Executive search
Get the right person for COO vacancy: get an executive in the seat.
No postings. No stacks of resumes. No chasing. You choose from a short list of people who have done this before.
No upfront fee. You pay only if you engage someone we present.
Interim Headhunters starts with the work behind this request: When a COO role remains empty, critical operational functions often begin to drift. Department heads may lack a central authority for settling conflicting priorities, leading to stalled decision making or an overload of minor issues reaching the CEO.
This is what we do all day: place interim executives, interim managers and contract professionals.
Need someone now? Call 305-306-4829.
- No upfront fee
- 2 to 3 vetted consultants per assignment
- Matched to your industry
- You choose
- Interim plus permanent search
What should the brief say about Real engagement work?
When a COO role remains empty, critical operational functions often begin to drift. Department heads may lack a central authority for settling conflicting priorities, leading to stalled decision making or an overload of minor issues reaching the CEO. Our process begins by mapping your current operating cadence, including existing approval thresholds, supplier relationships, and customer service commitments.
When a COO role remains empty, critical operational functions often begin to drift. Department heads may lack a central authority for settling conflicting priorities, leading to stalled decision making or an overload of minor issues reaching the CEO. Our process begins by mapping your current operating cadence, including existing approval thresholds, supplier relationships, and customer service commitments. We identify which specific responsibilities require immediate oversight to prevent performance decline while the search proceeds. By isolating these duties, we help define a scope that stabilizes your daily rhythms. This ensures that essential business activities continue at pace rather than waiting for a permanent replacement to fully integrate into your existing organizational structure. The consultant acts as the primary clearinghouse for internal friction, forcing decisions that would otherwise languish at lower levels or distract owners from their strategic goals. This hands-on maintenance preserves your current output standards during a transition.
What should the brief say about Fit beyond job title?
Experience in a senior leadership role does not automatically translate to operational success in your specific context. We look for consultants who have worked at similar scale and industry pressures, ensuring they possess the practical experience to manage your unique mix of staff and supplier dynamics.
Experience in a senior leadership role does not automatically translate to operational success in your specific context. We look for consultants who have worked at similar scale and industry pressures, ensuring they possess the practical experience to manage your unique mix of staff and supplier dynamics. A strong fit requires someone who understands how to collaborate with your existing management team without disruption, while maintaining the discipline required for your specific service or product delivery. We assess how candidates have previously established escalation protocols and managed sensitive commitments. This focus helps confirm the consultant can maintain your current operating standards while providing the necessary stability your team needs during an unexpected management vacancy. Success hinges on finding a person who has already solved the exact operational bottleneck currently slowing your firm, rather than someone who only speaks in abstractions about how companies should function.
What should the brief say about Practical first 90 days?
During the first thirty days, the interim focus remains on absorbing your internal workflow and establishing trust with key department heads who manage your frontline execution. By day sixty, the priority shifts toward refining communication channels and resolving lingering bottlenecks in your supply chain or customer service delivery.
The initial phase centers on stabilizing the environment and identifying early operational efficiencies. During the first thirty days, the interim focus remains on absorbing your internal workflow and establishing trust with key department heads who manage your frontline execution. By day sixty, the priority shifts toward refining communication channels and resolving lingering bottlenecks in your supply chain or customer service delivery. In the final thirty days, the consultant organizes documentation of all active projects, pending decisions, and system configurations to facilitate a smooth transfer of control. These milestones remain illustrative priorities, adjusted to match your firm's immediate operational demands while providing a structured framework that keeps the entire organization focused on its primary business objectives. The interim arrives with a plan to audit existing procedures, remove redundant approval steps that create gridlock, and ensure that every staff member understands their reporting lines during the vacancy period.
How we evaluate this particular specialty?
Evaluating a COO requires moving past standardized interview scripts to examine how a candidate handles complex, multi departmental problems. We probe their past assignments to determine how they managed similar shifts in leadership and how they balanced the tension between day-to-day firefighting and long-term organizational strategy.
Evaluating a COO requires moving past standardized interview scripts to examine how a candidate handles complex, multi departmental problems. We probe their past assignments to determine how they managed similar shifts in leadership and how they balanced the tension between day-to-day firefighting and long-term organizational strategy. You should review how they have previously documented complex internal processes for future successors. During interviews, ask for concrete examples regarding how they handled a breakdown in communication between departments and the steps taken to restore alignment. This evidence based approach helps you assess if their operating style matches the intensity and technical requirements of your business while ensuring they can function effectively within your existing chain of command. A qualified interim candidate will bring a history of clearing out administrative backlogs and stabilizing teams in distress without relying on outside resources to do the heavy lifting.
What should the brief say about Red flags?
A lack of interest in understanding how your current department managers interact is a significant concern. Other warning signs include a focus on theoretical frameworks rather than practical, hands-on experience with the specific supplier or customer challenges your business faces today.
