Hire a Part-time COO · Part-time COO Jobs UK
Hire a part-time COO · Part-time COO jobs
Hire a part-time COO — a senior operations leader on the same one or two days every week — when the business needs someone to own how it runs, but not a five-day salary.
On contract at a day rate, or on your payroll pro-rata.
Need more days, or days that flex?
Hire a fractional COO instead.
- £800–£1,400 a day · Connectd 2026
- 1–2 days a week, fixed
- Contract or payroll two ways to hire
- 3–5 on every shortlist
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 talk through the brief
Tell us the scope and the days a week. We come back with part-time 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
How fractional recruitment agencies compare is set out in one place, including how we work: a brief and a shortlist of three to five.
COO jobs · last 3 months
Part-time and fractional COO jobs on the board
- InterimSyndicatedFractional Chief Operating Officer (COO)
Algorithmiq Oy · United Kingdom
est £2,000/day2 d/wk - FractionalExclusiveFractional COO
Confidential client (Fractional Quest mandate) · London
Rate not statedLondon - InterimExclusiveInterim Chief Operating Officer
Confidential client (Fractional Quest mandate) · London
Rate not stated5 d/wk
01/ the cross
Where a permanent hire becomes cheaper.
Move the day rate and the days a week: the rising line is a month of part-week cost, the flat line a permanent hire’s month. Where they cross, the seat should go full-time.
At 3.2 days a week a permanent hire costs less.
Our arithmetic. Permanent a month = the salary ÷ 12 plus 15% employer NI, plus the 30% search fee spread over 12 months — the calculator’s inputs. Hover, tap or use the arrow keys for each step.
Permanent = the £122,500 composite (our median of three 2026 guides) median salary. The full calculator below adds the months, the totals and the currency tabs.
- The part-time COO at 2 days a week never passes permanent inside 24 months.
- Interim passes permanent at month 2.
Our arithmetic, cumulative. Permanent = the salary’s 30% search fee in month 0, then salary ÷ 12 plus 15% employer NI each month. Interim = the midpoint of the published interim band (£1,400 a day, Exec Capital 2026) × 5 days × 4.33 weeks. Hover, tap or use the arrow keys for each month.
02/ the route
Fractional, interim or permanent?
Four taps. The answer names the route for the seat and the page that covers it.
The route · Fractional
A fractional COO.The work fills part of the week, so buy the days it needs.
A fractional COO holds the seat on agreed days for as long as the seat is needed, and works for other clients on the rest.
The route · Interim
An interim COO.The work fills the week, and it has an end: a programme, a cover, a transaction.
An interim COO takes the seat full time for that stretch and hands it over when it is done.
The route · Interim, then permanent
Interim now, a permanent COO after.The seat is full time and long term, and the need is now.
An interim COO holds it while the permanent search runs, so the seat is not left empty.
The route · Permanent
A permanent COO.A full-time seat that sits at the table for years is a permanent hire.
There is time to run a search, so run one.
03/ the board
What the board holds.
A read of the roles on the board above, 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 · 3 roles · Part-time and fractional COO
Engagement
- Interim2
- Fractional1
Days a week
- Stated in the posting2
- Not stated1
Day rate
- Verified rate0
- Estimated (est)1
- Rate not stated2
Work arrangement (as the job feed classifies it)
- Remote0
- Hybrid1
- On-site0
- Not classified2
Newest posting on the board: 9 Oct 2026.
04/ the model
What is a part-time COO?
A part-time COO is a chief operating officer who works a fixed part of the week — one or two days — for one company, on contract or on payroll.
The role sits between a fractional COO and a full-time hire.
Four features define it.
01 · cadence
One or two days, the same ones every week.
The COO is in on known days — say Tuesday and Thursday — so leadership meetings, reviews and decisions are planned around them. Predictable presence is the point of the arrangement.
02 · level
A chief operating officer, for fewer days.
Someone who has run operations at COO or operations-director level and can own the operating model, the numbers and the people who run them — just not five days a week.
