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Part-time operations manager · hiring brief

Hire a Part-Time Operations Manager

Hire a Part-Time Operations Manager: count the operational work that recurs each week, decide employed part-time or contracted, and name who covers on the other days.

Brief us on this role →See operations manager roles

Reviewed by Fractional Quest · updated 1 November 2026 · 4 sources linked below

  • 3–5on every shortlist
  • 5stages of vetting
  • IR35set out on every brief
Hire a Part-Time Operations Manager: 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?

Part-time operations manager roles first, then the seat in any engagement and the wider function when the board runs short.

Roles

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

In the press

The brief

Hire a Part-Time Operations Manager: what must the role own?

The processes they run and improve.

  • 01ProcessesThe processes they run and improve.
  • 02SuppliersContracts and suppliers they manage.
  • 03ReportingWeekly measures they own.
  • 04CoverWho handles issues on non-working days.

Role reference: Acas: part-time workers. Acas explains part-time workers’ rights to treatment no less favourable than comparable full-time staff, which applies when you hire a part-time operations manager on the payroll.

Part-time

Hire a part-time operations manager or a fractional one?

Employed part-time suits steady, ongoing work; fractional suits a defined fix.

Hire a part-time operations manager when the work is routine and long term: suppliers, scheduling, office and reporting. Hire a fractional one when you need processes redesigned and handed over.

Either way, write down the days and who covers between them; operations problems do not wait.

The working pattern

What changes when the operations manager is part-time?

A part-time operations manager is employed for fewer hours than full-time, with the same rights as full-time staff pro rata. A fractional operations manager is usually contracted.

The illustrative brief: a 30-person business with a busy founder. The founder handles suppliers, office, systems and scheduling in the evenings.

The appointment owns: The company employs a part-time operations manager three days a week.

Another owner retains: The founder keeps spending above an agreed limit and hiring decisions.

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

From brief to start

How do you hire a Part-Time Operations Manager, step by step?

Hire a Part-Time Operations Manager, 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 operations manager 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
    Hours
    Days, hours and response expectations in the contract.
    You
  5. Before day one · 2
    05
    Processes
    A list of what they own.
    You
  6. Before day one · 3
    06
    Systems
    Access to the tools they need.
    You
  7. Before day one · 4
    07
    Review
    A three-month review of hours against workload.
    You

Assessment

How should you assess each candidate?

Hire a Part-Time Operations Manager on evidence: put the same work in front of each candidate before comparing answers.

  1. Comparable work
    Ask for a process they fixed and how they measured it.
  2. Authority
    Test a spending decision above their limit.
  3. Team
    Ask how they kept others informed on non-working days.
  4. Handover
    Ask how they documented what they run.

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

Hire a Part-Time Operations Manager: questions, answered

A brief to hire a Part-Time Operations Manager begins with processes: The processes they run and improve. Then a stated working pattern and the evidence you will ask every candidate to show.

Read next

Related hiring and role pages

Sources

Where does every reference on this page come from?

  • acas.org.uk
  • HMRC
  • legislation.gov.uk
  1. 1
    Acas: part-time workers acas.org.uk
  2. 2
    Understanding off-payroll working (IR35) HMRC
    Status depends on how the engagement runs; medium and large clients make the determination.
  3. 3
    Check employment status for tax (CEST) HMRC
    HMRC’s own status check for each engagement.
  4. 4
    Employment Agencies Act 1973 legislation.gov.uk
    The law a recruitment agency works under; no fee to a work-seeker.

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