Interim COO
Interim COO — the seat filled, in weeks not months
Full-time operational leadership for a defined period: covering a departure, stabilising delivery, or running a transformation to its finish line. Led by Dr Gareth Mills, DBA, MBA, MSc, CEng.
The short answer
What does an interim COO do?
An interim COO steps into the chief operating officer role full-time for a defined period — holding the same accountability, decision rights and team leadership as a permanent hire, from the first week.
Unlike a consultant, an interim does not advise from the sidelines: they sit in the seat, run the business's operations day to day, and are judged on outcomes. Unlike a fractional COO, the commitment is full-time — four to five days a week — because the situation demands daily presence.
Take the seat, immediately
Full decision authority for operations from week one — suppliers, delivery commitments, quality escalations and the management team reporting line.
Stabilise delivery
Find the root causes of missed dates, quality escapes or supply surprises, and put the recovery plan in motion with daily hands on the problem.
Run the operating cadence
Re-establish the weekly rhythm of metrics, reviews and decisions so the business runs on a system rather than on escalation.
Protect customer and investor confidence
A credible senior operator in the seat reassures customers, suppliers, the board and investors while the business is exposed.
Deliver the defined outcome
Whether that is a manufacturing transfer, a turnaround or a clean integration — the assignment is scoped to a finish line, not an open-ended retainer.
Hand over cleanly
Documentation, working cadence and a supported permanent hire — the engagement is designed backwards from its ending.
Cost, in plain numbers
How much does an interim COO cost?
Interim COO day rates in the UK typically run £900–£1,300 depending on scope, sector and urgency — with no recruitment fee, notice period or equity on top.
| Day rate | £900–£1,300 | Depending on scope, sector and urgency |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly (full-time) | ≈ £18,000–£26,000 | Four to five days per week |
| Typical duration | 3–12 months | Until the permanent hire starts or the programme lands |
| Recruitment fee | None | No search fee, notice period or equity dilution |
Against four to six months and a five-figure search fee to hire permanently, an interim is typically in the seat within two to four weeks. Full breakdown on the pricing page.
When an interim COO is the right answer
Four situations that need the role filled, not advised on
Interim leadership exists for the moments when a business cannot wait for a search process and cannot run on part-time attention.
Your COO or operations director has left
A sudden departure leaves supplier relationships, delivery commitments and a management team without an owner. An interim takes the seat within weeks and holds it until a permanent hire is in place.
Delivery is failing and needs full-time hands
Missed ship dates, escalating quality costs or a supply chain that keeps surprising you. These need daily presence and decision authority, not a weekly review.
A transformation with a defined end point
A manufacturing transfer, an ERP implementation, a site move or a new product's industrialisation — heavyweight programmes with a finish line, where a permanent hire would be over-provisioned afterwards.
A transaction is coming
Pre-raise, pre-sale or post-acquisition integration, where operational credibility and clean reporting decide the outcome and the timetable will not wait for a search process.
How an interim engagement runs
From first call to handover
An interim assignment is designed backwards from its ending: the business should be stronger, better documented and self-sufficient when it closes.
Step 1
Call within days
Interim needs are urgent by definition. The first conversation covers the gap, the timetable and whether the fit is right — usually within a week of enquiry.
Step 2
Start in two to four weeks
Against four to six months to recruit a permanent COO. Scope, decision rights and reporting line agreed in writing before day one.
Step 3
Full-time, embedded
Four to five days a week, on-site as the business needs. The interim carries the accountability the role normally carries — not an advisory brief.
Step 4
Handover built in
Every interim engagement ends. Documentation, cadence and a working management team are the deliverables that outlive the assignment, alongside support for the permanent hire's onboarding.
Common questions
Interim COO — what buyers ask
- What is an interim COO?
- An interim COO is an experienced chief operating officer who takes the role full-time for a defined period — typically three to twelve months — covering a vacancy, a crisis or a transformation programme. Unlike a consultant, an interim holds the accountability and the decision rights of the permanent role.
- What does an interim COO do?
- An interim COO does everything the permanent role does: they take full decision authority for operations, stabilise delivery and supply chain problems, run the management cadence, face customers and the board, and lead the operations team day to day. The difference from a fractional COO is intensity and duration — full-time for a defined period, ending in a structured handover.
- How much does an interim COO cost in the UK?
- Interim COO day rates typically run £900–£1,300 depending on scope, sector and urgency. A full-time interim engagement therefore costs roughly £18,000–£26,000 per month, with no recruitment fee, notice period or equity dilution.
- How long does an interim COO engagement last?
- Most run three to twelve months. Vacancy cover typically ends when the permanent hire starts; transformation assignments end when the programme reaches its defined milestone.
- Interim COO or fractional COO — which do I need?
- Interim is full-time cover for a defined period, usually because a seat is empty or a programme demands daily leadership. Fractional is one to three days a week on an ongoing basis, for businesses that need COO-level judgement but not a full-time COO. If the need is a gap, choose interim; if the need is capability, choose fractional.
- Is an interim COO inside or outside IR35?
- Interim engagements are more likely to sit inside IR35 than fractional ones, because full-time cover of a defined role often carries the control and mutuality of obligation that point to employment status. The position is assessed and documented openly at the start of every engagement rather than assumed.
Weighing the models side by side? See fractional COO vs consultant vs interim COO, the interim operations director role or rates and terms.
Next step
Book a discovery call
Interim needs move quickly. A thirty-minute call establishes the gap, the timetable and whether this is the right fit.
1. Pick a time
30 minutes, by video or phone. Times shown are UK time over the next two working weeks.
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