Fractional COO / Integrator — Fast-Growing Marketing & Financial Services Companies

We are a group of growing businesses operating primarily within the consumer bankruptcy ecosystem. Our company is 720 System Strategies, a marketing company that generates consumers interested in bankruptcy and connects them with bankruptcy attorneys. We also operate call center, technology, social media, influencer, consumer education, and credit-rebuilding initiatives. We have built a successful business with a talented team. Our challenge is no longer figuring out whether the business works. Our challenge is building the organization capable of handling the next stage of growth. I am the founder/CEO and have historically been heavily involved across virtually every area of the businesses. We've reached the point where that's no longer the best way to operate. I'm looking for someone who can help me change that. The Role We are looking for an experienced Fractional COO / Integrator who can take ownership of the operational rhythm of our organization. This is not a consulting position where you simply make recommendations. I am looking for someone who can come into the organization, understand how everything works, identify what's missing, establish accountability, and actually help run the business. Initially, I anticipate approximately 15–25 hours per week, although I'm more interested in finding the right person than prescribing an exact number of hours. This will begin as a fractional position. For an exceptional fit, it could develop into a significant long-term leadership role, potentially including full-time COO responsibility. What You'll Be Walking Into We already have capable people throughout the organization, including leadership in: Marketing and lead generation Call-center operations Social media and influencers Copywriting Technology and programming Credit counseling Credit rebuilding Offshore operations and staffing Administrative and operational support What we're missing is the operational layer connecting all of these people and functions together. Today, too many questions, decisions, projects and follow-ups eventually make their way back to the founder. Your job is to change that. What You'll Own Your first responsibility will be understanding the organization before trying to change it. From there, I expect you to help us: Build the organizational structure. Determine who should own what, establish clear reporting relationships, identify missing positions, and eliminate unnecessary overlap. Create accountability. Every important function should have an owner, measurable outcomes, deadlines and follow-through. Establish our operating cadence. Build and run effective leadership meetings, departmental meetings, scorecards, priorities and follow-up systems. Manage across departments. Ensure marketing, call center, technology, Evergreen and other functions are working together rather than operating as separate islands. Develop our leadership team. Help existing leaders become stronger managers and determine where additional leadership is required. Turn ideas into execution. Our founder generates ideas and opportunities quickly. We need someone capable of determining what matters, assigning ownership, establishing timelines and making sure projects actually get completed. Build systems that scale. We don't want an organization dependent upon heroic individual effort. We want repeatable processes and clear accountability. Protect the founder's time. Push decisions downward whenever possible so the CEO can increasingly focus on strategy, partnerships, acquisitions, growth opportunities, capital allocation and the future of the companies. The Person We're Looking For You may be a great fit if you've previously been a: COO, President, VP of Operations, General Manager, Integrator, Operating Partner, or senior operational executive. We're particularly interested in someone who has: Managed organizations with approximately 20–100+ employees/contractors. Worked directly alongside an entrepreneurial founder/CEO. Managed distributed and/or offshore teams. Built organizational structures and accountability systems. Managed multiple departments simultaneously. Created KPI dashboards and management scorecards. Run effective weekly leadership meetings. Hired, managed and, when necessary, replaced people. Taken a company from founder-led operations toward professionally managed operations. Demonstrated a bias toward execution rather than PowerPoint presentations. Experience with EOS or similar operating systems is helpful, but we are not looking for someone who simply implements a methodology. We care much more about whether you've actually operated a company. The Personality That Will Succeed Here Our founder is entrepreneurial, fast-moving, opportunity-driven and highly involved in the business. We are not looking for another visionary. We're looking for the complementary person. You should enjoy organization, accountability, numbers, deadlines, systems and execution. You need to be comfortable respectfully telling a founder: "That's a good idea, but we're not doing it right now." You also need enough confidence to hold senior people accountable without creating unnecessary bureaucracy or politics. Low ego. High ownership. The First 90 Days A successful first 90 days would likely include: Days 1–30: Learn the businesses, people, economics, workflows and existing systems. Interview key team members. Identify bottlenecks and organizational gaps. Days 31–60: Establish the management structure, responsibilities, KPIs, meeting cadence, priorities and accountability systems. Days 61–90: Begin fully running the operating cadence, resolve major organizational bottlenecks, recommend necessary hires or role changes, and increasingly remove the founder from routine operational decisions. The ultimate measure of success is simple: Is the company becoming less dependent upon the founder to operate every week? If the answer is yes, you're succeeding. How to Apply Please do not send us a generic cover letter. Instead, answer these five questions: Tell me about the most complicated organization you've personally operated. How many people and departments were involved? Tell me about a founder/CEO you've worked directly alongside. What was the founder great at, what were they bad at, and what did you take off their plate? Give me a specific example of a company that was overly dependent upon its founder. What did you change? If you joined a company with approximately 15–25 people scattered across marketing, sales/call-center operations, technology, financial services and offshore operations, what would you want to understand during your first two weeks? What's something you think most founders get wrong about hiring a COO? Please start your response with the words "OPERATOR FIRST" so we know you've read the entire posting. Engagement Initially: Fractional, approximately 15–25 hours/week Location: Remote — United States There may be occasional travel and in-person strategy meetings. For the right person, this has the potential to become a long-term executive position. A note about our Upwork history: We’ve used Upwork extensively for nearly a decade, with more than $460,000 spent across 128 hires and 32,000+ hours. Much of that history involves offshore and specialized team members, which explains our historical average hourly rate. This executive search is different. We are looking for exceptional senior-level talent and are prepared to compensate accordingly.