Find the perfect Chief Operating Officers in Germany in minutes from over 15,000 CVs with the power of AI.
Bring in a COO, Head of Operations, or interim operations leader for restructuring, scale-up execution, supply chain control, and cross-functional alignment. Fast, precise matching with vetted, available freelancers.
About the role
What they do
A freelance Chief Operating Officer takes ownership of day-to-day execution across the business. The role turns strategy into operating plans, clears bottlenecks, and keeps leadership teams aligned.
- Translate growth goals into clear operating priorities
- Improve processes across sales, delivery, finance, and customer operations
- Set up KPI reviews and management routines
- Coordinate leaders across functions and sites
- Drive change when teams need structure, pace, or discipline
Core strengths
Strong COOs combine operational control with calm leadership. They understand how the company actually runs, where decisions get stuck, and how to move work forward without creating more complexity.
- Business planning and performance management
- Process design and continuous improvement
- Budget ownership and resource planning
- Stakeholder management at board and executive level
- Clear communication with teams that need direction
Typical assignments
Companies hire a Chief Operating Officer, COO, or Head of Operations on a freelance basis when they need senior hands-on leadership without a long permanent search. This is common in growth phases, post-merger integration, turnaround situations, and periods of restructuring.
In Germany, freelance COOs are often brought into mid-sized industrial firms, software companies, and service businesses that need sharper execution. They can work remotely for oversight and planning, or on-site when the role needs close contact with teams, plants, or offices.
Tools and methods
A good operations leader is comfortable with the tools that keep a business measurable and controllable. The exact stack depends on the company, but the work often touches planning, reporting, process mapping, and leadership cadence.
- KPI dashboards and management reports
- ERP and CRM environments
- Process maps, SOPs, and operating manuals
- Project and portfolio tracking
- Workshops, steering meetings, and escalation routines
What strong COOs deliver
The best freelance COO does more than keep things running. They create structure, remove friction, and leave behind an organisation that can operate with less dependence on one person.
They are clear on priorities, direct in communication, and grounded in numbers and facts. They know when to intervene deeply and when to let line managers own the work. They also fit well when a company needs an interim leader who can step in quickly and keep momentum without a long ramp-up.
When to bring one in
Bring in a freelance Chief Operating Officer when operations are too complex for the current team, when leadership capacity is missing, or when a change program needs a senior driver. It also makes sense when you need temporary cover during a vacancy, leave, or transition.
For companies in Germany, language fit matters. Many projects need fluent English and German to work well with local teams, suppliers, and leadership groups. That is especially true in manufacturing, logistics, SaaS, and international groups with German operations.
Meet FRATCH Chief Operating Officers
Christian Baecker
Interim COO, CTO (Managing Director)
Last position:
Interim COO, CTO (Managing Director) at Proven-Impact GmbH
- Designed and led multiple CRM and CX transformation initiatives for global B2B organizations.
- Co-created strategic CXO use cases with ServiceNow and Salesforce.
- Developed the “BackOnTrack” and “Optimizer.Club” frameworks to rescue underperforming programs.
- Delivered +15% average margin improvement and saved up to 60 PD per engagement.
- Built and led agile, cross-functional delivery teams in regulated and asset-heavy industries.
- Supported executive boards with CX maturity models, platform strategies, and KPI-based governance.
Tobias Kuhl
Co-Founder & Chief Operating Officer
Last position:
Co-Founder & Chief Operating Officer at Roket Technologies GmbH
- Spearheading the development of an agentic AI platform on SaaS metrics to automate financial workflows (Month-End Close, Reporting & FP&A) and translating market needs into a scalable MVP roadmap
- Personally driving the initial go-to-market strategy with hands-on outreach, securing first six pilot customers for value validation
- Built complete company infrastructure from scratch (legal, HR, tech) and recruited a high-performance team of seven, reducing employee fluctuation from 43% to 10%
Sven-Marten Schulte
Process Developer and Facilitator
Last position:
Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Dirtwater
- Coordinating strategic and operational activities of a social business startup, Dirtwater Café, where profits go to Water for the World's water and nutrition projects
- Developing and monitoring a business plan that advances the serving and distribution of coffee from project regions
- Fostering cooperation agreements with local NGOs and communities to support them financially beyond water
Patricia Afonso Alemany
Head of Operations
Last position:
Head of Operations at StratifAI GmbH
- Designed, managed, and implemented the company’s operational, compliance, procurement, and financial strategy, ensuring alignment with rapid scaling and regulatory objectives.
- Built and scaled operational infrastructure across IT, HR, Finance, Procurement, and Compliance, supporting growth from 4 to 20 team members in 6 months.
- Oversaw financial management of OPEX, including budgeting, monitoring, and cost optimization to sustain high-growth operations.
- Developed and executed a procurement strategy, including vendor selection, negotiation, and performance oversight.
- Procured and managed external consultants (compliance, quality, regulatory experts) and orchestrated collaboration across internal teams and external partners to meet milestones.
