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Fractional COO Job Description.

By Michael Schuerman · Growth Partner · Atlanta

A one-page template you can copy. Below it, the honest read on why most founders write the JD twice: once for the seat they thought they needed, then again for the seat the business actually needs.

If you already know you want a strategic operating partner instead of a system builder, skip the template and read Fractional COO vs Operating Partner.

The template

Fractional COO: one-page JD.

Role

Fractional Chief Operating Officer. Part-time, remote. Reports to the founder. Scoped to the operating cadence: typically 10–20 hours weekly, front-loaded in the first 90 days.

The business

[Company name] is a [industry] company doing [$X]M in revenue with [N] employees. The founder is currently the bottleneck for [specific: cadence / hiring / accountability / dashboards]. We’re not looking for strategy: we’re looking for someone who can build the system underneath the business so it runs whether the founder is in the room or not.

What you’ll build (first 90 days)

  • Weekly operating cadence: numbers, blockers, decisions
  • Monthly review structure and a live dashboard
  • A documented hiring loop for the next [role]
  • An org chart that reflects the real business, not the org page

What you’ll own (months 4–12)

  • The operating cadence, week over week
  • Hiring for the layer beneath the founder
  • SOP documentation for the top five recurring workflows
  • A named succession bench for every founder-dependent function

What you won’t do

Marketing strategy. Product roadmap. Fundraising. Legal or compliance. Selling. Those are separate seats. Trying to make one hire do all of them is why the last three didn’t work.

You

  • 10+ years operating inside founder-led businesses under $50M
  • Built at least one operating cadence from zero that outlived you
  • Comfortable telling the founder no
  • Available for weekly on-site or on-camera time, not asynchronous only

Compensation

$8,000–$25,000 per month, scoped to hours and outcomes. Cash-only for the first 90 days. Small equity grant possible at month four if the engagement extends.

How to apply

Send a note to [email]. In three sentences: the last operating cadence you built, the founder you built it for, and what the business looked like when you left. No cover letter, no deck.

Use it

Copy the template into your own doc. Fill in the bracketed fields. Delete anything above that doesn’t apply. Post it exactly once: to LinkedIn, to your operator network, to two or three trusted advisors, and stop there.

The honest read

Most founders write this JD twice.

The first draft is five pages. It lists everything the founder wishes someone else would do. Marketing, product, hiring, ops, finance, fundraising, culture. That JD attracts three kinds of applicant: agencies pricing at $30K/mo, freelancers pricing at $2K, and a small number of retired VPs looking for a soft landing. None of them are the seat.

The second draft is one page. It names the three or four things the business genuinely can’t hold anymore. That JD attracts operators.

The other thing that usually happens between draft one and draft two: the founder realizes they don’t actually need a system builder. They need someone in the seat with them running the calls they keep putting off: the VP hire, the retention conversation, the pricing decision, the underperformer. That’s a different role. It’s an Operating Partner, and it doesn’t get hired with a Fractional COO JD.

What is an Operating Partner? →

At a glance

Two JDs, two seats.

DimensionFractional COO JDOperating Partner JD
Primary jobBuild the operating systemRun the moves the system can’t run for you
DeliverableCadence, org, dashboards, SOPsThe call gets made, the hire lands, the deal closes
Best fit revenue$5M–$30M with no operating layer$5M–$30M with founder-bottlenecked moves
Typical monthly$8K–$25K$8K–$25K
Leaves behindA machine that runsA founder who isn’t the bottleneck

Common questions

How long should a Fractional COO job description be?+

Short. One page. Founders over-write these: five pages of responsibilities that describe a $250K full-time COO, then get frustrated when the candidates who apply are junior operators or agencies. A one-page JD scoped to the actual seat attracts the actual seat.

What should you leave OUT of a Fractional COO job description?+

Anything that isn't the seat. Don't list marketing strategy, product roadmap, fundraising support, HR policies, and legal compliance in one JD: that's a full executive team wrapped in a fractional wrapper. Pick the three or four things the founder actually can't hold anymore. Everything else stays with the founder, or gets a different hire.

Should the JD say '10 hours a week' or '20 hours a week'?+

Neither, in the JD. Say 'scoped to the cadence: typically 10–20 hours weekly, front-loaded in the first 90 days.' Fixed hours attract time-sellers. Scoped-to-outcome attracts operators.

Do I need to list a compensation range?+

Yes. $8K–$25K per month is the honest market band for the seat. Listing it filters out the agencies pricing at $30K+ and the freelancers pricing at $2K. It also signals you know the market: which is the first thing a senior operator screens for. These are estimates based on what I've seen in the market, not quotes.

What if I actually need an Operating Partner, not a Fractional COO?+

If the bottleneck is that no one is running the moves: the VP hire call, the customer retention conversation, the pricing decision, the underperformer: you don't need a system builder. You need someone in the seat with you running the move. Different JD, different hire. See the Operating Partner page for that seat.

Can I use this JD to hire an agency or a fractional COO firm?+

You can, but read the fine print. Most agencies staff the day-to-day with a junior operator and route escalations to a partner. If the JD says 'reports directly to the founder,' agencies will nominally comply while the actual work happens two layers down. A named individual on retainer usually gives founders more of what they wrote the JD for.

Should the JD ask for equity, cash, or both?+

Cash first, equity optional. Fractional COOs who insist on equity from month one are usually pricing their upside more than their seat. Cash-only for the first 90 days lets both sides confirm the fit; a small equity grant at month four is common if the engagement extends.

Not sure which JD to write.

Bring the bottleneck. Thirty minutes. I’ll tell you whether the seat you’re about to post for is the seat the business actually needs. If it's a fit, you'll get a firm price before you commit to anything.

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