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Permanent COO · hiring brief

COO for Hire

COO for Hire: draw the line between the CEO and the COO first, name the operating problem the COO owns, then choose the engagement that problem needs.

Brief us on this role →See COO roles

Reviewed by Fractional Quest · updated 1 November 2026 · 5 sources linked below

  • 3–5on every shortlist
  • 5stages of vetting
  • IR35set out on every brief
COO for Hire: an operations leader on the warehouse floor with an operations manager (illustration)

On the board · last 90 days

Which roles are on the board now?

Permanent COO roles first, then the seat in any engagement and the wider function when the board runs short.

Roles

See every role on the board →

Every fractional role in the UK is on the fractional jobs board.

In the press

The brief

COO for Hire: what must the role own?

Write which functions report to the COO and which stay with the CEO.

  • 01The lineWrite which functions report to the COO and which stay with the CEO.
  • 02Operating problemName the problem: delivery, scaling, margins, systems or an integration after an acquisition.
  • 03BudgetSet the spend and headcount the COO may change without approval.
  • 04RhythmAgree the operating reviews the COO runs and reports on.

Role reference: Institute of Directors: role of the COO. The IoD sets out the COO role as running the business day to day alongside the CEO, which is why a COO for hire needs the line between the two written down.

For hire

COO for hire: which engagement?

Fractional for part of each week, interim for an assignment with an end, part-time employed, or permanent.

A fractional COO suits a business that needs an operating model built and run on a few days a week. An interim COO suits a defined assignment: an integration, a turnaround or cover for a departure.

A permanent COO suits a company where operations need an owner every day for years. The brief to a COO for hire is the same in each case: the line with the CEO, the operating problem and the measures.

The working pattern

What changes when the COO is permanent?

A COO for hire runs how the company operates so the CEO can lead it. The role differs more between companies than any other C-suite seat, so the brief has to say what this COO runs.

The illustrative brief: a services business growing past its processes. Headcount has doubled in two years. Delivery runs on the founders’ judgement and margins are slipping.

The appointment owns: The COO for hire sets the delivery operating model, capacity planning and a weekly operating review, three days a week.

Another owner retains: The CEO keeps sales and strategy; the finance director owns pricing.

The case is illustrative; it does not describe a Fractional Quest placement.

From brief to start

How do you hire a COO for hire, step by step?

COO for Hire, in practice: the first three steps are ours; the last four are what has to be true before the first day. We don’t promise a shortlist by a date.

  1. Day 0
    01
    The 15-minute call
    What the COO must own, the working pattern, the start date and the budget.
    You and us
  2. Week 1
    02
    Scope agreed in writing
    The outcome the seat exists for, the days, and how the engagement will run for IR35.
    Us
  3. Weeks 1–3
    03
    Search, references, shortlist
    We approach people who aren’t looking, verify tenure, take references ourselves and return three to five.
    Us
  4. Week 4
    04
    The line
    Publish the reporting lines to the team.
    You
  5. Before day one · 2
    05
    Data
    Provide delivery, capacity, margin and customer data.
    You
  6. Before day one · 3
    06
    Reviews
    Put the first operating review in the diary.
    You
  7. Before day one · 4
    07
    First output
    Ask for a written view of the biggest operating constraint in the first fortnight.
    You

Your figures

What does part of a senior week cost?

Rate × days × weeks, against a loaded full-time package. Move the sliders; the numbers redraw.

  • COO band £800–£1,400 (Connectd 2026)
Year-one cost, fractional
£101,200
2 days a week · 46 weeks · day fees, before tax · our arithmetic
Fractional executive£101,200
Full-time COO, loaded£140,125£637 a day over 220 days · our arithmetic
Fractional costs less in year one by£38,925

Our arithmetic. £122,500 composite (our median of three 2026 guides) median salary + employer NI at 15% above £5,000 (HMRC) = £140,125. Excludes pension, bonus and any search fee.

Assessment

How should you assess each candidate?

COO for Hire on evidence: put the same work in front of each candidate before comparing answers.

  1. Comparable decision
    Ask for an operating model they built at a company of your size, and what it changed.
  2. Authority
    Test where they would draw the CEO–COO line in your business.
  3. Team
    Ask how they developed operations managers to run the model without them.
  4. Handover
    Ask what reviews and measures they left in place when they moved on.

Acas recommends a consistent, fair selection process: choosing who to interview.

Vetting

What happens before anyone reaches your shortlist?

Five stages before a candidate reaches a shortlist of three to five.

  1. Pedigree screen
    Tenure
    We verify prior tenure in the seat, at the scale and stage you need. No consultant presenting as an executive.
  2. Mandate fit
    Fit
    Fit to your stage, sector and the problem the seat exists to solve, not a CV keyword.
  3. Reference deep-dive
    Verify
    We take references ourselves, from recent clients and boards: what they delivered, not what they titled it.
  4. Shortlist
    Shortlist
    Three to five candidates, each with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out.
  5. Kick-off
    Start
    Scope, first-month outcomes and the contract agreed before day one.

The full process is on how we vet.

The right pattern

Does this hiring pattern fit the work?

Test the amount of the week, the expected end and the continuity needed before writing the contract.

Questions

COO for Hire: questions, answered

A COO owns the operating model across functions and sits in the leadership team. An operations manager runs processes within it. If the problem is one team’s processes, hire the manager.

Read next

Related hiring and role pages

Sources

Where does every reference on this page come from?

  • iod.com
  • HMRC
  • legislation.gov.uk
  1. 1
    Institute of Directors: role of the COO iod.com
  2. 2
    Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027 HMRC
    Employer National Insurance at 15% above £5,000 a year.
  3. 3
    Understanding off-payroll working (IR35) HMRC
    Status depends on how the engagement runs; medium and large clients make the determination.
  4. 4
    Check employment status for tax (CEST) HMRC
    HMRC’s own status check for each engagement.
  5. 5
    Employment Agencies Act 1973 legislation.gov.uk
    The law a recruitment agency works under; no fee to a work-seeker.

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