“We need someone who can help us push this project through.”
“There isn’t enough time in the day to focus on fundraising if we also have to prioritize this transition.”
“The team is at capacity.”
“We need a COO.”
There comes a time when you recognize that even though your team is incredible, you can’t do everything.
Your board agrees. Your leadership team knows it. Your operations are breaking under the weight of growth or transitions and everyone can see that your team needs leadership support.
But you don’t know if the math maths.
The salary of a full-time ops executive can be $150,000-$250,000 a year. Add benefits and you’re looking at $200,000-$325,000 annually. For a lot of mission-driven orgs with complicated funding budgets, that’s not a move towards sustainability.
But there is another way.
It’s called fractional leadership. A contract for hire experienced operations officer working as much or as little as you need: a fraction of the time, a fraction of the cost
But how do you know whether full-time or fractional operations officer is right you right for your organization?
Let’s start with the math, because if that doesn’t work out, no amount of structure or strategic foresight matters (but we will cover that too.)
Full-time vs Fractional
Cost, Structure, and Strategic Comparisons
Full-Time COO: Total Cost Breakdown
Base Salary: $150,000-$250,000
Add:
- Health insurance: $15,000-$25,000
- Payroll taxes: $11,000-$19,000
- Retirement contribution: $7,500-$12,500
- Other benefits (PTO, professional development): $5,000-$10,000
- Recruiting costs: $15,000-$30,000
Total First-Year Cost: $203,500-$346,500
Ongoing Annual Cost: $188,500-$316,500
Fractional COO: Total Cost Breakdown
Monthly Retainer: $5,000-$15,000 (based on days per week)
- 1 day/week: ~$5,000-$7,000/month
- 2 days/week: ~$8,000-$11,000/month
- 3 days/week: ~$12,000-$15,000/month
Annual Cost: $60,000-$180,000
No additional costs for benefits, payroll taxes, or office overhead because we are consultants so we bring our own.
Flexibility:
Fractional engagements can be scaled up or down based on your needs and budget. Most fractional engagements are structured as 6-month agreements with the option to renew. They can be extended quarterly or monthly based on your expectations and needs. You can also pause engagements if necessary (with notice, please.)
When to Hire Full-time
You’re at Sustained Scale
- Annual budget consistently over $5M
- 30+ staff members
- Multiple locations or programs
- Complex operational infrastructure
- Board expecting full executive team
At this scale, operational complexity is high enough that you genuinely need 40 hours per week of senior operational attention.
The math works: When you’re at $5M+ budget, a $250K executive is 5% of budget, a fairly reasonable ratio for an critical role.
You Need Full Time Presence
- Crisis management: Navigating significant organizational crisis requiring constant attention
- Major transformation: Complete operational overhaul (new systems, restructuring, integration)
- Rapid scaling: Growing from 20 to 100 staff in 18 months
- Geographic coordination: Managing multiple offices/locations requiring travel and daily coordination
If the operational needs are truly 40+ hours per week every week, fractional doesn’t make strategic or financial sense.
Your Funding Structure Supports It
- Unrestricted reserves to cover 6-12 months of salary
- Diversified revenue (not dependent on one grant or funder)
- Board buy-in for this level of investment
- Budget flexibility to sustain through normal funding fluctuations
If losing one major grant would require cutting more than 10% of your budget (especially via layoffs), you’re not ready for full-time.
You Have the Team to Support Full-time
A full time CoS or COO needs:
- Department heads for them to coordinate
- Operational staff to implement systems
- Clear scope that fills 40 hours meaningfully
If your full time exec would also be your HR person, finance person, AND operations person this is the wrong hire for you.
When to Hire Fractional
You are in a Growth Sweet Spot
- 1M-$5M annual budget
- 10-40 staff members
- Proven model ready to scale
- Operations breaking but not broken yet
- Leadership team stretched thin
You need operational leadership right now but the math doesn’t work for full-time yet.
Example: A $2M nonprofit needs a CoS or COO. Full-time would be $200K (10% of budget). Fractional at 2 days/week is $108K (5.4% of budget). You get the function you need at half the cost.
You Have Funding Uncertainty
- Grant-to-grant funding cycles
- Restricted funding runway under 4.5 months
- Annual budget that fluctuates
- Recent growth that might not sustain
- Pilot programs you’re testing but are you are not sure need permanent operational oversight
Fractional flexibility: Scale up during flush periods, scale down during tight ones, pause if you need to.
You’re not stuck with a $200K+ commitment you can’t sustain.
You are in Transition
- Post-merger integration (6-12 months of intensive coordination)
- Leadership transition (new ED needs operational support while learning the org)
- Strategic pivot (changing direction requires operational realignment)
- Crisis recovery (rebuilding after significant challenge)
Fractional advantage: You get senior help through the transition without permanent commitment. When things stabilize, you can scale down or transition to different support. Honestly, this is the reason most of my clients reach out. Transitions in leadership, mergers, layoffs, and crisis recovery, all require additional support.
You Have Seasoned Department Heads
- Experienced program directors
- Solid finance manager
- Capable development director
What you’re missing: Someone coordinating across all of them, translating strategy into execution, and ensuring organizational-level initiatives happen. This is not an everyday job, your team has that locked down. You need someone orchestrating across functions a few days a week.
You Want to "Try Before You Buy"
You are considering or even searching for a full-time CoS or COO but:
- Not sure exactly what you need in the role
- Want to test operational leadership before committing
- Need to prove ROI to board before major investment
- Want someone to help you define and hire the eventual full-time role
- Know exactly what you need but it is hard to find that specific fit
Fractional as a bridge: Work with a fractional exec for 6-12 months, clarify what the role needs to be, then hire full-time with clear job description and success metrics – or hire a fractional pinch hitter until your dream candidate shows up, either way, its win-win.
