Fractional CCO: First 30-Day Mandate
How to Kickoff a Successful Engagement
by Brad Chase
A fractional Chief Communications Officer engagement should begin with a clear executive mandate: the business priorities communications must support, the decisions the advisor can make, the people and resources involved, and the work leadership expects to see.
This template helps a CEO and communications advisor define the first 30 days of an engagement. It is a starting framework, not a fixed service package or a promise that every organization needs the same work. An urgent issue may require immediate action before a broader review is complete.
1. Define the communications department’s business mandate
Write the operational problem before listing communication activities. “Generate more coverage” is an activity goal. The mandate should explain what better communications needs to accomplish for the business and its stakeholders.
Organization and executive sponsor: [Company and accountable leader]
Business situation: [Leadership gap, growth, change, scrutiny, stakeholder concern, or other need]
Why now: [Trigger, deadline, or consequence of delay]
Desired business outcome: [What leadership needs to improve or protect]
Priority audiences: [Whose understanding, confidence, or decisions matter]
First 30-day scope: [The work included in the initial mandate]
Responsibilities held elsewhere: [Work owned by other leaders, teams, or agencies]
Mandate sentence: “The fractional CCO will lead [communications responsibilities] to support [business objective], working with [executive sponsor and teams], with initial priorities of [priority one, two, and three].”
2. Set authority, access, and accountability
The advisor needs a practical route into decisions. Clarify how the role works with the CEO, leadership team, staff, agencies, and specialist advisors.
Reporting relationship: [Executive sponsor and working contacts]
Leadership access: [Meetings, information, and decision forums included]
Decision authority: [What the advisor can decide, recommend, or approve]
Approval boundaries: [Which statements, commitments, or expenditures require another owner’s approval]
Team and agency direction: [Who assigns work, resolves conflicts, and evaluates delivery]
Working cadence and availability: [Regular meetings, working arrangements, and escalation route]
Engagement capacity: [Agreed time or scope, including how additional demands are handled]
Decision record: [Decision] · [Accountable owner] · [Who advises] · [Who approves] · [Deadline].
3. Days 1–10: Establish the operating picture
Begin with the people, decisions, and risks that matter most. Review existing material before asking teams to create another strategy document.
Speak with the executive sponsor and relevant leaders about priorities, constraints, and outstanding commitments.
Identify immediate issues that require action, including unresolved media inquiries or stakeholder concerns.
Review the existing communications plan, messaging, relevant channels, team and agency responsibilities, and current performance information.
Map priority stakeholders and the business moments likely to affect their decisions.
Record information gaps and confirm who can resolve them.
Initial deliverable: [A concise assessment of priorities, immediate risks, existing strengths, and decisions requiring leadership attention].
Immediate action record: [Issue] · [Required decision or action] · [Owner] · [Due date].
4. Days 11–20: Agree on priorities and the working process
Translate the assessment into an agreed sequence of work. Keep the plan specific enough to direct activity and flexible enough to reflect the organization’s situation.
Select the few communication priorities that matter most to the business mandate.
Clarify the organization’s core narrative, supporting evidence, and areas where its messages are inconsistent.
Establish the message-development, verification, approval, and escalation process.
Assign responsibilities across internal teams, outside agencies, and the fractional CCO.
Identify the resources and leadership decisions required for execution.
Priority record: [Business objective] · [Audience] · [Communications action] · [Owner] · [Due date] · [Evidence of progress].
Operating deliverable: [Agreed priorities, decision responsibilities, reporting cadence, and a practical work plan].
5. Days 21–30: Deliver, review, and set the next mandate
Put the agreed process to work. The initial deliverable might be a leadership communication, an issue response, a clearer corporate narrative, an agency reset, or a plan for an upcoming business event. Choose the work because it addresses the mandate.
Complete or materially advance the first agreed priorities.
Test the approval and coordination process on real work.
Identify bottlenecks that need an executive decision.
Review stakeholder response and the evidence available so far.
Agree on the next 60–90 days of work, including any change to scope or capacity.
Day-30 review: [What changed] · [What remains unresolved] · [Decisions needed] · [Next priorities] · [Owners and dates].
6. Agree how progress will be measured
Use measures connected to the business objective and establish the starting point. An activity count can help manage delivery, but it does not by itself demonstrate a change in trust, understanding, or business performance.
Depending on the mandate, measures could include approval turnaround, correction of material message inconsistencies, readiness for a specific business event, employee understanding, stakeholder feedback, or the accuracy and relevance of earned coverage.
Measurement record: [Business objective] · [Indicator] · [Baseline] · [Evidence source] · [Review date] · [What would change the plan].
If a baseline is unavailable, record that limitation and assign responsibility for establishing one. Do not treat an unavailable measure as a positive result.
Scope senior communications leadership around your business
Chase Global provides fractional and interim Chief Communications Officer support, with Brad Chase working directly with CEOs and leadership teams. Explore fractional and interim CCO support or contact Chase Global.
Sources and further reading
The 30-day sequence is a proposed Chase Global framework, not a cookie cutter approach.
IABC: Global Standard of the Communication Profession, for professional principles linking communications to organizational context, analysis, strategy, and engagement.
Chase Global: Fractional Chief Communications Officer, describing the engagement this template supports.