Contract & interim work
The practical version for platforms, agencies, and hiring teams: the formats I work in, the roles I fill, what the first month looks like, and the terms.
What I do and the results behind it are on the main page.
FormatsFour ways I am engaged
Each is scoped in writing before anything starts, and each has a defined end or a monthly renewal the client controls.
| ProjectDefined scope, deliverable, and date | A defined piece of work with a written scope, a deliverable, and a date. Research briefs, decision briefs, rapid diagnostics, business development roadmaps, operating-model and process design, and the first phase of a recovery. Typically one to twelve weeks. |
|---|---|
| FractionalPart time, month to month | An ongoing part-time operating role: fractional Chief Operating Officer, Vice President of Operations, or Director of Operations. I run the operating cadence and am accountable for my area, reporting to the chief executive or the board, without the company adding a full-time seat. Typically two to three days a week for three to twelve months. |
| InterimFull ownership, defined end | Full ownership of a role during a gap, a transition, or a turnaround, with a defined end date and a clean handover to whoever takes it next. Full time or close to it, on site when the work needs it. |
| Chief of StaffAlongside the leader | Working alongside a chief executive or a leadership team: preparing decisions, running the cadence between meetings, tracking commitments, and carrying the work that spans several organizations. Retained, month to month. |
RolesThe titles this work goes by
If a role is close to one of these, it is worth a conversation. Everything here has been carried in a permanent seat, not only advised on.
| Fractional or interim COO, VP Operations | Own operations end to end: delivery, customer success, supply and vendors, budget and profit and loss, and the operating cadence. Operating budgets up to $12M, profit and loss ownership of a business unit, and teams of twenty or more across multiple sites. |
|---|---|
| Interim Director of Operations | Stabilize and run a function during a gap or a turnaround: staffing, process, reporting, and customer commitments, with a written handover at the end. |
| Chief of Staff to the CEO | Decision preparation, meeting cadence, commitment tracking, and the cross-organization work that has no natural owner. I work behind the leader; the results carry their name. |
| Research and analysis lead | Market, partner, competitor, and technology research built for a decision rather than a report: primary interviews, sourced and cited findings, a trade-offs table, and a recommendation on a fixed timeline. |
| Customer success and implementation lead | Reorganize implementation and customer success operations, rebuild delivery models, and take over at-risk enterprise accounts. Past programs include Apple, Google, Uber, BMW, and Continental Tire. |
| Program or initiative lead | Take ownership of a stalled or high-stakes program spanning several teams or companies: one plan, named owners, an operating rhythm, and a communications tree, run until it is moving on its own. |
| Business analysis and process design | Executive dashboards, workflow documentation, forecasting models, and process redesign. Recent client work cut delivery overhead 15–25% and rework 10–15% while holding customer satisfaction above 90%. |
First thirty daysWhat the client has after a month
The same shape in every fractional or interim engagement, whatever the title on the contract.
Week one: read the situation
Interviews with the people who matter, a review of the numbers and the commitments, and a one-page written assessment: what is working, what is not, and what I recommend.
Weeks two to four: install the rhythm
Named owners for every open item, a weekly operating cadence, a scorecard the leadership team can read in five minutes, and the first decisions made and recorded.
Day thirty: written status
A short written status against the assessment: what changed, what is still open, and a proposed scope for the next period. The client decides whether to continue.
TermsThe practical answers
What platforms, agencies, and hiring teams usually need before a first conversation.
What I take on
Where I take on profit and loss ownership, as a fractional or interim Chief Operating Officer, Vice President of Operations, or Director of Operations, the fit is roughly $5M to $100M in revenue, in any sector and at any stage. Below that the role rarely needs someone at this level; above it, the seat is usually permanent. For everything else — decision support, research, strategy and business development, and recovery of work that has stalled — the size of the company does not matter. The problem does.
Availability and location
Remote first, across United States time zones, based in North Carolina. Travel to site when the work needs it. Available for full-time interim or part-time fractional work; the scope states which.
Commitment and renewal
Projects run one to twelve weeks. Fractional and interim work is month to month, with three to twelve months typical. Nothing renews automatically and every engagement ends with a written handover.
Contracting
I contract through Grantic Operations, or on an agency’s or platform’s paper where that is required. Background checks on request.
Confidentiality
A mutual non-disclosure agreement is standard and signed before any material is exchanged. I do not name clients and never use client situations as case studies.
Rates
Stated on the one-page scope for project work, or as a monthly or daily rate for fractional and interim work, agreed before anything starts.
Documents
Download my résumé (PDF) or the capabilities brief (PDF). References and a longer work history are available on request. linkedin.com/in/ryan-tindall.
Start with the situation, not a sales call
Email a few sentences on what is stuck, who is involved, and what a good outcome looks like. You get a reply within one business day: either a one-page scope with a price and a date, or a straight answer that this is not a fit.
ryan.tindall@grantic.ai