Fractional Operations Director | Luna Business Solutions

Senior operations leadership, without the full-time hire.

Your business has outgrown the way it runs. Decisions route through you, delivery depends on your memory, and you spend more time running the business than growing it.

A fractional operations director fixes that. You get an experienced operations lead embedded in your business for a set number of days each month, at a fraction of the cost of a full-time hire.

Let's chat Start with the Audit

What this looks like in practice.

We join your business as its operations lead.

That means owning the weekly rhythm, managing contractors and team members, building and maintaining the systems your delivery runs on, and giving you one person to hand operational problems to.

Operations work in progress

You stay in the founder seat. We take the operations one.

What we take on.

✦Client delivery systems
✦Team and contractor management
✦Processes and SOPs
✦Tools and automation
✦Reporting rhythm
✦Hiring and onboarding

If it is operational and it is stealing your week, it belongs with us.

How engagements are structured.

Retainers run monthly with a set number of days, reviewed quarterly. Every retainer starts with an Operations Audit so we build on facts rather than assumptions.

US dollar prices are fixed, so what you see is what you pay regardless of the exchange rate.

Steady

Foundations

2 days a month

£1,600 a month

For when things are working and you want to keep them that way. You get someone watching how the business runs so small problems get caught early, and somewhere to take a decision before it becomes a fire.

  • ✦ Your systems stay current instead of quietly rotting
  • ✦ Problems reach you as a plan, not as a crisis
  • ✦ One place to put the operational questions you keep parking

Our recommendation

Momentum

4 days a month

£2,950 a month

For when you are the bottleneck. Everything routes through you, your team is waiting on your answers, and the work only moves when you are in the room. We build the systems that change that.

  • ✦ Hours back in your week, starting in the first month
  • ✦ Decisions your team can make without you
  • ✦ Work that keeps moving when you are away

Growth

Embedded

6 days a month

£4,200 a month

For when operations needs someone actually running it, not advising on it. We take the day to day off you, including your team and the decisions that come with it, so you can go back to the part of the business only you can do.

  • ✦ The running of the work is genuinely off your plate
  • ✦ Your team has someone to go to who is not you
  • ✦ Growth or change happens without the business wobbling

If you have already completed an Audit, your fee is credited against your first month.

Let's chat

What the same seniority costs you permanently.

A like for like look at hiring an Operations Director in house.

Based on current UK employment costs.

Permanent hire

Operations Director, in house

  • Salary£75,000
  • Employer National Insurance at 15%£10,500
  • Pension contribution£2,250
  • Recruitment fee, first year£11,250
  • Equipment, software, workspace£2,000
First year cost £101,000

Around £8,400 a month, and roughly £89,750 a year thereafter.

Fractional, Embedded tier

Six days a month

  • Monthly fee£4,200
  • Employer National InsuranceNone
  • Pension contributionNone
  • Recruitment feeNone
  • Equipment, software, workspaceNone
First year cost £50,400

No notice period, no redundancy exposure, reviewed quarterly.

Around £50,000 less in year one

A permanent hire gives you five days a week. The Embedded tier gives you six days a month. That difference is deliberate. Most businesses at this stage need senior operations attention regularly rather than constantly, so you pay for the days you actually need, and you move up or down a tier as that changes.

The figures: salary based on a conservative UK Operations Director benchmark, where typical ranges run from around £80,000 to £120,000. Employer National Insurance at the 2026/27 rate of 15% on earnings above £5,000. Pension at 3%. Recruitment at 15% of first year salary. Employment Allowance is not applied, as most businesses hiring at this level have already used it against existing staff. Illustrative, and your own numbers will differ.

Who this is for.

Founders and small business owners with revenue, a team or contractors, and an operations bottleneck.

We work with clients across the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the US.

United Kingdom Australia New Zealand Canada United States

Not sure which tier fits?

Take the free Operations Scorecard. Twelve questions, two minutes, and a clear picture of how much support your business actually needs.

Take the Scorecard

What it's like to have us in your corner.

Laura is incredible at what she does! She approaches every business challenge with a level head and a thoughtful, methodical process, never rushing to quick fixes, but taking the time to find solutions that are practical, effective, affordable, and genuinely sustainable for the long term. Her presence is a comforting source of steadiness in fast-moving environments. Anyone would be lucky to have her on their team. Her integrity, kindness, and strategic mind make her an absolute asset.

Business ManagerWellbeing Industry

Can I just say a HUGE thank you! You are a superstar for sorting all of this out. I am so very grateful for your attention to detail, your ability to keep moving forward when I am buried and your ownership of the things you take on. My life is so much better for having you in it.

Founder

Thank you for your brilliant efficiency. It is much appreciated and makes me so grateful that you are part of the team.

CEO

Let's chat.

Thirty minutes, no hard sell. We will tell you honestly whether fractional support is the right next step, and if it is not, we will tell you that too.

Let's chat Not sure yet? Start with the Operations Audit