Hire an Interim Operations Director · Jobs UK
Hire an interim Operations Director
for the gap.
Hire an interim Operations Director — full-time operational leadership on a fixed-term assignment — to steady delivery, fix a site or a process, integrate an acquisition or cover through a vacancy. Also searched as interim head of operations. Or browse live interim Operations Director jobs below.
- £500–£1,800 a day (Exec Capital)
- Full-time, fixed-term
- Site, function or business
- 12% fee on signing
How a brief runswhat we undertake
- 01Brief30-MINUTE SCOPING CALLDay 0
- 02Shortlist of 3–5VETTED · RATE BENCHMARK · IR3548h target
- 03InterviewsYOU MEET THE SHORTLISTYour diary
- 04Scoped startFIRST-MONTH OUTCOMES AGREEDYou set the date
- 05Our fee12% OF ENGAGEMENT VALUEDisclosed upfront
Shortlist target48h
15 minutes · video or phone
Book 15 minutes to hire an interim Operations Director
Tell us the situation and the start date. We come back with interim Operations Director candidates, their day rates and availability.
- 0115 minutes, video or phone
- 02We scope the assignment and the start date
- 03Shortlist target: 48 hours after the call
- 04No retainer — 12% only if you sign
Pick a day that suits · live availability
Interim Operations Director jobs · last 3 months
Live Interim Operations Director jobs
01/ definition
What is an interim Operations Director?
An interim Operations Director runs operations — a function, a site or a region — full-time for a fixed term. One level below an interim COO, who owns the whole operating model from the board.
01 · cadence
The Operations Director seat, five days a week.
An interim Operations Director takes the role in full — delivery, service levels, the operations team and the cost base — rather than advising from outside it.
02/ scope
What an interim Operations Director owns
The interim carries operational accountability for the term; managers and team leads keep the day-to-day.
- Delivery and service KPIs
- Operations budget and cost base
- Process and quality
- Supply chain and suppliers
- Health and safety oversight
- Operations team structure
- Systems and continuous improvement
- Handover to the permanent hire
- Shift rotas
- Routine purchasing
- Individual projects
- Facilities admin
- Report production
- First-line supervision
03/ alternatives
Interim Operations Director vs COO, fractional and permanent
The same seat, four ways of filling it.
→ In smaller companies the titles blur; hire for the scope.
04/ rates
Interim Operations Director day rates, UK 2026
Published figures only, each with its source. Company size and mandate set the band.
- SME£500–£900Exec Capital
- Mid-market£800–£1,400Exec Capital
- Turnaround / crisis£1,000–£1,600Exec Capital
- PE-backed / complex£1,000–£1,800Exec Capital
Six months full-time (about 130 working days) is roughly £65,000–£117,000 at SME scale and £104,000–£182,000 mid-market, before our fee — our arithmetic.
05/ calculator
What an interim Operations Director costs
Model a fixed-term interim Operations Director against a permanent Operations Director over the same period.
£1,100 a day is within the published Mid-market band (£800–£1,400, Exec Capital).
Interim cost for the term
£160,160
130 working days · 5 d/wk · 6 mo · incl. our 12% fee
Interim costs more over 6 months — the price of starting now£84,473
Book a 15-minute call →Our arithmetic, indicative. Permanent = the £86,500 median Director/Head of Operations salary (Robert Half) pro rata for the same months, plus 15% employer NI, plus a 30% search fee on the annual base (UK retained search runs 25–35%, headhunters.co.uk). Excludes pension, bonus and equity.
06/ tax
Is an interim Operations Director tax-deductible?
General position under UK rules, with the HMRC source for each point. Not tax advice — check your own case with your accountant.
01 · DEDUCTIBLE
The fees are a business expense
An interim Operations Director’s fees, like a salary, are deductible against profits when incurred wholly and exclusively for the trade (HMRC BIM37000). At the 25% main rate, each £1,000 of fees costs a profitable company £750 after relief.
02 · NO EMPLOYER NI
Outside IR35, no 15% on top
A permanent Operations Director carries employer National Insurance at 15% (gov.uk). An interim engaged through their own company outside IR35 does not. Inside IR35, the fee-payer deducts tax and NI and pays employer NI.
03 · WHO DECIDES
IR35 status, by company size
Medium and large clients determine the interim’s status themselves; for a small private-sector client, the interim’s own company decides (HMRC off-payroll guidance).
07/ decision
When to hire an interim Operations Director
Four situations where companies hire an interim Operations Director.
Which sounds like you?
Late deliveries, rising cost, unhappy customers and no senior owner on the floor.
- → KPI reset
- → Cost base
- → Quality
Two sites or businesses to bring together after a deal.
- → Integration plan
- → Systems
- → People
The Operations Director leaves mid-programme.
- → Continuity
- → Team
- → Search
A new ERP, WMS or site that must go live without disrupting delivery.
- → Go-live
- → Training
- → Stabilise
08/ guide
Hiring an interim Operations Director: what to get right
Pick the level. An interim Operations Director fixes and runs operations; an interim COO owns the whole operating model from the board. The COO band is higher — £800–£2,000 a day on Exec Capital’s guide.
Start with the outcome: service back to target, a site integrated, a system live, a permanent hire in post. Put it and a date in the brief.
Budget from the published bands. Exec Capital puts interim Operations Director day rates at £500–£900 for SMEs, £800–£1,400 mid-market, £1,000–£1,800 for PE-backed or complex operations and £1,000–£1,600 for turnaround. A permanent Director or Head of Operations is a median £86,500 (Robert Half) before on-costs and a retained search fee.
Check the track record against the environment — manufacturing, logistics and service operations are different jobs — and take references from recent assignments; we do the same before anyone reaches a shortlist.
If you are looking for interim Operations Director jobs rather than hiring, the live board below lists current roles; fractional COO jobs cover the part-time market.
09/ structure
IR35 for an interim Operations Director
Our contracts are drafted to sit outside IR35. Status still turns on how the assignment runs day to day, and a full-time interim needs more care here than a fractional role. Medium and large clients make the determination; for a small private-sector client the interim’s own company does. See the IR35 guide.
TEST 1
Substitution
The contract is with the interim’s limited company and carries a genuine right to send a qualified substitute.
✓ In the contractTEST 2
Control
You set the outcomes for the assignment; the interim decides how the work gets done.
✓ In the contractTEST 3
Mutuality
No obligation to offer or accept work beyond the agreed assignment and term.
✓ In the contract10/ process
How to hire an interim Operations Director with us
What we undertake on every brief. No retainer; you pay only if you sign.
- 01
Brief
A 30-minute call on the assignment, the start date and what the interim Operations Director must have delivered by the end of the term.
DAY 0 - 02
Search
We search and screen against that brief: track record at your stage and in your situation, and references we take ourselves.
SCREENING - 03
Shortlist
Three to five candidates with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out. We aim to send it within 48 hours.
48H TARGET - 04
Start
You interview and choose. Our fee is 12%, charged on signing, with flexible fee clawback agreed case by case.
12% ON SIGNING
11/ questions
Interim Operations Director FAQ
Hiring an interim Operations Director, or looking for interim Operations Director jobs.
No retainer · 12% only if you sign
Need an interim Operations Director this month?
Book 15 minutes. We aim to have a shortlist with you within 48 hours of the call.
