Part-Time COO Jobs · Hire a part-time COO, or hire COO

Hire a Part-time COO in the UK

Companies hire a part-time COO for senior operations leadership without full-time commitment. The same market serves candidates: part-time COO jobs across the UK suit experienced operations directors and COOs seeking flexible arrangements while helping companies scale operations, optimize processes, and build organizational capability.

Companies across London, Manchester, Edinburgh and other major cities hire a part-time COO rather than carry full-time overhead when they need senior operations expertise on flexible terms.

Regional variations in part-time COO jobs

Connectd publishes a UK fractional COO band of £800–£1,400 a day, with the mid-market at £900–£1,050; fractional-csuite puts hourly rates at £110–£380. No source publishes regional COO day rates, so we don't split them by city.

How to hire a part-time COO

Submit a brief outlining your situation, region, and the days per week you need. We come back with a shortlist of 3–5 part-time COOs matched on sector, stage, and location — you interview and choose.

The part-time Chief Operating Officer — what the role owns, and how it is set up

A part-time chief operating officer is the senior operations leader for part of the week. They own how the business runs — the operating rhythm, the numbers that measure it, the people who run day-to-day operations, and the systems and suppliers behind them. What separates a part-time COO from a consultant is accountability: they decide, and they answer for the result at the leadership table.

The role can be set up two ways. Employed part-time, the COO is on your payroll and part-time workers' rights apply: pay, holiday, pension and training no less favourably than a comparable full-time employee, pro rata. Engaged through their own company, the COO invoices a day rate and the off-payroll working rules apply instead — status depends on how the engagement runs in practice, and a medium or large client makes the determination, as HMRC's guidance for clients explains. Our IR35 guide covers the tests.

For candidates, part-time chief operating officer roles are advertised under several titles — part-time COO, fractional COO, operations director — so search across them. Professional standing such as Chartered Manager status from the Chartered Management Institute is one signal employers look for, alongside references. The board above lists live roles; our part-time COO guide sets out how one or two fixed days a week are scoped, and fractional COO jobs covers roles with days that flex.