Be cautious when a candidate suggests immediate, sweeping changes to your core operating systems without first spending time observing your unique workflow. A lack of interest in understanding how your current department managers interact is a significant concern. Other warning signs include a focus on theoretical frameworks rather than practical, hands-on experience with the specific supplier or customer challenges your business faces today. If a consultant avoids clarifying their authority levels or is vague about how they intend to document work for the next person, this may hinder your transition. We encourage you to prioritize candidates who show clear respect for your existing personnel and demonstrate a disciplined approach to operational continuity. An interim consultant should never behave like a permanent hire looking for a legacy project; they must remain focused on the immediate task of keeping the business running until the permanent hire takes over.
What should the brief say about Agreeing scope and handover?
We facilitate an agreement that defines exactly what the interim COO owns, which decisions are reserved for the CEO or owners, and the specific deliverables expected during their tenure. Before beginning, we define the scope of work and the transition plan to ensure that every active project and operational commitment is captured in a format useful for your permanent team.
Successful engagements depend on clear, mutually understood boundaries. We facilitate an agreement that defines exactly what the interim COO owns, which decisions are reserved for the CEO or owners, and the specific deliverables expected during their tenure. Before beginning, we define the scope of work and the transition plan to ensure that every active project and operational commitment is captured in a format useful for your permanent team. This structured approach simplifies the eventual handover, as your organization will possess a clear roadmap of ongoing initiatives and system status. By clarifying the limits of their authority early on, you prevent the consultant from overstepping while ensuring they take full responsibility for daily execution. We emphasize that this documentation must be shared with your leadership team as it is created, so there are no surprises when the permanent hire arrives to assume the duties of the role.
What we cover
- Operating cadence
- Manager accountability
- Customer escalation
- Project or site delivery
- Permanent search
- Handoff
Related
Questions
How do we decide what the interim COO owns?
Define the specific operational gaps and authority levels during the initial discovery phase. Match these needs to the consultant's past experience with similar size and industry requirements.
Can an interim work with existing managers?
Yes, they integrate into your current hierarchy to stabilize workflows. The primary task is to clear blockages while maintaining the status quo of reporting lines.
Does the assignment require on-site work?
That depends on your specific operations and where bottlenecks occur. Agree on travel and physical presence requirements before finalizing the consultant selection.
Can the permanent COO search continue alongside coverage?
Yes, we structure these as separate initiatives with unique scopes. This prevents search pressure from distracting the interim consultant from daily operational performance.
What needs documenting for the next COO?
Capture all active projects, pending decisions, and system configurations. Clear documentation ensures the permanent successor can step into the role without losing momentum.
What replacement terms apply?
We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement.
How are recruiting fees agreed?
No upfront fee. You pay only if you engage someone we present. We scope the assignment before quoting; the fee page explains our model.
How soon can we see options?
Availability depends on the assignment and the people who fit it. We qualify interest and commitments rather than promising a shortlist date before the search is scoped.
What if the scope grows?
Discuss new responsibilities before adding them to the engagement. Agree the priorities and record any change to the brief and terms.
Can we extend an engagement?
Discuss what remains unfinished and whether the same responsibility is still needed. Extensions depend on the person's commitments and the agreed engagement terms.
Can the appointment become permanent?
A permanent move can be discussed if both sides want it. Review the future role and the applicable agreement instead of assuming that temporary coverage automatically converts.
How is a confidential search handled?
Tell us what can be disclosed and whom we must not contact. We agree those boundaries before approaching people; do not send sensitive records with an initial brief.
What are the replacement terms?
We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement.
What do you not do?
We do not sell job-board reposting as a search or bill hourly for recruiting work. We do not take a retainer unless expressly agreed, and an introduction does not authorize an engagement.
The Six-Step Search
What do you get at each step of the search?
We agree what the person must own before contacting anyone. You see how the search is scoped and which backgrounds we pursue. We speak with candidates about the work before presenting them. The Six-Step Search gives you useful written notes and support through interviews, rather than a pile of applications.
- 01
Scope call
We talk through the seat, the business and what has to change.
You get: A one-page role brief you approve before we search.
- 02
Market map
We work out where people who have done this job actually sit.
You get: A short note on the pool and how we plan to reach it.
- 03
Direct outreach
We approach people who are not looking at job boards.
You get: Progress updates so you are never chasing us.
- 04
Screening
We interview every candidate on the work, not the resume.
You get: Written notes on fit, availability and terms for each person.
- 05
Shortlist and interviews
You meet a short list. We handle the scheduling.
You get: Several vetted options and a debrief after each interview.
- 06
Offer and start
You choose. We help settle terms and the start date.
You get: Confirmed terms, a start date and check-ins after day one.
Tell us who you need.
No upfront fee. You pay only if you engage someone we present.