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Fractional leadership

Operations Director

Also known as: director of operations

An operations director is the senior person accountable for how a business runs day to day: its processes, systems, and the delivery of its work.

Key takeaways
  • Operations director is the UK and European title for the role a COO plays elsewhere.
  • The remit is identical: own the operating layer and make work move predictably.
  • UK buyers often search "operations director" when they mean a fractional COO.

Operations director is the title many UK and European businesses use for the role a COO plays elsewhere. The remit is the same: own the operating layer, make sure work moves efficiently and predictably, and remove the friction that stops the business scaling.

Because the title is common in the UK, buyers there often search for a "fractional operations director" when they mean a fractional COO. The work is identical; only the label differs.

Commonly confused with

Operations manager

A manager runs day-to-day operations within the model. A director owns and shapes the model itself.

COO

Different title, same remit. Operations director is the UK-native version.

Frequently asked

Is an operations director the same as a COO?
Effectively yes. The title varies by region and company size, but the remit, owning how the business runs, is the same.
Can you hire an operations director fractionally?
Yes. A fractional operations director is the same arrangement as a fractional COO: senior operational leadership, part-time.
Related terms
Fractional COOBusiness OperationsOperating Model

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