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side.work
Part-time senior talent marketplace

Fractional executives and senior people, 5 to 20 hours a week

Tell us the role, hours and budget. See verified fractional CFOs, CMOs, engineers and designers who have that time free.

Hours per week of 40
Budget
up to

No account needed for your first match. Verified profiles, published fee.

Looking for work instead? Find work on the side

Senior finance professional working a few hours a week at a laptop in a calm home office

Shortlist preview, 10 h a week

Example profiles
CFO

Fractional CFO profile · 20+ yrs

PE

Senior Python engineer profile · 20+ yrs

How it works

From role to signed contract in one place

Three moves replace the recruiter call, the agency markup and the invoice chase.

1. Describe the role

Role, hours, budget. That is the brief.

Fractional CFO

Open

Series A SaaS · start in 2 weeks

10 to 12 h of 40$180 to $260 / hour

13-week cash forecast

Board pack every month

Fundraising model and data room

2. Get a ranked shortlist

Ranked by function, skills, free hours and rate.

CFO

Fractional CFO profile · 20+ yrs

Example
PE

Senior Python engineer profile · 20+ yrs

Example
PM

Product marketing lead profile · 20+ yrs

Example
Founder on a short video call with a part-time marketing lead

3. Contract, timesheets, one invoice

An hours cap on every contract, so spend never runs away.

Contract

$220 / hour

cap 12 h a week, 7 days notice

NDA and IP assignment attached

Timesheets

Oct 511.5 hApproved
Oct 1212 hApproved
Oct 199 hSubmitted

Invoice for October

$5,584

23.5 approved h x $220 + 8% fee

One invoice, specialist paid by us

See every step Compare with agencies and full-time hires
Two senior engineers reviewing a system diagram together in a quiet office
Why companies hire this way

Senior judgment, without a full-time salary

Profiles start at 8 years of experience. You get the person who has seen the problem before, for the hours the problem needs.

Hours that fit the work
5 to 20 hours a week, scaled up for a launch and down after the board meeting.
No hidden markup
The specialist's own rate plus a published fee of 5 to 12 percent.
Contracts and payments built in
NDA, IP assignment, a weekly cap and one invoice a month.
Who you can hire

Senior roles, priced at 10 hours a week

Typical monthly cost before the platform fee. Each role page has the full rate table.

All roles

10 of 40 hours

Fractional CFO

Fundraising model, board pack, 13-week cash

$7.6k to $13.0k

a month · $175 to $300 an hour

10 of 40 hours

Fractional CMO

Positioning, channel plan, weekly pipeline

$7.6k to $13.0k

a month · $175 to $300 an hour

10 of 40 hours

Fractional CTO

Architecture, delivery, senior hiring

$7.8k to $13.0k

a month · $180 to $300 an hour

10 of 40 hours

Senior Python engineer

Unblock a release, own a service

$4.8k to $8.0k

a month · $110 to $185 an hour

10 of 40 hours

Senior product designer

Top flows redesigned and tested

$4.3k to $7.6k

a month · $100 to $175 an hour

 Fractional recruiter at work

Fractional recruiter

Scorecards, sourcing, closed offers

$3.7k to $6.5k

a month · $85 to $150 an hour
For the person signing the budget

Work out your monthly cost before the first call

Pick the role and the hours. The calculator uses the senior rate guide, your plan fee, and compares it with a typical agency markup and a full-time salary.

Full-time figures assume a senior US salary plus about 25 percent for benefits and payroll taxes. Agency figures assume a 40 percent markup, a common middle of the 20 to 100 percent range.

Hours a week
On Side.work
Through an agency
Full-time hire

Monthly, at an hour, the middle of the senior range for .

Find specialists at this budget

Finance, legal and IT

Built for the people who approve vendors

Fractional help usually stalls in procurement. Side.work gives finance one vendor, legal standard terms and IT the controls it asks for.

  • One monthly invoice, PO numbers on Scale
  • NDA and IP assignment on every contract
  • SAML single sign-on and roles
  • Audit log and CSV reports
Read the security page

Example invoice for October

Your company

PO 4471-OPS

Fractional CFO

23.5 h x $220

$5,170

Senior React engineer

38 h x $140

$5,320

Platform fee, Scale 5%

on approved hours

$525

One vendor, net 30

$11,015

Audit log

Oct 28Finance lead approved 23.5 h for the CFO contract

Oct 21Legal signed NDA and IP assignment, standard terms

Oct 14IT enforced SAML sign-in for 6 seats

Senior designer working at a studio table in the evening
For specialists

Find work on the side, at senior rates

Set your hours and your rate once. Companies with real budgets find you from their shortlists, and contracts, timesheets and payouts run inside Side.work. You keep 100 percent of your rate.

How side work works

Specialist plan $9 a month billed yearly, or $19 monthly.

Pricing

Pick a plan, pay a published fee, cancel anytime

Pick by how many roles you run at once. Yearly billing is half the monthly price.

Plus the platform fee on paid work, 12, 8 or 5 percent. Specialists keep 100 percent of their rate.

Starter

12% platform fee

For a founder hiring one senior part-timer.