- Implemented policies, SOPs, and business systems (compliance tracking, eQMS, payroll, vendor management, data governance) to support regulatory compliance and scalability.
- Managed and actively oversaw regulatory and compliance programs, embedding GDPR, HIPAA, SOC 2, ISO 27001, and ISO 27701 requirements into day-to-day operations.
- Directed the rollout of a Quality Management System (QMS) aligned with ISO 13485 to prepare for medical device and AI regulatory certifications.
- Led people and culture development, establishing onboarding, performance management, and cross-functional collaboration structures to scale the organization effectively.
- Established risk management and business continuity frameworks, including security controls, risk registers, and compliance safeguards.
- Engaged executive leadership, board, and investors to align operational strategy with corporate goals and market expansion.
- Enabled technology-driven operations, selecting and implementing digital systems (e.g., Drata, Qualio) to ensure compliance and efficiency.
- Scaled StratifAI’s operational backbone to support rapid growth and international market readiness.
- Achieved ISO 27001, ISO 27701, SOC 2, GDPR, and HIPAA compliance within 6 months, enabling enterprise and healthcare partnerships.
- Implemented a QMS system aligned with ISO 13485, paving the way for regulatory approvals and positioning for upcoming ISO 13485 certification, CE-IVDR marking, and FDA clearance within 12 months.
- Designed and executed governance, procurement, and financial controls, ensuring efficient resource allocation and sustainable compliance.
- Established a culture of structured growth, integrating people, processes, and compliance frameworks to maintain operational excellence.
- Enabled StratifAI to confidently enter regulated US and EU markets, building the foundation for long-term expansion.
Thomas Kevers
Head of Program Delivery & Product Management with AI
Last position:
Advisor to Chief Operations Officer at P2P.org
- Designed and implemented KPI/OKR frameworks ensuring predictable execution and leadership visibility
- Enabled repeatable performance tracking and structured quarterly cycles
Thorsten Müller
COO Chief Operating Officer, Aviation Supplier
Last position:
COO Chief Operating Officer, Aviation Supplier at interprocon.com
- Operational responsibility for the company (customer management, delivery performance)
- Crisis and change management
- Closure or relocation of a production site
- Making personnel decisions
- Leading, developing and motivating teams
- Budget responsibility
Efstatious Vasilopoulos
COO, CRO, Plant Manager, OPEX, Restructuring, Transformation
Last position:
Plant Manager at GustavoGusto GmbH Group at EV Consulting
- Covered vacancy at the Munich-area site with ~200 employees in multi-shift operations
- Transformed maintenance from reactive to preventive, reducing losses in yield, staffing, and waste
- Coached leadership in OPEX and shopfloor management
Tasneem Wadee
Fractional COO / Chief of Staff
Last position:
Fractional COO / Chief of Staff at Ecocatalytic Recycling & Unimax Refinery
Two high-growth environmental circular-economy businesses specialising in sustainable recycling and refinery of e-waste, catalytic converters, and non-ferrous precious metals / Platinum Group Metals (PGMs: platinum, palladium, rhodium)
Strategy execution, growth & scalability: execute organisational strategy focused on sustainable growth and preparing scalable business models across countries and multiple business units
Executive advisory & leadership support: strategic advisor to executive team through insights, data-driven analysis and scenario planning to guide high-impact decisions and long-term direction
Acquisitions & strategic partnerships: supported expansion initiatives, including the acquisitions of Blackpool and Atlas Group, and strengthening of supplier partnerships with Mairec (Germany) and Petra Recycling Europe (Spain)
Project management & operations support: advised on systems implementation, workflow optimisation, process improvements, and development of performance metrics
Liudmila Kosheleva
Ops for Startups&SMB's, GTM Strategies
Last position:
Fractional COO / Consultant at MilaKonsult.de
- Providing complex growth and GTM strategies
- Leading digital and IT projects from planning to execution
- Supporting organizational transformations
Joachim Hartrumpf
Chief Operating Officer
Last position:
Chief Operating Officer at Kleiner GmbH
- Full responsibility for operational management
- Supporting the owner in the realignment of the company
- Transformation in the stamping department
- Development and implementation of the 2030 strategy
- Development of new business areas and initiation of market development strategies (press appearances, social media campaigns, mailings)
- Acquisition of strategic partners for new business areas (incl. mergers and due diligence)
- Realignment of production and implementation of a new production management
- Restructuring and realignment of HR, purchasing and logistics
- Implementation of key account management and establishment of sales controlling using SAP and topflow
- Clarification of controlling tasks and development of corporate reporting
- Implementation of production controlling
- Definition of a transformation strategy for the company
- Conducting due diligence within M&A
- Integration of Boes GmbH and support of the entire acquisition process
- Implementation of Six Sigma methodology approaches
David Hamel
Fractional CPO | Fintech x AI Product Builder
Last position:
Venture Development Consultant at Impacmve.pro
- Advised product and strategy of a cloud-based SaaS for financial institutions
Michael Adewoye
Research Technician
Last position:
Research Technician at Deggendorf Institute of Technology Skin Research Lab, University Hospital
- Creation of 2D/3D skin models for in-vitro testing and research.