03 · terms
A contract COO, or a part-time employee.
A part-time COO can invoice a day rate through their own company, or join your payroll on a pro-rata salary. The choice changes the cost, the notice terms and whether IR35 applies at all.
04 · horizon
Ongoing, and reviewed as you grow.
Not a project with an end date. The role runs until the business needs more days — a fractional or full-time COO — or fewer. Review the days every quarter.
05/ cadence
What one or two days a week buys you.
A part-time COO works to a weekly rhythm.
This is how we scope the days on a part-time brief — a planning guide, not a published standard.
1 DAY A WEEK
Oversight and rhythm
The leadership meeting, the weekly operating numbers, one-to-ones with whoever runs day-to-day operations and decisions on anything blocked. Enough to own the operating rhythm; not enough to build new systems by hand.
2 DAYS A WEEK
Ownership plus one build
Everything in the one-day week, plus a single improvement carried through at a time — a hiring plan, a new reporting pack, a supplier renegotiation or one process rebuilt end to end.
BETWEEN THE DAYS
Reachable, not on call
Agree what happens on the other days: how the team reaches the COO, what waits for the next in-person day and what cannot. Write it into the brief rather than assume it.
THE SAME DAYS
Why fixed days matter
Fixed days let the team plan around the COO, so meetings, sign-offs and reviews land when they are in. That is the practical difference between a part-time COO and an adviser who drops in.
If the work needs more than two days, or the days change week to week, hire a fractional COO instead.
The fractional hub sets out the full scope, day rates by seniority and how we vet fractional COOs.
06/ the difference
Part-time COO vs fractional, interim or full-time.
Four ways to put a chief operating officer in the business.
Switch tabs to see how a part-time COO differs from a fractional chief operating officer, an interim COO and a full-time hire.
→ The labels overlap, and many operators answer to both. What matters is fixed or flexible days, and contract or payroll — settle both in the brief. This is our reading of how the terms are used, not a published definition. More on the fractional COO hub.
→ Interim fills the seat full-time for a while; part-time fills part of the week for as long as it works. If the brief says “every day, until it is fixed”, hire an interim COO.
→ Full-time makes sense once the COO work fills five days. Before that, you pay for days nobody needs.
Contract or payroll: two ways to hire
On contract.
A contract COO invoices a day rate through their own company.
You pay for the days worked — no salary, pension or holiday pay — and notice is whatever the contract says.
If you also appoint them to the board, the directors’ responsibilities apply in full, however few days they work.
Brief us and we come back with a shortlist of 3–5.
On payroll.
A part-time employee on a pro-rata salary.
No UK source we can cite publishes a part-time COO salary, so the only honest starting point is arithmetic: two-fifths of the £137,834 UK median base (Glassdoor, via Exec Capital) is £55,134, or £62,654 with employer National Insurance at 15% above £5,000 (HMRC) — our arithmetic, before workplace pension contributions and benefits.
Watch the search fee on a part-time salary.
Minimum fees at reputable retained search firms run £30,000–£40,000 regardless of salary (Headhunters.co.uk).
On a £55,134 two-day salary, a £30,000 minimum is about 54% of the first year’s pay — our arithmetic.
For how a permanent search works, see COO headhunters.
IR35 on a one- or two-day contract
Fewer days does not, by itself, put an engagement outside IR35: control, substitution and mutuality of obligation decide it, judged on how the work actually runs.
HMRC’s CEST tool gives its view on a specific engagement.
A medium or large client makes the status determination.
From 6 April 2026 a client counts as small if it meets two of turnover up to £15 million, balance sheet up to £7.5 million and up to 50 employees (BDO); then the COO’s own company decides.
A part-time COO on your payroll is an employee, so IR35 does not arise.
More in the IR35 guide.
07/ which page
Fractional, interim or part-time: the COO pages.
If part-time is not quite the shape you need, or you want the numbers in more depth, start here.
08/ fit
When it fits — and when it doesn’t.
