Interim Chief Operating Officer — Retail Network Performance
Italy·Consumer & Retail·Retail and franchise networks· Milan·Posted 12 September 2026
Applications close 3 December 2026
Retail and franchise networks organisation in Italy
The problem this seat exists to solve
The interim chief operating officer will take responsibility for improving performance across a retail network. The assignment requires a location-level understanding of demand, service, staffing and cost, followed by decisions that improve the network as a whole. It is not a uniform cost-reduction exercise applied indiscriminately to every site.
Establish the operating truth across locations
Begin by reconciling how locations report sales, labour, availability and service outcomes. Identify differences caused by catchment, format or customer mix, and separate them from avoidable execution gaps. Spend time with regional and site leaders to understand what central reporting fails to show.
Turn diagnosis into operating decisions
Set priorities for locations requiring immediate intervention. Review opening hours, staffing patterns, replenishment and local management routines against actual customer demand. Resolve conflicts between central instructions and the authority available to site managers. Agree which decisions should be standardised and where local discretion improves outcomes.
The COO will lead regional managers, establish a credible performance cadence and ensure corrective actions have owners. Changes to network footprint, significant investment or commitments beyond delegation require the appropriate approval. Customer service and employee capacity must remain visible when financial improvements are assessed.
Qualified candidates
Applicants need senior multi-site retail leadership with direct responsibility for operating and financial outcomes. They should demonstrate experience improving a mixed network, including underperforming locations, without relying solely on closures or headcount reduction. Strong financial literacy and practical knowledge of store operations are essential.
Candidates should explain how they distinguished a poor location proposition from poor execution, and what different actions followed. The ability to coach managers while making clear accountability decisions is important.
What must remain after the interim
Leave reliable site reporting, clear regional responsibilities and operating routines that managers can sustain. The handover should identify structural issues requiring further investment or board decisions. Success is evidenced by more consistent customer delivery and healthier location economics, with a transparent account of trade-offs. It is not achieved by moving stock, cost or unresolved work between sites to improve a temporary report.
Terms
- Where the board sits
- Milan, Italy
- Applications close
- 3 December 2026
- Appointment
- Interim executive
- Compensation
- EUR 1,100–1,750 per day (indicative interim day rate)
Before you apply — this is an executive role
An interim seat needs work authorisation. A board seat in Italy usually does not.
This is the single most common way a cross-border interim engagement falls apart after it has been agreed. The visa-free position that applies to a non-executive director attending board meetings does not extend to an executive or operating role.
- Position in Italy
- A non-executive director attending board meetings does not require a permit. Executive roles for non-EU nationals do, and are subject to the immigration decree quotas.
- On this brief
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