For those who want a change of pace, not a full stop
You’re 8–20 years into your career. You’ve built real skills and judgement – but life is asking for a different rhythm.
Maybe you:
Want to take a step back from a full-time role without stepping out of the work entirely.
Need to care for a child*, partner or parent, and can’t promise 9–6 every day.
Are exploring a career pivot and want to try solving different problems.
Are in between roles and want to stay sharp while you figure out what’s next.
As a flexible expert with retension, you can do meaningful, billable work without pretending that life outside work doesn’t exist.
(*that’s exactly why our co-founder started retension.)
What flexible experts do
Flexible experts plug into specific mandates where your skills make the biggest difference. Depending on your background, you might:
Lead or co-lead discrete workstreams (e.g. research, stakeholder interviews, facilitation, training design).
Bring specialist craft – such as writing, facilitation, design, analytics or learning design – into a larger project team.
Support change, culture or internal comms initiatives where you’ve lived through similar journeys before.
Pilot work in adjacent domains you’re curious about (e.g. a marketer learning more sustainability, or a policy person exploring comms).
You’ll work alongside senior advisors and emerging professionals – not as a lone freelancer bolted on at the side, but as part of a team that knows why you’re there, what you’re best at, and where you can help juniors grow in judgement and craft.
How the model works for you
Project-based, not always-on. We scope work in blocks of hours or clear deliverables so you can plan around family, study or other commitments.
Clear roles and expectations. We’re upfront about timelines, responsibilities and decision rights, so you’re not quietly treated like a full-timer without the support.
Room to learn. If you’re using retension as a bridge into a new area – say, more ESG exposure or more learning design – we’ll match you to projects that stretch you without throwing you in unprepared.
Values alignment. You’re joining a community that cares about juniors, seniors and clients in roughly equal measure.
Flexible experts are typically engaged as independent contractors, with deliverables-based remuneration. Some eventually move into senior advisor roles or other shapes; some stay in a portfolio pattern. Both are fine.
Who we’re looking for
We’d love to hear from you if you:
Have progressed into middle-management roles or built increasingly deep specialist expertise in communications, sustainability, public affairs, HR / L&D, research, facilitation or adjacent fields.
Are comfortable working remotely and asynchronously, with the occasional in-person session when it really matters.
Can hold your own with senior stakeholders, while collaborating well with juniors.
Are honest about your capacity – we’d rather plan around fewer, focused hours than over-promise and burn you out.