sales, Marketing & Creative
→
 08
Executive Search
Across all of the above
→

Beyond the recruitment itself, we produce annual salary guides, regional market reports, and the practical resources our clients and candidates turn to when they want a clearer view of what's happening in their sector.

THE WAY WE WORK

How we work

Four principles show up in every conversation and every process.
01

Be curious.

We stay interested in the market we work in, and in the people who work in it.

02

Keep it human.

We remember your kids' names and know how you take your coffee. That's just how we work here.

03

Make a difference.

We're here to help people build careers they love and businesses they're proud of.

04

Enjoy the ride.

Recruitment is a career, but it should be fun too. If it isn't, we've done something wrong.

WHAT COMES NEXT?

Recruitment
as it should be.

Hire with TOG → Looking for a role →
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