Fractional Chief Operating Officer

Partnered Management Group; Charlotte (NC); Remote; USD 90,000 - 150,000; Part time

Job summary

Partnered Management Group in Charlotte, NC seeks an experienced fractional COO to embed with a client agency as the founder's right hand, leading operations and translating strategy into execution.

The role demands 8+ years in ops leadership, finance acumen, EOS experience, and strong coaching and executive presence. Remote, part-time with potential growth, targeting U.S. business hours and scalable, data-driven approaches.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in operations leadership with COO-level experience in agencies.
• Experience implementing EOS or a similar operating framework.
• Financial acumen owning P&L, forecasting, margins, and labor efficiency.
• Change management and systems design to scale people.
• Strong coaching and leadership, mentoring department heads and cross-functional teams.
• Clear communication and executive presence with empathy and accountability.
• Technological fluency across PM tools, dashboards, and automation.
• Bias for clarity, ownership, and data-driven decision making.

Responsibilities

• Embed directly inside a client agency as the founder's right hand, leading operations from within rather than consulting from the outside.
• Translate the founder's vision into annual plans, quarterly goals, and measurable KPIs, then cascade strategy to day-to-day execution.
• Own the operational rhythm of the agency, aligning people, priorities, and processes with long-term goals.
• Lead with financial foresight using P&Ls, forecasts, and utilization metrics to protect profitability and drive data-informed decisions.
• Architect scalable org design and resourcing models so the agency can grow without breaking.
• Build leadership rhythms (L10s, scorecards, KPIs) to drive accountability and alignment.
• Coach and develop department and executive leaders.
• Identify and eliminate friction across teams to keep focus on results.
• Partner with Finance to strengthen AR, streamline billing, and margins.
• Identify and scale AI-driven efficiencies across workflows and reporting.

Skills

Operations leadership

COO experience

EOS/Traction

Financial acumen

Change management

Coaching leadership

Executive presence

PM tools

Data-driven decisions

Ownership

Tools

ClickUp

Zapier

Dashboards

Job description

Serve as a founder's right hand, turning vision into plans, numbers into decisions, and teams into a business built to scale.

We're a Charlotte, NC based agency and a hands-on partner for small to medium sized businesses, covering project management, operations, creative, and technical execution. We're looking for an experienced fractional COO to embed inside a client agency on a part-time contract basis, with the potential to grow into a larger or full-time engagement. This role is for someone who can step in as the founder's right hand, quickly understand the vision, financials, team, and operational rhythm, and begin turning strategy into execution with minimal handholding. We work with sophisticated, high-touch clients, so we're looking for someone who combines operational leadership and financial acumen with excellent judgment, executive presence, and a systems-thinking mindset.

What you’ll do

• Embed directly inside a client agency as the founder's right hand, leading operations from within rather than consulting from the outside.
• Translate the founder's vision into focused annual plans, quarterly goals, and measurable KPIs, then make sure strategy cascades into day-to-day execution.
• Own the operational rhythm of the agency, aligning people, priorities, and processes with long-term goals.
• Lead with financial foresight. Use P&Ls, forecasts, and utilization metrics to protect profitability and drive data-informed decisions.
• Architect scalable org design and resourcing models so the agency can grow without breaking.
• Build and reinforce leadership rhythms (L10s, scorecards, KPIs) that drive accountability and keep teams aligned.
• Coach and develop department and executive leaders, lifting the whole team's decision-making.
• Identify and eliminate friction across teams, keeping focus on results instead of reactivity.li>
• Partner with Finance to strengthen AR, streamline billing, and sustain healthy margins and cash reserves.
• Identify and scale AI-driven efficiencies across workflows and reporting, without losing the human touch.

What you bring

• 8+ years in operations leadership, with proven COO-level experience inside digital marketing, creative, or online service-based agencies.
• Experience implementing EOS or a similar operating framework.
• Financial acumen. You're confident owning P&L, forecasting, and optimizing margins and labor efficiency.
• Change management and systems design expertise. You build processes that scale people, not burn them out.
• Strong coaching and leadership skills. You can mentor department heads, guide the agency owner, and unify cross-functional teams.
• Clear communication and executive presence, balancing empathy with accountability.
• Technological fluency across project management tools, dashboards, and automation to drive performance and visibility.
• A bias for clarity, ownership, and results. You lead from data and make smart, timely calls.

Nice to have

• EOS or Traction background in a Visionary or founder-led agency.
• Hands-on experience with ClickUp or a comparable operations platform.
• Experience building financial dashboards and utilization reporting.
• Familiarity with automation tools (Zapier or similar).
• This is a contract engagement beginning with fractional, part-time project management support. There is strong potential for ongoing retainer work or expanded hours for the right person.
• Role: Embedded COO leadership for one client agency to start, averaging part-time hours, with potential for more.
• Availability: Must be available to support U.S. business hours, with daily engagement rather than a few concentrated days.
• Work Environment: Flexible, remote work with a focus on delivering quality results while maintaining a healthy work-life balance.
• Personality Fit: We value kind-hearted individuals with a strong work ethic, excellent communication, and a good sense of humor. A strong work ethic means honoring commitments and respecting everyone, not working excessive hours.
• A strong work ethic here means honoring commitments, communicating proactively, producing excellent work, and respecting the people you work with, not working excessive hours.
• We encourage autonomy, collaboration, and innovation. This is a great opportunity for a seasoned operations leader who wants real ownership, enjoys building structure out of chaos, and wants consistent work that fits their schedule.

PMG is an equal opportunity employer. We welcome applicants of every background and do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic.