Interim operations leader (COO)

Operations lead just left?

An experienced COO steps in within weeks, keeps service and cost steady, and documents the operation so your permanent hire starts on solid ground.

  • The operation held steady
  • A documented business
  • A clean handover
Brief us on the gap

No search fee. Reply within 24 hours, Monday to Friday.

A senior operations executive in a calm modern Dubai office
400+curated executives in the UAE collective · embedded within weeks of the brief

Our fractional COOs have run operations at

EmiratesDP WorldMajid Al FuttaimAramexCareemAmazonDHLChalhoub Group
The problem

Sound familiar?

  • The person who knew how everything ran has gone.
  • Service and cost are starting to slip.
  • How the operation works was never written down.
  • A rushed replacement would be a second mistake.

You need cover now and a proper hire later. An experienced COO holds the operation steady and documents it, so your permanent hire starts on solid ground.

What changes

Keep running while you hire properly

Today

An empty seat at the centre

With an experienced COO

The operation held steady

Service and cost kept on track while the seat is empty.

Today

How it works lives in one head

With an experienced COO

A documented business

How the operation runs, written down rather than held in one head.

Today

A new hire inherits a backlog

With an experienced COO

A clean handover

Your permanent hire starts on solid ground, not on a backlog.

Brief us on the gap

No search fee. Reply within 24 hours, Monday to Friday.

How we solve it

An experienced COO holds the operation while you hire properly

When an operations lead leaves, what they knew leaves with them. A COO who has stepped in before keeps the business running, writes down how it works and hands it over cleanly.

  1. First

    Take the seat

    They step into the role, pick up the open issues and keep service and cost on track.

  2. Then

    Write it down

    How the operation actually runs, documented so it no longer lives in one head.

  3. Finally

    Hand over cleanly

    They help you hire the permanent lead and hand over a working, documented operation.

Senior, and done it before

Leaders from our curated collective of 400+ who have held the role and solved this problem before.

Inside your business, part-time

Half a day to three days a week, working with your team and owning the outcome. Not advice from outside.

No long commitment

Contracted business to business on one month’s notice. No visa, no permanent seat on the payroll, no end-of-service liability.

Built for owner-led UAE businesses with five or more people.

The comparison

A fractional COO, a full-time hire or a consultant

Three ways to bring in senior help. Only one owns the problem until it is fixed.

RecommendedFractional COO
Full-time hire
Consultant
What you get
Fractional COO · RecommendedA senior leader inside the business, owning the problem until it is fixed.
Full-time hireThe same seniority, at a full-time salary whether the work needs it or not.
ConsultantAdvice on one specific question, at a premium day rate.
Who does the work
Fractional COO · RecommendedThey do, alongside your team.
Full-time hireThey do, once the search and the notice period are over.
ConsultantYou do. The recommendations stay with you to deliver.
Cost
Fractional COO · RecommendedOur engagements typically run 30 to 60% less than a full-time hire.
Full-time hireA senior package, plus visa, insurance and end-of-service liability.
ConsultantPremium day rates, which add up fast for anything ongoing.
Commitment
Fractional COO · RecommendedBusiness to business, on one month’s notice.
Full-time hireA permanent contract.
ConsultantA fixed scope. More work is a new proposal.
Best when
Fractional COO · RecommendedYou need the problem owned and fixed.
Full-time hireYou can keep a senior leader busy full time.
ConsultantYou need one specific answer and will pay a premium for it.
Brief us on the gap

No search fee. Reply within 24 hours, Monday to Friday.

How it works

From the brief to the match

  1. STEP 1

    Tell us the problem

    A short brief, read personally.

  2. STEP 2

    Meet your shortlist

    Leaders from our collective of 400+ who have solved it before.

  3. STEP 3

    Embedded within weeks

    Business to business, on one month’s notice.

Your brief

Tell us what needs covering

A few questions on the business and the problem. Every brief is read personally, and we reply within 24 hours, Monday to Friday.

  1. We read your brief and reply within 24 hours, Monday to Friday.
  2. We come back with leaders from the collective who have solved this before.
  3. No search fee. Business to business, on one month’s notice.
Step 1 of 3About 3 minutes

Where to reach you

So we can come back to you with names, not a form reply.

We reply to this address within 24 hours, Monday to Friday. Every brief is read personally. No newsletter, no list.

If you stop before sending, we may keep what you have entered so far so the team can pick your enquiry up with you.

We ask for a number because the fastest briefs are settled in one short call. We will not add you to a list or pass it on.

No search fee.

What an engagement costs, plainly.

  • Priced on time and scope, not on a salary.
  • Our engagements typically run 30 to 60% less than a comparable full-time hire.
  • Business to business, on one month’s notice.
Questions

Before you brief us

Within weeks of the brief. Tell us the problem and we come back with leaders from the collective whose experience fits it.

An engagement is priced on time and scope, not on a salary. Our engagements typically run 30 to 60% less than a comparable full-time hire. There is no search fee.

Most engagements run half a day to three days a week, set to what the problem needs and reviewed as the business changes, contracted business to business with one month's notice either way.

Neither. The leader works inside the business, part-time, owns the outcome with your team and stays on to run it, without a visa, a permanent seat on the payroll or end-of-service liability.

Interim operations leader (COO)

Keep running while you hire properly.

Tell us the problem. We come back with leaders who have solved it before.

Brief us on the gap