Keeps the work moving.
Owns the project board, chases the open items, and makes sure what was promised on Monday is actually done by Friday, without you being the one who has to ask.
Nacho ordinary ops help
Someone to run the day‑to‑day
Nacho matches growing businesses with vetted, 100% US-based Fractional Operations Managers who keep projects, processes, tools, and vendors running, starting at $65/hr.
Free 30-minute call. Every match backed by the Nacho re-match guarantee.
The short answer
What is a Fractional Operations Manager?
A Fractional Operations Manager is an experienced operations professional who runs the day-to-day mechanics of your business part-time. They keep projects moving, document processes, manage tools and vendors, and report on what is happening. Through Nacho, an Operations Manager starts at $65 an hour.
The word "fractional" describes the schedule, not the skill level. You get someone who has already run operations for other businesses, working on yours for the hours you actually need instead of a full-time salary.
Most small businesses do not have an operations problem so much as an ownership problem. The processes exist, the tools are paid for, and the to-do list is clear. Nobody has the hours to keep all of it running, so it falls back on the founder. An Operations Manager is the person who picks it up and keeps it moving.
Operations Manager vs COO: they are not the same hire. A Fractional COO is a C-level leader who sets operating strategy, designs the org, and manages the managers. An Operations Manager is the hands-on doer who runs and improves the systems day to day. Many businesses need the doer long before they need the executive.
- Level
- Hands-on operations, not C-level
- Schedule
- A few hours a week up to 2 days a week
- Reports to
- You, the founder or CEO
- Owns
- Projects, processes, tools, vendors, and reporting
- Cost through Nacho
- From $65/hr from one monthly Talent Budget
- Based in
- The United States, 100% of the time
The job itself
What does a Fractional Operations Manager actually do?
A Fractional Operations Manager keeps projects on schedule, writes down how the work gets done, sets up and maintains your tools and automations, manages vendors, and reports on what is on track. The work is execution, not strategy decks.
Documents how things get done.
Turns the processes living in your head into written checklists and SOPs, so tasks stop depending on whoever happens to remember how it went last time.
Sets up the tools and automations.
Cleans up the CRM, connects the apps, and automates the hand-offs that currently run on copy, paste, and a reminder in somebody's calendar.
Manages vendors and logistics.
Handles the contractors, suppliers, and service providers: follow-ups, renewals, onboarding, and the small coordination jobs that quietly eat a founder's week.
Reports on what is happening.
Pulls the weekly numbers and the status of every open project into one view, so you can see what is on track and what is slipping without digging for it.
Coordinates the team.
Runs the recurring check-ins, keeps people pointed at the same priorities, and makes sure the hand-off between sales, delivery, and admin actually happens.
What an Operations Manager does not do is set the company's direction. They work from yours. If the real gap is deciding what the business should look like a year from now, that is a job for a Fractional COO.
Timing
When should you hire a Fractional Operations Manager?
Hire a Fractional Operations Manager when you know what needs to happen but nobody has the hours to make it happen. The usual trigger is a founder who has become the bottleneck for projects, processes, and follow-up.
Signs you are ready
- You are the only person who knows how half the business actually runs.
- Projects stall the moment you stop personally chasing them.
- Your tools are set up, but nobody owns keeping them clean and connected.
- The same questions and the same mistakes come up every month.
- You know what needs to happen. You do not have the hours to make it happen.
- You need real operations help, but not a full-time salary or a C-level hire.
When it is the wrong hire
- You need someone to set strategy, redesign the org, or manage your managers. That is a Fractional COO, not an Operations Manager.
- You have no idea what you want fixed. An Operations Manager executes a direction, so start with a clear list of problems.
- The work is mostly inbox, calendar, and scheduling. An Executive Assistant covers that for less.
- You will not let anyone else touch your processes or tools.
- What you need is one deep specialty, like bookkeeping or software development. Hire for that skill directly.
We would rather tell you on the discovery call that you need a different role than match you with the wrong one. If the gap is mostly admin, an Executive Assistant solves it for less. If it is leadership, a Fractional COO is the better fit.
Real numbers
What does a Fractional Operations Manager cost?
A Fractional Operations Manager through Nacho starts at $65 an hour. There is no placement fee. Hours draw from one monthly Talent Budget with a $1,000 monthly minimum, so $1,000 a month covers about 15 hours and about $4,000 a month covers roughly 15 hours a week.
Operations work is a good fit for the hourly model because the load shifts. A cleanup month, setting up a new tool or documenting a process, takes more hours than a maintenance month. You pay for the month you actually had.
