Fractional COO in Lisbon, Portugal
I'm Sara Vitorino, a fractional COO based in Lisbon, Portugal. I work with founder-led companies worldwide when growth has outpaced the way the business runs.
I unstick companies and founders: I make things work, prepare the business for sustainable growth, and leave.
When companies call me
Rarely when everything is on fire. More often at a moment like one of these:
A key person is about to join, and you realise nobody can explain how things actually work, because it's all in your head.
Everyone tells you to "build a team", but what you have feels like a group of individuals: everyone does things their own way, and nothing feels urgent.
Every escalation still ends up on your phone, even the ones someone else could handle.
A project you care about has been on hold for months, because the team has no room for it.
You're thinking about hiring a full-time COO, and you're not sure what you'd ask them to do.
You run operations yourself, but the leadership team can't agree on what matters most, and you need someone to think it through with.
What a fractional COO does
A fractional COO takes ownership of how the company runs, part-time and for a defined period. In practice, that means:
Less runs through you. Decisions and day-to-day work move to the right people.
Clear ownership. Everyone knows what they're responsible for and who decides what.
Processes written down. How work gets done is documented, so it doesn't live in one person's head.
A rhythm that keeps everyone aligned. Meetings that move things forward, and a few numbers that show how the business is really doing.
Structure that grows with you. The right hires at the right time, onboarded properly, with a plan for the next stage.
How I work
Engagements usually start with a diagnosis. From there, most go further: I design the structure and put it in place with your team, rather than leaving you a plan to execute alone.
Clarity Audit. I show you what isn't working and what to change first. You get a prioritised roadmap, and your team carries it out.
The Reset. I redesign the foundations (roles, decision rights, rhythm, handovers) and put them in place alongside the team.
Fractional Partner or Integrator. Senior operational leadership inside the business, two to three days a week.
Advisory. A thinking partner for founders and operational leaders: regular sessions and direct access in between, for when you need a senior operator's view rather than hands-on support.
These are starting points, not boxes. Some companies need a short, focused project, a mix of formats, or something none of these describe. In that case, we shape the engagement around the problem.
Every engagement starts with clear objectives, reviewed together as the business changes. The aim is a business that runs without heroics, mine included. I work with a maximum of three clients at a time.
Experience
16 years in operations, most of it in international companies and multi-country teams, across regulated digital businesses, professional services, technology and large-scale events.
Quoted in Startups Magazine UK (June 2026).
Fractional COO, independent practice: restructured how work gets done for established businesses, startups and VCs. Brought structure, processes and a shared rhythm to teams that had outgrown their informal ways of working; turned founders' know-how into operating references new hires learn from; ran operations workshops for portfolio founders; and advise founders and VC leadership as a thinking partner on priorities and leadership alignment.
COO, Moon Sisters: built governance and operational infrastructure from scratch in a regulated digital business.
Head of Operations, Amazee Labs: led the operational redesign after a restructuring, cutting operational costs by 60% and improving productivity by 25%.
Operations Manager, RGP: operations for a global professional services firm.
Operations Manager, EF Tours: multi-country operations, crisis management, and a pivotal role in a restructuring, including helping develop an internal itinerary system that brought every booking and trip document into one view. Also ran two events of 16,000+ attendees in partnership with the Canadian Government.
"Sara helped us turn processes that existed only in my head into a clear, documented and replicable structure, giving the team more autonomy and freeing up my time to focus on growing the business."
Mariana Chaves, Co-founder and CEO, ExpertGrain
Who I work with
Founder-led companies of any size and stage, from young startups to established businesses, and the investors who back them, anywhere in the world. The work is remote, with on-site visits when the engagement calls for them.
Questions founders ask
Do we need a fractional or a full-time COO? Many companies don't need a full-time COO, or don't need one yet. The work can't wait, but the role isn't 40 hours a week, or nobody can define it yet. A full-time COO is also a long, expensive hire: months to find, a senior salary, and hard to undo if the fit is wrong. I fix what's broken and build the structure. If you do need a full-time COO afterwards, I define the role and run the search with you.
How long does an engagement last? A Clarity Audit takes about two weeks. A Reset runs 6 to 10 weeks. Ongoing support has a minimum of three months, or six for the Integrator.
What does it cost? A Clarity Audit starts from €4,000 + IVA. Ongoing support, advisory and tailored engagements are priced after a first conversation, once the scope is clear.
More questions? The FAQ covers how the work runs, what changes inside the company and how quickly you'll see an impact.
Let’s talk
If growth has started to feel messy, book a conversation or write to sara@svitorino.com.