Senol Bircan
COO – Europe
Last position:
COO – Europe at ABC Technologies
- Full P&L leadership for multi-site European operations with 600+ employees.
- Delivered operational turnaround in Germany, restoring profitability and competitiveness.
- Optimized European manufacturing footprint and strengthened governance to support M&A readiness.
Dan Wucherpfennig
Chief Operating Officer (COO) / Chief Revenue Officer (CRO)
Last position:
Chief Operating Officer (COO) / Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) at samedi
- Unified and optimized organizational structures across sales, delivery, and support; standardized handoffs and workflows to reduce friction.
- Designed and rolled out digitized, harmonized operational processes to improve efficiency and quality.
- Built and scaled the KHZG patient portal unit with integrated governance, making samedi a lead provider in Germany.
- Aligned revenue and fulfillment under coherent frameworks, delivering 25%+ YoY growth in 2024 and projected ~30%+ in 2025.
- Established cross-functional KPI oversight with process-driven improvement initiatives.
Stefan Braun
Operator & Builder | International Expansion & Scaling | Ex-Founder
Last position:
Co-Founder & COO at Sunhero
- Co-founded the company during COVID remotely and scaled the company’s core business to 100+ employees across Marketing, Sales and Operations retaining a mission-driven, high performing and resilient culture
- Established sales & delivery area of solar installations covering the entire Spanish market through in-house teams and partnerships, achieving up to €1m monthly revenue within two years and >1% national market share
- Co-developed company strategy and equity story, adjusting and pivoting in partnership with investors on the board (Planet A, Vorwerk Ventures, Speedinvest, Acurio)
Discover over 15,000 top freelancers
Chief Operating Officers statistics
Typical experience
22 years
Average project duration
3.3 years
Certifications per freelancer
2
Top business areas
Operations, Project Management, Product Development
Top industries
Information Technology, Professional Services, Banking and Finance
Most common languages
English, German, Spanish
Bachelor's degree or higher
95%
Master's degree or higher
76%
Doctorate
14%
Salary / Daily Rate Distribution
The chart shows how the daily rates of freelancers in this role are distributed, based on recent contracts on our platform. Each bar covers a rate range — its height shows how many freelancers charge within that range. Actual rates may vary depending on seniority level, experience, skill specialization, project complexity, and engagement length.
Average rates for Chief Operating Officers & Seniority distribution
Rates are based on recent contracts and do not include FRATCH margin.
The average daily rate is the mean of all daily rates from recent contracts of comparable freelancers on our platform.
The median daily rate is the middle value of all daily rates — half of comparable freelancers charge less, half charge more. Unlike the average, it is barely affected by outliers.
Actual rates may vary depending on seniority level, experience, skill specialization, project complexity, and engagement length.
Frequently Asked Questions
Have questions? See our quick guide to FRATCH
A Chief Operating Officer turns business goals into daily execution. The work usually covers operating plans, process improvements, leadership routines, KPI management, and cross-functional coordination. In practice, the COO keeps the business moving and removes friction between teams.
The titles often overlap, but the scope can differ. A COO usually sits closer to the executive team and owns broader company-wide execution, while a Head of Operations or Operations Director may focus on one function or business unit. The right choice depends on how much leadership authority and strategic range you need.
A strong interim COO needs operational judgment, structured thinking, and the ability to lead through change. Look for experience with process design, KPI steering, budgeting, stakeholder management, and team leadership. Calm decision-making matters as much as technical knowledge.
Freelance COO work fits restructuring, scale-up execution, post-merger integration, supply chain issues, and periods of weak ownership in operations. It also helps when a company needs a temporary bridge before hiring permanently. The best projects have clear urgency and visible operational pain points.
A freelance Chief Operating Officer makes sense when you need senior leadership fast, but only for a defined period or scope. It is also a good option if the company is still shaping the role, or if the workload does not justify a full-time hire yet. You get experience without waiting through a long recruitment cycle.
Yes, many parts of the role can be handled remotely, especially planning, reporting, and leadership alignment. But some assignments need on-site presence in Germany, for example when the COO works with factory teams, logistics sites, or management workshops. The best setup is often a mix of both.
Look for proof that the person has improved operations in real businesses, not just advised on them. A credible COO can explain how they handled conflict, set priorities, measured progress, and kept leaders aligned. Ask for concrete examples of change they led and what was different after they left.
Freelance Chief Operating Officer assignments usually need fast entry, clear structure, and direct communication with founders or senior leaders. You should be comfortable with ambiguity, because the first task is often to define the real problem before fixing it. In Germany, being able to work in English and, where needed, German can make a major difference.
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Philipp Thomaschewski
FRATCH CEO
