Hire the best Interim Managers in Austria in minutes from over 15,000 CVs with the power of AI.
Need an interim manager for a restructuring, a leadership gap, or a time-critical transformation? Find proven experts for operations, finance, supply chain, and change programs. Fast, precise matching with vetted, available freelancers.
About the role
What they do
An interim manager steps in when a company needs immediate leadership and clear action. The role is used for restructuring, operational recovery, growth phases, M&A support, or to bridge a vacancy in management.
- Take charge of a function, site, or program
- Stabilize teams and priorities
- Build and execute a clear action plan
- Report progress to owners, boards, or senior leadership
- Transfer knowledge before the assignment ends
Typical mandates
Companies bring in an interim manager when speed matters and the situation is complex. That may mean a plant in Austria needs operational control, a finance team needs an experienced head, or a business unit needs support through change.
Common project types include:
- Turnaround and crisis management
- Operations, supply chain, and production leadership
- Finance, controlling, and ERP-related change
- HR, post-merger integration, or organizational redesign
- Temporary coverage for a vacant director or executive role
Skills and style
A strong interim manager combines leadership with hands-on execution. The best professionals are calm under pressure, quick to assess a situation, and able to work with different stakeholders without long onboarding.
- Clear decision-making and stakeholder management
- Strong communication with management and teams
- Structured problem solving and execution focus
- Experience with change, transformation, or turnaround work
- Familiarity with local business culture in Austria when on-site work is needed
Tools and focus
The toolset depends on the mandate. In many cases, an interim leader works with KPI dashboards, Excel models, project plans, ERP systems, reporting routines, and workshop formats for alignment and change.
In Austria, companies often value professionals who can move between German-speaking teams, regional suppliers, and international headquarters. That matters in manufacturing, industrial services, logistics, and finance-heavy environments.
When to hire one
A freelance interim manager makes sense when the company cannot wait for a permanent hire or needs senior expertise for a defined period. It is also the right choice when the task is too urgent, too sensitive, or too specific for a long recruitment cycle.
- A leadership seat is suddenly empty
- A transformation needs immediate ownership
- Results are required before a permanent hire is in place
- The work needs outside perspective and authority
- The assignment has a clear start, goal, and handover
What good looks like
Strong interim professionals are measured by impact, not by presence. They create order fast, make priorities visible, and help the business move forward without creating dependency.
The best candidates can explain how they handled similar mandates, what changed under their leadership, and how they handed over to the next permanent manager. They are practical, direct, and comfortable taking responsibility from day one.
Meet FRATCH Interim Managers
Rafał Bordakiewicz
Interim Executive & Advisory | Transformation & Organizational Development | Change Leadership
Last position:
General Manager & Senior Director DACH & Member of sennder’s Strategy Team at Sennder Deutschland GmbH
- Developed and executed a comprehensive strategy for market expansion in Germany, driving revenue growth and profit. Increased Gross Profit (GP) by +330% and productivity by +22% over 2 years.
- Led a cross-functional team of 13 managers with 90+ employees while managing a portfolio of 250+ customers with €85 M in revenue.
- Cultivated a performance-driven and disciplined profit culture, emphasizing operational success, optimizing efficiency, and enhancing customer satisfaction.
- Monitored and managed budgets effectively to enhance financial performance and ensure optimal resource allocation, holding full P&L responsibility.
- Spearheaded operations and led sales, account management, carrier management, and quality management teams, fostering cross-departmental collaboration, competitiveness, and accountability.
- Provided strategic leadership and direction to a high-performance team, overseeing all aspects of team management, including recruitment, coaching, performance evaluation and offboarding.
- Directly contributed to the strategic development and implementation of group activities as a core member of the corporate strategy team, actively shaping and executing initiatives to drive overall business growth and alignment across the organization.