The comparison most owners never run is the loaded cost of a full-time hire. A salary is not the price of an employee. Payroll taxes, benefits, insurance, software, and equipment commonly add 25% to 35% on top of it, before you count the time spent recruiting.
| What you are comparing | Fractional Operations Manager through Nacho | Full-time operations manager |
|---|---|---|
| Rate | From $65/hr, published up front | Roughly $70,000 to $120,000 base salary, negotiated |
| Typical schedule | A few hours a week up to 2 days a week | 5 days a week |
| Payroll taxes and benefits | None. They are not your employee. | Commonly adds 25% to 35% on top of salary |
| Recruiting cost | None | Your time, job ads, or an agency fee |
| Time to first day | About a week from the discovery call | Weeks to months to post, interview, and start |
| Ramp-up | Plugs into your team and starts shipping in week 1 | Weeks before they truly own the work |
| Commitment | 3-month initial term, then month to month | At-will in name, expensive in practice |
| If the fit is wrong | Free re-match under the Nacho Guarantee | Severance, a second search, and lost months |
| Illustrative annual cost | About $50,000 at 2 days a week | About $117,000 loaded on a $90,000 salary |
Salary and benefits ranges above are broad US market ranges for the role and vary widely by industry, region, and company size. Treat them as a planning starting point, not a quote. The Nacho column uses our published starting rate, which scales with the seniority and scope of the work.
What the $65 starting rate actually buys
- $1,000 a month is about 15 hours: keeping one project board current, tidying a tool, and a weekly status report.
- $2,000 a month is about 30 hours: ongoing project and vendor follow-up, plus documenting a few key processes.
- $4,000 a month is about 60 hours, roughly 15 hours a week: day-to-day ownership of projects, tools, vendors, and reporting.
Unused budget above the $1,000 minimum rolls over, up to $200 a month. Everything bills as one flat monthly Talent Budget, and if you also need an Executive Assistant from $40/hr or a Fractional Executive from $125/hr, they draw from the same budget. The only other fee is the $300 Delegation Strategy Plan, which comes before your first match. See how pricing works.
The process
How hiring a Fractional Operations Manager through Nacho works
You book a free 30-minute discovery call, we build a $300 Delegation Strategy Plan, and we introduce you to 1 to 3 hand-picked Operations Managers from our vetted, 100% US-based network. Most clients meet their first match within about a week.
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Book a free discovery call.
Thirty minutes, no obligation. Tell us where things keep falling through the cracks. We will tell you honestly whether a Fractional Operations Manager is the right role, or whether you need an Executive Assistant or a Fractional COO instead.
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We build your Delegation Strategy Plan.
For $300 we map out what to hand off: which processes the Operations Manager owns, how many hours a month that takes, and what the first 90 days should fix.
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You meet your shortlist.
We hand-pick 1 to 3 Operations Managers from our vetted, 100% US-based network and send you their backgrounds. You interview them. Nobody starts until you say yes to a specific person.
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We handle the paperwork.
Contracts, payments, and onboarding run through Nacho. Your Operations Manager plugs into your tools and your team, and reports to you, not to us.
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You scale it up or down.
A 3-month initial term gives the work time to land, then it is month to month. Add hours during a busy season, pull back when things are steady, and if the match is not right we re-match you free under the Nacho Guarantee.
Need a different kind of help?
- Fractional COOOperating strategy and leadership
- Fractional RecruiterSourcing, screening, and hiring
- Fractional HRPeople operations and policy
Every role comes from the same 100% US-based network under the same Talent Budget. See every role Nacho places.
Frequently asked questions
Fractional Operations Manager questions, answered
What is a Fractional Operations Manager?
A Fractional Operations Manager is an experienced operations professional who runs the day-to-day mechanics of your business part-time. They keep projects moving, document processes, manage tools and vendors, and report on what is happening. Through Nacho, an Operations Manager is in the Specialists tier, from $65 an hour.
What is the difference between an Operations Manager and a COO?
Altitude. A Fractional COO is a C-level leader who sets operating strategy, designs the org, and manages the managers. A Fractional Operations Manager is the hands-on doer who runs and improves the systems day to day. Many small businesses need the doer first. If you need the strategist, see our Fractional COO page.
How much does a Fractional Operations Manager cost?
Through Nacho, an Operations Manager starts at $65/hr with no placement fee. Hours draw from one monthly Talent Budget with a $1,000 monthly minimum, so $1,000 a month covers about 15 hours. A $300 Delegation Strategy Plan is the only other fee, and it comes before your first match.
Is there an operations manager for hire without a long-term contract?
Yes. Nacho engagements start with a 3-month initial term so the work has time to land, then run month to month. You can scale your Talent Budget up or down as your needs change.
How many hours a week does a Fractional Operations Manager work?
It depends on what you hand off. Some clients start with a few hours a week to clean up tools and processes. Others use an Operations Manager up to 2 days a week to run projects, vendors, and reporting on an ongoing basis.
What is the difference between an Operations Manager and an Executive Assistant?
An Executive Assistant supports you: inbox, calendar, travel, and admin. An Operations Manager supports the business: processes, projects, tools, and vendors. Through Nacho, Executive Assistants start at $40/hr and Specialists like Operations Managers start at $65/hr, and both draw from the same Talent Budget.
Are Nacho Operations Managers based in the US?
Yes. Every person in the Nacho network lives and works in the United States, 100% of the time.
What if the Operations Manager is not the right fit?
We re-match you free under the Nacho Guarantee until the fit is right. It is a re-match guarantee, not a money-back guarantee, and a re-match never means going offshore.
Ready when you are
Stop being the bottleneck.
Book a free, no-obligation discovery call. Tell us where things keep falling through the cracks and we'll tell you honestly whether a Fractional Operations Manager is the right fix.