Interim COO salary · day rates by mandate
What an interim COO earns, by the day and by the mandate
An interim COO salary is a day rate, not a salary.
Exec Capital’s 2026 COO guide puts interim COOs at £800–£1,200 a day for SME and mid-market mandates and £1,200–£2,000 a day for complex private-equity-backed, listed, crisis or turnaround work.
Across all functions, the Institute of Interim Management’s 2026 survey puts the average interim day rate at £907, and £1,004 in the private sector.
An interim COO covers the seat full-time for a fixed term.
When you hire an interim COO through us, we send a shortlist of 3–5, each with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out.
How a brief runswhat we undertake
- 01Brief30-MINUTE SCOPING CALLDay 0
- 02Shortlist of 3–5VETTED · RATE BENCHMARK · IR35After the brief
- 03InterviewsYOU MEET THE SHORTLISTYour diary
- 04Scoped startFIRST-MONTH OUTCOMES AGREEDYou set the date
- 05Fractional, interim and permanentIR35 POSITION SET OUTOn every brief
Shortlist3–5
15 minutes · video or phone
Book 15 minutes to hire an interim COO
Tell us the scope and the days a week. We come back with Interim COO candidates, their day rates and availability.
- 0115 minutes, video or phone
- 02We scope the role and the days a week
- 03A shortlist of 3–5 after the call
- 04Fractional, interim and permanent briefs
Pick a day that suits · live availability
On the board · last 3 months
Interim COO jobs on the board
Roles on the board: interim operations leadership
Fractional Quest is a fractional recruitment agency: send a Interim COO brief and we come back with a shortlist of three to five vetted candidates.
01/ the role
Interim COO salary is a day rate
An interim COO is engaged for a mandate, not employed on a salary.
Exec Capital says interim COO engagements typically run 3–9 months through a personal service company, and bill by the day.
The client pays for the days worked.
There is no salary, bonus or employer pension.
The Institute of Interim Management’s 2026 survey gives the wider market.
The average interim day rate across all functions is £907.
Interims in the private sector average £1,004, in the public sector £700 and in the third sector £728.
The average assignment lasts 10.0 months.
Those are averages across every function, not a COO rate.
Exec Capital’s COO bands run from just below those averages to well above them, with the top end for complex mandates.
For the seat itself, see interim COO; for roles on the board, see interim COO jobs.
02/ scope
How interim pay differs from a salary
A salaried COO is paid for every working week, with bonus and benefits on top; the CIPD sets out how fixed and variable pay make up a package.
An interim is paid for the days billed.
The IIM’s 2026 survey puts average days billed in a year at 148, and the average gap between assignments at 3.2 months.
Who funds what
An employer pays employer’s National Insurance, 15% above £5,000 a year for 2026 to 2027 (HMRC), and at least 3% into a workplace pension on qualifying earnings (GOV.UK).
An interim working through their own company funds their own pension, holidays and the gaps between assignments from the day rate.
Compare a day rate with a salary only after you add what the employer would have paid, and subtract the days an interim does not bill.
03/ the board
What the board holds.
A read of the roles on the board on this page, counted as they stand: how each is engaged, whether the posting gives the days and the rate, and where the work happens.
On this board, last 90 days · 1 role · Interim COO
Engagement
- Interim1
Days a week
- Stated in the posting1
- Not stated0
Day rate
- Verified rate0
- Estimated (est)0
- Rate not stated1
Work arrangement (as the job feed classifies it)
- Remote0
- Hybrid0
- On-site0
- Not classified1
Newest posting on the board: 1 Sept 2026.
04/ rates by stage
Interim COO rates by mandate, with the market for context
Exec Capital’s bands are a recruiter’s published 2026 ranges, not a survey. The IIM rows are its 2026 survey of interim managers across all functions, not a COO rate. Each figure is quoted as its source publishes it.
05/ rates by commitment
What a day rate annualises to our arithmetic, not a salary
Day rate × 220 working days is a ceiling: no interim bills every working day. The IIM’s 2026 survey puts average days billed at 148, so the last two rows use that. Our arithmetic on the published rates above, for comparison with a salary only.
06/ vetting
How we vet interim COOs
What we undertake on every brief, before a candidate reaches you.
- 01
Qualification screen
Verify Interim COO tenure, sector context and stage fit.
SOURCING - 02
Mandate fit
Match to your situation — stage, board dynamics, timing.
MATCHING - 03
Reference deep-dive
We take references ourselves, from recent past clients — real outcomes, not titles.
VERIFY - 04
Shortlist
Three to five candidates with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out.
SHORTLIST OF 3–5
07/ interim coo day rate
Interim COO day rate what moves it
The interim COO day rate follows the mandate.
Exec Capital puts SME and mid-market mandates at £800–£1,200 a day, and complex private-equity-backed, listed, crisis or turnaround work at £1,200–£2,000.
It says turnaround and restructuring specialists command the top end.
The IIM’s 2026 survey shows the same pattern across all functions.
The private sector pays more than the public and third sectors, and engagements outside IR35 average £949 against £830 inside.
Set the rate against the mandate’s scope and length.
A three-month cover role and a nine-month turnaround are priced differently, even under the same title.
08/ interim chief operating officer salary
Interim chief operating officer salary set against a permanent package
An interim chief operating officer salary, quoted as a yearly figure, is our arithmetic on a day rate.
At Exec Capital’s £800–£2,000 a day, 220 working days comes to £176,000–£440,000 in fees.
That is a ceiling, not a likely total, because few interims bill every working day.
At the IIM’s average of 148 days billed, its £1,004 private-sector average comes to £148,592 in fees.
The interim pays their own pension, holidays and costs from that.
For permanent pay, see COO salary.
For a COO who works part of the week, see fractional COO salary.
09/ ir35
Interim COO pay and IR35 who decides the tax
Tax on an interim’s fees depends on how the engagement runs.
Under the off-payroll working rules (IR35), a medium or large client decides the worker’s status; for a small client outside the public sector, the worker’s own company decides.
Inside the rules, the worker pays broadly the same Income Tax and National Insurance as an employee would.
HMRC’s Check Employment Status for Tax tool gives HMRC’s view of an engagement, and HMRC stands by its result while the information given stays accurate.
Our IR35 guide sets out the tests.
10/ questions
Interim COO salary FAQ
The questions people ask before bringing in an interim COO.
Book 15 minutes · shortlist of 3–5
Bring the brief. We architect the team.
A shortlist of 3–5 with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out, after five-stage vetting.