Christoph Vierbauch
Project Manager, Business Analyst, Business Developer
Last position:
Head of Digital Transformation and Requirements Definition for Sales, Marketing, and Category Management
- Project Manager / Business Requirements Engineer
- Digital Business Developer
- Concept development and requirements management
- Process optimization
- Advertising effectiveness measurement
- Status reporting and stakeholder management to owners
- Systems: WordPress, sevDesk
Thomas Lücke
Interim Director of Telecommunications Operations
Last position:
Interim Director of Telecommunications Operations at Plusnet
- Leading and restructuring operations departments
- Transforming into a digital ISP
- Managing support for telecommunications services (FTTx, xDSL, voice, DWDM, access)
- Network operations center (NOC)
- Managing customer satisfaction
Karin Wallner
Head of Controlling
Last position:
Head of Controlling at Frey-Wille GmbH & Co KG
- Leading the controlling department (1 employee)
- Financial advice to the owner
- Support for mergers & acquisitions and due diligence
- Support in liquidity planning
- Support in monthly and annual financial statements (UGB)
- Preparation of business plans and strategic planning
- Annual planning, budgeting and forecasts
- Strategic sales and production management
- Creation of a new reporting package in Excel (UGB/IFRS) with validation checks and automations
- Creation of a new consolidation package in Excel
- Development of a new inventory process
Silvia Kienberger
Head of Consulting | Interim
Last position:
Head of Consulting | Interim at Craftworks
- Built the AI/data consulting practice and scaling strategy
- Advised international energy and industrial clients
- Secured four strategic international projects
- Delivered two enterprise AI/data strategy initiatives
Nathalie Muthmann-Burkhardt
Interim Head of Group Accounting
Last position:
Interim Head of Group Accounting at Doppelmayr SE
- Consolidation and preparation of consolidated financial statements according to IFRS (Lucanet)
- Coordination of closing procedures for year-end closing
- Monthly liquidity reporting
- Building and training of a new team
- Working on a new team structure with EY
- Communication with business partners, tax advisor and external auditors
Daniela Goldinger
Project Manager, Interim Manager
Last position:
Project Manager, Interim Manager at get projects.done
Klaus Schrittesser
Interim Management "Director Carpentry"
Last position:
Interim Management "Director Carpentry" at ELKAYINTERIORSYSTEMS
- Operational responsibility in furniture sourcing for procurement – strategic and operational, logistics, quality, ERP systems, project management
- Business process optimization
- Optimization of the used ERP system
- Employee development and coaching
Tobias Német
Interim Manager and Independent Consultant
Last position:
Interim Manager and Independent Consultant at Tobias Német, Management Consulting
- Leading organizations through change with a focus on procurement and supply chain management, as well as excellence across the value chain
- Project KraussMaffei (2022-04-01 to 2024-03-31): Head of Global Procurement Direct, interim management, restructuring and leading the global procurement for production materials with a purchasing volume of approximately €650 million; cost management; consolidating and leading the purchasing team (16 staff locally + 20 staff globally); process management
- Project Office Depot (2021-04-01 to 2022-03-31): Group Procurement Manager with a purchasing volume of approximately €400 million; leading procurement activities and training buyers after a restructuring; building and implementing a group procurement function after a merger, achieving significant savings
- Project Raylase (2021-01-01 to 2021-03-31): Head of procurement and support for the ERP implementation
- Project Simacek (2019-01-01 to 2019-06-30): Procurement, warehouse, and process management during a restructuring phase
- Project Raylase: Purchasing excellence; supply chain management with consulting on the full implementation of S&OP (sales, planning, and disposition)
- Project Speech Processing Solutions: cost reduction in procurement
- Project EVN: cost reduction through efficiency improvements (organizational development and process management)
- Project Diehl: establishing a transfer pricing regime in line with OECD guidelines
Discover over 15,000 top freelancers
Interim Managers statistics
Typical experience
26 years
Average project duration
2.7 years
Certifications per freelancer
2
Top business areas
Finance, Operations, Project Management
Top industries
Professional Services, Manufacturing, Energy
Most common languages
German, English, French
Bachelor's degree or higher
100%
Master's degree or higher
89%
Doctorate
22%
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 Interim Managers & 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
Want to learn more? Find helpful information about FRATCH
An Interim Manager takes over leadership for a defined period and a defined goal. That can mean stabilizing a department, leading a turnaround, filling a vacancy, or driving a change program. The focus is on fast decisions, clear priorities, and visible execution.
Choose an interim manager when the situation is urgent, sensitive, or time-bound. A permanent hire can take too long if the company already needs leadership now. Interim work is also useful when you need specialist experience for a single mandate, not a long-term contract.
Look for strong leadership, structured problem solving, and the ability to work through resistance. A good interim manager needs to read the situation quickly, align stakeholders, and turn plans into action. Industry knowledge helps, but execution and judgment matter most.
Not always. A project manager usually owns a project plan, while an interim manager often takes broader responsibility for a team, function, or business problem. A turnaround manager is a more specific type of interim manager focused on recovery, cost control, and operational improvement.
A strong interim manager will first assess the situation, meet key stakeholders, and identify urgent risks. Then the person should define priorities, set a short action plan, and start delivering quickly. The goal is to create clarity without wasting time on long onboarding.
Both models are possible, but the right setup depends on the mandate. In Austria, on-site work is common when the role affects operations, production, or team leadership. Remote collaboration can work well for advisory, finance, or transformation tasks with regular alignment.
Ask for specific cases, not general claims. A strong candidate can explain the problem, the actions taken, the resistance they faced, and the result they delivered. You should also check whether the person can step into your environment quickly and communicate well with your teams.
Freelancers should be clear about scope, authority, reporting lines, and the handover at the end. The best assignments give the interim manager real responsibility and access to decision-makers. In Austria, it also helps to clarify language expectations and how often on-site presence is needed.
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Philipp Thomaschewski
FRATCH CEO