Four situations where a COO part-time is the right size of hire, and one where it is not.
Which sounds like you?
Revenue is growing, the founder still approves every process and chases every supplier, and there is nobody senior to hand it to. One or two days a week of a COO takes the operating rhythm off them.
- → Founder-led · no senior operator yet
A capable operations manager runs the day to day. What is missing is a senior leader to set priorities, coach them and speak for operations at the board — a one-day-a-week job.
- → Strong executor · no operations strategy
The business can fund a senior operator for part of the week, but not a full-time COO on the £137,834 UK median base (Glassdoor, via Exec Capital). Part-time buys the experience for the days you can pay for.
- → Budget for one or two days · not a full seat
The systems mostly work. They need someone senior to review the numbers every week, clear the bottlenecks and plan the next hires — work that suits a fixed weekly rhythm.
- → Working systems · nobody owns them
An ERP migration with a go-live date, an acquisition to integrate or a turnaround needs more than two days a week. Step up to a fractional COO on more days, or an interim COO full-time.
- → Deadline-driven change → fractional or interim
09/ cost
The cost: day rate × days a week.
No UK source we can cite publishes a separate part-time COO day rate, so the benchmark is the fractional COO band Connectd publishes (updated April 2026).
The first tab turns it into a year at one, one and a half and two days a week; the second lists each published figure; the third prices the payroll route.
Published UK day-rate bands · £ a day · the marker is the calculator’s day rate
- Fractional£800–£1,400Connectd 2026£1,100
- Interim£800–£2,000Exec Capital 2026
- Permanent, per day£432–£682our median of three 2026 guides ÷ 220 days
The permanent band is the published salary ÷ 220 working days — our arithmetic, for comparison only.
Pro-rata figures are arithmetic on a full-time median, not a published part-time salary, and leave out pension and benefits. Model your own days on the rate calculator, or see the fractional COO cost guide and the COO salary page.
10/ the maths
Part-time COO cost, one or two days a week.
Pick the days a week and a day rate. Every figure updates, set against Connectd’s published fractional COO band — the closest published benchmark for part-time COO work.
The slider runs across the published band for a part-time COO: £800–£1,400 a day (Connectd 2026).
Cost over 12 months
£114,400
104 working days · 2 d/wk · 12 mo · before tax
Fractional costs less over 12 months£63,225
Part-time COO, 12 months£114,400
Part-time COO, a month at 2 d/wk£9,526
Permanent COO, same period£177,625
Part-time COO, 12 months$151,569
Part-time COO, a month at 2 d/wk$12,621
Permanent COO, same period$235,335
Converted from £ at $1.3249 per £1 (Bank of England spot rate), 2 Oct 2026. A conversion, not a US market rate. Source ↗
Part-time COO, 12 months€134,374
Part-time COO, a month at 2 d/wk€11,189
Permanent COO, same period€208,638
Converted from £ at €1.1746 per £1 (Bank of England spot rate), 2 Oct 2026. A conversion, not a EU market rate. Source ↗
Our arithmetic, indicative. Permanent = the £122,500 composite (our median of three 2026 guides) median salary 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.
11/ the week
How a week divides.
The days you buy are yours; the rest of the week goes to other clients.
Move the days a week in the calculator above and the week redraws.
Illustration only: one way a part-time COO’s week can divide at 2 days a week for you. Each block is half a day.
12/ the level below
Part-time head of operations or a part-time COO?
A part-time head of operations and a part-time COO are different seats, and the difference is scope.
A head of operations runs one function day to day — fulfilment, service delivery, the operations team — and reports to someone who owns the operating model.
A COO owns that model: how the whole business runs, the numbers that measure it, and the leadership team’s operating rhythm.
Which one you need depends on where the gap is.
If nobody senior owns how the business runs, hire the COO for one or two days and let them decide what sits below.
If the operating model is sound but nobody runs the day-to-day, a head of operations — part-time or full-time — is the better fit.
On payroll, either seat carries part-time workers’ rights: pay, holiday, pension and training no less favourably than a comparable full-time employee, pro rata.
