Fractional COO / CTrO · UK-wide
Senior operational leadership for growing businesses.
Growth creates complexity.
Processes that worked at £3m can start causing problems at £10m. More decisions come back to the CEO, systems become harder to manage and the leadership team spends more time dealing with day-to-day operational issues.
I work with CEOs, MDs and leadership teams that need experienced operational and transformation leadership, but do not necessarily need a full-time COO or Chief Transformation Officer.
Typically this means joining the business for a set number of days each month and taking responsibility for the areas that need senior ownership.
From £900 a day, or retainers from £3,250 a month. Plus VAT.
Experience & clients
Businesses and organisations Jez has worked with
Jez’s experience spans owner-managed businesses, consultancy projects and senior roles inside major national organisations.
When it is useful
When Fractional COO / CTrO support makes sense
I typically work with businesses between £10m and £100m turnover and fifty to five hundred people, including founder-led, private-equity backed and family-owned companies. I am also comfortable in regulated environments.
Common issues include processes that have not kept up with growth, too many systems, inconsistent data, unclear ownership and a leadership team spending too much time on day-to-day operational problems.
My role is to work out which issues genuinely need senior attention, set the priorities and help the business deliver them.
Typical reasons
- Too many decisions still depend on the founder or CEO
- A business case is approved and nobody senior can own it
- The COO has left and the business needs experienced cover during the search
- Pre-deal diligence or post-deal integration is imminent
What I can own
What I can take responsibility for
A full fractional role can cover all four areas. Some engagements start with one or two priorities and expand if the business needs more.
How major change gets delivered
How I deliver major change
Map. Automate. Scale. is the overall M.A.S Works method. For larger transformation work, I use a more detailed delivery approach underneath it: define the problem, design the solution, deliver the change and then embed it.
01
Define
Be clear about the problem, the value and the outcome
- Clear scope and problem definition
- A quantified case and the outcome targets against it
- Success measures at twelve, twenty-four and thirty-six months
- Stakeholder map and the governance that will actually be used
Output: mandate, business case and success criteria
02
Design
Design a practical solution and the team needed to deliver it
- Solution and operating model designed for the business
- Team design across the internal team and any external partners
- Technology and vendor selection, budget approval, procurement gates
- Risk register created from day one, with clear controls and owners
Output: solution design, mobilised team and approved budget
03
Deliver
Take responsibility for delivery and the agreed outcome
- Weekly delivery reviews with clear ownership across every workstream
- Active risk and issue management, with problems dealt with early
- Executive and board-level stakeholder management
- Change management built into the delivery plan
Output: a working solution that has been adopted and measured
04
Drive
Embed the new way of working and track the value
- Handover to business as usual with a clear run cost
- Continuous improvement cycle and value tracking
- Close support after launch until the change is working reliably
- Knowledge transfer, so the capability stays after I go
Output: the new way of working embedded and the results measured
Pricing and engagement
Day rate or monthly retainer
Defined projects can start on a day rate. Ongoing leadership usually moves to a monthly retainer, reviewed quarterly so the number of days can move up or down.
Indicative pricing, all excluding VAT, confirmed against scope before anything is agreed.
In their words
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In their words
Jez is a strong leader, able to engage at all levels, sharing his vision and driving accountability and execution to deliver.
His collaboration and stakeholder management stands out, and his growth and development, his passion to learn, and his personal drive mean that his future is bright indeed. Jez is commercial, understands the value chain, and can prioritise under the pressure of a transformation.
Track record
Fifteen years of experience behind the role
Fifteen years across insurance, financial services, retail, breakdown, automotive, aviation, technology and manufacturing, with more than £100m of programme P&L across a change portfolio and 200+ people led.
Is Fractional COO / CTrO support right for your business?
A 30-minute conversation is enough to understand the situation and whether fractional COO / CTrO support is the right fit.
Or just email jez.bristow@masworks.co.uk