--- title: "Fractional Head of Content vs full-time hire" description: "A fractional Head of Content or fractional COO against a full-time hire, for creator and founder-led businesses: time, cost, what each owns and when to pick which, with Tom Sharman's prices." canonical: https://tomsharman.com/compare/fractional-head-of-content-vs-full-time-hire/ updated: 2026-10-26 --- # Fractional Head of Content vs full-time hire > A fractional Head of Content is a senior person who runs your content function on a fixed rhythm. A full-time hire does the same job every day. For a creator business or a founder-led company, go fractional to build the function and hire the team. Hire full time once the system runs and the work fills a week. Last updated 26 October 2026. ## How do they compare? | | Fractional Head of Content | Full-time Head of Content | | --- | --- | --- | | Time in the business | A fixed rhythm. With Tom: a 90 minute sprint every fortnight with your team, a 30 minute check-in every week, a 14 day plan every 14 days, and one studio day a month. | Every working day | | Cost | £3,000 to £7,500 a month with Tom, 6 month minimum, then monthly. | A full salary, plus the cost of hiring | | Also called | Fractional COO, when the remit is the whole content operation | Head of Content | | What they own | Strategy, cadence, team, hiring, tooling and reporting | The same, plus the day to day running | | Best when | The function does not exist yet, or needs rebuilding | The system runs and needs a full-time owner | | What to watch for | Too little time for the volume you want | Hiring before you know what the job is | ## When should you go fractional? - There is no content function yet, or the one you have has stalled. - You need the team hired and the systems built before anyone runs them full time. - You are a founder who wants the content run without spending your own time on day to day operations. - You want a senior person in the leadership conversation without a senior salary. ## When should you hire full time? - The formats, cadence and reporting already work. - The volume fills a working week. - You want the person in the building every day. ## Where does Tom fit? Tom works as a fractional head of content, or fractional COO, for creator and founder-led businesses. He has built a content function from zero five times: at Heath Media (Head of Personal Brand and Content, May to Sep 2026), Stoffel Media Group, Secret Leaders (Head of Content, Jul 2024 to May 2025), Angels Management, and Campus Society and Tyro Magazine. At [Heath Media](https://tomsharman.com/case-studies/ben-heath/), Ben Heath wanted to spend little of his own time on day to day operations. Tom moved the three people he inherited into new roles before making one new hire, the team grew to 14, and the Skool community he launched became the number one trending money community on Skool. At Stoffel Media Group he rebuilt the team, found three formats and took Sam Stoffel from 0 to 500,000 followers in 10 months. At Secret Leaders he relaunched the podcast as a video-first show and it reached number 2 in the UK Business podcast charts. Worldwide and remote. The editing team already works across Pakistan and the Philippines. - **[Fractional Head of Content](https://tomsharman.com/consulting/#fractional), £3,000 to £7,500 a month, 6 month minimum, then monthly (1 spot left).** Fractional head of content, or fractional COO, for creator and founder-led businesses. I run your content function end to end. Strategy, cadence, team, hiring, tooling and reporting. A senior seat in the business for the cost of a fraction of a full time hire. Worldwide and remote. - **[The three month sprint](https://tomsharman.com/consulting/#sprint), by application (2 spots left).** 6 fortnightly 60 minute calls. A seat in your team. The 3 month plan. Fortnightly accountability. - **[Power hour session](https://tomsharman.com/consulting/#book), £600.** 60 minute video call. The fundamentals, applied to you. What to make, for whom and in which format. ## Questions ### What is a fractional Head of Content? A senior person inside your business on a fixed rhythm, accountable for the content function: strategy, cadence, team, hiring, tooling and reporting. With Tom the rhythm is a 90 minute sprint every fortnight with your team, a 30 minute check-in every week, a 14 day plan every 14 days, and one studio day a month. ### How much does Tom charge for the fractional role? £3,000 to £7,500 a month, with a 6 month minimum, then monthly. 1 spot left at the moment. Apply on the consulting page. The Power hour session is £600 if you want to start smaller. ### Is a fractional Head of Content the same as a fractional COO? In a creator or founder-led business the two overlap, because the content is the operation. Tom works under either title. The final creative say stays with the founder or creator. ### Does Tom work with businesses outside the UK? Yes. Worldwide and remote. The editing team already works across Pakistan and the Philippines. ### Can a fractional Head of Content hire my full-time team? Yes. Building and hiring the team is part of the job. Tom moves the people you already have before he hires, so the first hires fill real gaps. ## Read next - [Ben Heath](https://tomsharman.com/case-studies/ben-heath/): A content team of 14. - [In-house content hire vs fractional head of content](https://tomsharman.com/compare/in-house-content-hire-vs-fractional-head-of-content/): For founders. - [Fractional Head of Content](https://tomsharman.com/consulting/#fractional): £3,000 to £7,500 a month.