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Permanent COO · hiring brief

Hire Chief Operating Officer

Hire Chief Operating Officer: define the operating remit, draw the line with the CEO, set budget authority and assess candidates on a live operating decision.

Brief us on this role →See COO roles

Reviewed by Fractional Quest · updated 28 October 2026 · 5 sources linked below

  • 3–5on every shortlist
  • 5stages of vetting
  • IR35set out on every brief
Hire Chief Operating Officer: leadership meeting in a Covent Garden office (illustration)

On the board · last 90 days

Which COO roles are on the board?

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

Hire Chief Operating Officer: what must the role own?

List the functions reporting to the COO.

  • 01RemitList the functions reporting to the COO.
  • 02CEO lineWrite which decisions stay with the CEO.
  • 03BudgetSet approval limits.
  • 04MeasuresAgree the operating measures reviewed monthly.

Role reference: Institute of Directors: role of the COO. The IoD describes the chief operating officer’s responsibility for operations, budgets, policies and systems in support of the CEO.

COO for hire

Hire chief operating officer, or a COO for hire?

A permanent chief operating officer suits a business that needs an operating owner for years.

If the need is a defined change, an interim COO is the better fit; if it is part of each week, a fractional COO.

The working pattern

What changes when the COO is permanent?

A chief operating officer, or chief operations officer, runs the business day to day so the CEO can lead it. The line between them must be written down.

The illustrative brief: a CEO running everything. Every function reports to the CEO, who has no time for investors or customers.

The appointment owns: The company hires a chief operating officer to run operations, delivery and support.

Another owner retains: The CEO keeps strategy, funding and the executive team.

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

From brief to start

How do you hire a chief operating officer, step by step?

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
    Offer
    Confirm remit, authority and package.
    You
  5. Before day one · 2
    05
    Data
    Provide operating metrics and budgets.
    You
  6. Before day one · 3
    06
    Introductions
    Introduce function heads.
    You
  7. Before day one · 4
    07
    First 90 days
    Agree the operating review.
    You

Your figures

What does part of a COO’s 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 COO candidates?

Put the same work and evidence in front of each candidate before comparing answers.

  1. Comparable decision
    Ask for a business they ran day to day for a CEO.
  2. Authority
    Test a decision on the CEO line.
  3. Team
    Ask how they led functional heads.
  4. Handover
    Ask what operating system they left behind.

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 Chief Operating Officer: questions, answered

A brief to hire a chief operating officer begins with remit: List the functions reporting to the COO. 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?

  • 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.

For hiring managers

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  1. A shortlist of 3–5, each with day rate, availability and IR35 position
  2. Fractional, interim, part-time, temporary or permanent — and non-executive directors
  3. Every candidate through our five-stage vetting
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