A full-time operations leader can also ask to move to fixed part-time days through a statutory flexible working request.
Professional standing is one signal among several: Chartered Manager status from the Chartered Management Institute recognises management and leadership experience, though references from the teams they ran matter more.
For the hands-on role below a COO, see fractional operations manager; for part-time Chief Operating Officer roles advertised now, see part-time COO jobs UK.
13/ smaller companies
A part-time COO for a small business.
For a small business, a part-time COO is often the first senior operations hire — the point at which the founder stops being the operations department.
The fit is best when revenue is growing, the processes live in the founder’s head, and there is a capable team that needs someone senior to set priorities one or two days a week.
Two things change for smaller firms.
On a contract engagement, a client that counts as small under the off-payroll rules does not make the IR35 status determination — the COO’s own company does, as the comparison above sets out with BDO’s thresholds; HMRC’s guidance for clients explains who is in scope.
And on budget, one day a week at the Connectd band above is the realistic starting point; the calculator shows the arithmetic for your own figures.
Keep the arrangement simple: fixed days, a short written scope, a quarterly review of the days, and notice terms both sides can live with.
For what a fractional or part-time COO engagement buys, scope by scope, see fractional COO services; for the full cost breakdown, the fractional COO cost guide.
14/ the buyer’s guide
How to hire a part-time COO.
Four decisions, in this order.
Make them first and a COO for hire one or two days a week is straightforward to brief, to find and to judge.
STEP 01
Fix the days and the outcome
Say which days, how many, and what should be different in six months — a reporting rhythm in place, a hiring plan delivered, a founder with two days back. The days follow from the outcome.
→ Days, outcome and a date
STEP 02
Hire on contract or on payroll
A contract COO invoices a day rate; a part-time employee takes a pro-rata salary. The comparison above sets out the cost and IR35 difference.
→ Day rate or salary
STEP 03
Brief us for a shortlist of 3–5
Send the brief. We come back with a shortlist of 3–5 part-time or fractional COOs, each through our five-stage vetting, with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out. You interview.
→ Shortlist of 3–5 · Five-stage vetting
STEP 04
Review the days at 90 days
Agree the first quarter’s outcomes before the start date and review them together. Then keep the days, add a day, or move to a fractional or full-time COO.
→ Keep, add a day, or step up
Want to hire a part-time Chief Operating Officer on payroll rather than on contract?
That is a permanent part-time hire: brief us for a shortlist of 3–5, or see COO headhunters for how a retained search works and what it costs.
15/ questions
Part-time COO FAQ.
Common questions from businesses hiring a part-time COO, and from operators looking for part-time COO work.
Decide the days and the outcome, then choose contract or payroll.
For a part-time COO on contract or on payroll, submit a brief or book a call: we come back with a shortlist of 3–5, vetted through our five-stage process, each with day rate or pay, availability and IR35 position set out.
You interview.
For how a retained search works, see COO headhunters.
A chief operating officer who works a fixed part of the week — one or two days, the same days each week — for one company.
They own the operating rhythm, the operational numbers and the people who run day-to-day operations, on contract at a day rate or on payroll at a pro-rata salary.
No UK source we can cite publishes a part-time COO rate, so use the fractional COO band: £800–£1,400 a day, mid-market £900–£1,050 (Connectd, April 2026).
One day a week across 46 weeks is £36,800–£64,400 a year; two days is £73,600–£128,800 — our arithmetic.
Hourly, Fractional-csuite.com publishes £110–£380.
See the fractional COO cost guide.
One or two, on fixed days — that is how we scope a part-time brief.
One day covers oversight: the leadership meeting, the numbers and decisions.
Two days adds one improvement project at a time.
Beyond two, or when the days need to flex, the fractional model fits better — see fractional COO jobs and hiring.
A fractional chief operating officer works part of the week on contract, usually for several companies, with days that can flex with the work — one to three days a week.
A part-time COO usually means fixed days at one company, on contract or payroll.