$49 / month

Billed $588 a year, you save 50%

  • 2 active roles
  • 15 specialist intros a month
  • Full shortlists with match reasons and rates
  • Messaging and interview scheduling
  • Contracts, weekly hours cap, timesheets
  • One invoice a month, 12% platform fee
  • 1 seat
  • 20 AI role briefs a month
Most teams pick this

Growth

8% platform fee

For a team hiring several roles a quarter.

$149 / month

Billed $1,788 a year, you save 50%

  • 8 active roles
  • 60 specialist intros a month
  • Saved searches and instant match alerts
  • 5 seats with shared shortlists and notes
  • Bench to rebook favourite specialists
  • Monthly spend and hours report (CSV)
  • 8% platform fee
  • 80 AI role briefs a month

Scale

5% platform fee

For a company running a fractional bench across functions.

$399 / month

Billed $4,788 a year, you save 50%

  • 25 active roles
  • 200 specialist intros a month
  • 25 seats with roles and approvals
  • SSO (SAML), audit log, data export
  • Net-30 invoicing with PO numbers
  • Your own NDA and IP template on every contract
  • Email support with a 4 business hour first reply
  • 5% platform fee
  • 250 AI role briefs a month

Starter

12% platform fee

For a founder hiring one senior part-timer.

$99 / month

Billed monthly, cancel anytime

  • 2 active roles
  • 15 specialist intros a month
  • Full shortlists with match reasons and rates
  • Messaging and interview scheduling
  • Contracts, weekly hours cap, timesheets
  • One invoice a month, 12% platform fee
  • 1 seat
  • 20 AI role briefs a month
Most teams pick this

Growth

8% platform fee

For a team hiring several roles a quarter.

$299 / month

Billed monthly, cancel anytime

  • 8 active roles
  • 60 specialist intros a month
  • Saved searches and instant match alerts
  • 5 seats with shared shortlists and notes
  • Bench to rebook favourite specialists
  • Monthly spend and hours report (CSV)
  • 8% platform fee
  • 80 AI role briefs a month

Scale

5% platform fee

For a company running a fractional bench across functions.

$799 / month

Billed monthly, cancel anytime

  • 25 active roles
  • 200 specialist intros a month
  • 25 seats with roles and approvals
  • SSO (SAML), audit log, data export
  • Net-30 invoicing with PO numbers
  • Your own NDA and IP template on every contract
  • Email support with a 4 business hour first reply
  • 5% platform fee
  • 250 AI role briefs a month

Need more than 25 roles or seats? Scale add-on packs give 10 more active roles, 10 seats and 80 intros.

$149 / month per pack, added self-serve from Billing

For specialists

Specialist plan

A verified profile in company matching, 30 applications a month, role alerts, contracts, timesheets and payouts. You keep 100 percent of your agreed rate.

$9 / month

Billed $108 a year, you save 50%

Questions companies ask before they hire

Are these people actually senior?
Every profile lists years of experience and a seniority level, and shows its checks: work email, LinkedIn profile, live portfolio links and, before the first payout, identity checked by our payment processor. Filter the shortlist to verified profiles only, and read the reasons behind each match before you send an intro.
What does a fractional CFO, CMO or CTO cost?
Senior fractional executives usually charge $175 to $300 an hour. At 10 hours a week that is roughly $7,600 to $13,000 a month. Each role page has a rate table for 5, 10, 15 and 20 hours a week, and your match result shows the range for your exact role and hours.
Can someone with a full-time job legally work for us on the side?
Specialists confirm that side work does not conflict with their employment terms and that they will not use an employer's confidential information. Every contract includes an NDA and IP assignment by default. If a role touches a competitor of their employer, raise it in the first call.
What if it does not work out after two weeks?
End the contract any time with the notice period you set (7 days by default). You only pay approved hours, and the weekly hours cap means spend never runs past what you agreed. There is no long retainer to unwind.
How do invoices, taxes and payments work?
You approve weekly timesheets and pay one invoice for approved hours plus the platform fee. Side.work pays the specialist, who keeps 100 percent of the agreed rate. Specialists are independent contractors and handle their own taxes. Scale adds net-30 terms and PO numbers.
Why a subscription plus a fee instead of an agency?
Agencies and staffing firms often add a markup of 20 to 100 percent to the specialist's rate. On Side.work you see the specialist's own rate and pay a published 5 to 12 percent on top. On a $6,000 a month CFO engagement, Growth adds $480 a month in fees.
Can I cancel?
Yes. Cancel from your billing page and your plan stays active until the end of the period you paid for. Payments are final, with exceptions listed in the refund policy.
Is our data safe?
Every connection is encrypted, passwords are stored as one-way hashes, access inside your workspace follows roles, and Scale adds SSO and an audit log. Read the security page for how we handle data and access.

From the blog

All articles

Contracts for fractional work, NDA, IP assignment and hours caps explained

A good fractional contract is short and specific. Here is what each clause does, what to check before you sign, and where an NDA and IP assignment fit.

How senior professionals set an hourly rate and hours cap for side work

Pricing your time and protecting your week are the two decisions that shape side work. Here is a practical method for senior professionals to set both.

When a fractional CTO makes sense for a seed-stage startup

Seed-stage founders often need technical judgment before they can afford or fill a full-time CTO. Here is when a part-time leader is the right move and when it is not.

Twelve senior hours a week can change a quarter

Tell Side.work the role, the hours and the budget. Your shortlist is ready before your coffee is.

Find my specialists See pricing