The terms overlap, and this is our reading of how they are used.
Yes.
A part-time COO on payroll takes a pro-rata salary.
Two-fifths of the £137,834 UK median base (Glassdoor, via Exec Capital) is £55,134, or £62,654 with employer National Insurance at 15% above £5,000 (HMRC) — our arithmetic, before pension.
No UK source publishes a part-time COO salary, so treat that as a starting point, not a market rate.
An employee must get a written statement of employment particulars on their first day.
A contract COO invoices a day rate instead, and you can end the engagement on the contract’s notice terms.
A shortlist of 3–5 part-time or fractional COOs, each with day rate, the days they can offer, availability and IR35 position set out.
A complete brief.
Give the days a week, the outcome you want, the day-rate budget and whether you want contract or payroll, then submit it or book a 15-minute call.
We come back with a shortlist of 3–5, each with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out.
We do not promise a turnaround time; a clear brief saves the most back-and-forth.
Not automatically.
Status turns on how the engagement runs — control, substitution and mutuality of obligation.
A medium or large client makes the determination; from 6 April 2026 a client is small if it meets two of £15 million turnover, £7.5 million balance sheet and 50 employees (BDO), and then the COO’s own company decides.
A part-time COO on your payroll is an employee, so IR35 does not arise.
See the IR35 guide.
A COO owns the whole operating model and answers to the board; a Head of Ops usually runs one function day to day.
Robert Half’s 2026 median salary for a head of operations is £66,250, nationally.
A common part-time shape is a full-time Head of Ops with a part-time COO above them one day a week.
We run briefs for both.
Interim if you need a COO every day for a fixed term — cover, a turnaround or an integration; Exec Capital publishes £800–£2,000 a day.
Part-time or fractional if you need one for part of every week, on an ongoing basis.
See hire an interim COO.
A COO owns the operating model — how the whole business runs and the numbers that measure it; a head of operations runs one function day to day.
If nobody senior owns how the business runs, start with a COO for one or two days a week.
If the model works but the day-to-day needs running, hire a head of operations.
See also fractional operations manager.
Often, when revenue is growing and the founder is still the operations department.
One or two fixed days a week covers the operating rhythm and one improvement at a time.
If your business counts as a small client under the off-payroll rules, the COO’s own company makes the IR35 status determination — see HMRC’s guidance for clients.
On the board above, and on part-time COO jobs UK.
Roles of one or two days a week are also advertised as fractional, so check fractional COO jobs too.
Each card shows the location, and the day rate where the posting states one.
It can be, and part-time is one way in: one or two fixed days at a single client leaves room for a second client or advisory work.
At Connectd’s published mid-market £900–£1,050 a day, one day a week across 46 weeks is £41,400–£48,300 a year from one client — our arithmetic.
Check your IR35 and tax position with an accountant.
At Connectd’s published £800–£1,400 a day, one day a week across 46 weeks is £36,800–£64,400 and two days £73,600–£128,800 — our arithmetic, before tax and expenses.
On payroll, two-fifths of the £137,834 full-time median (Glassdoor, via Exec Capital) is £55,134.
The calculator above models your own figures.
No. There is nothing to join — no profile and no membership.
Browsing the board and applying is free.
There is no automatic matching.
The board lists real postings from our jobs feed.
When we run a search for a client, we look for operators ourselves on stage, sector, the days needed and availability — so say which days you can offer when you get in touch.
No. Postings on the board come from across the UK, and each card gives the location.
A part-time role on fixed days often means being on site on those days, so check the travel before you apply.
For remote roles, see remote fractional jobs.
Book 15 minutes · shortlist of 3–5
Ready to hire a part-time COO?
Tell us the days and the outcome. We come back with a shortlist of 3–5.
Book a call or submit a part-time COO brief — the days, the outcome and contract or payroll. We come back with a shortlist of 3–5 candidates.
Browse the operations leadership roles from our jobs feed, or tell us which days you can offer for the searches we run.
