Who is an interim manager
An interim manager is an experienced manager temporarily placed into a company on a full or near-full-time basis, usually for 6 to 18 months. They are in the company most of the week, lead the team in day-to-day operations and hold the position after a permanent manager leaves or during a transformation. They always work for one company at a time.
The interim manager's role in practice
An interim manager steps in where a company has lost its leadership and cannot wait. A typical scenario: the sales director resigned, a team of eight salespeople needs someone who, from Monday, runs the meetings, approves proposals and holds the pipeline together. Hiring a permanent successor takes months - the interim manager bridges that time.
Key traits of the role:
- Full commitment to one company. The interim manager is in the company most of the week, in meetings, in operations.
- Holds and bridges. They come into a working structure; their job is continuity, not a rebuild.
- Has a defined end. They leave when a permanent successor starts or the transformation ends. Selecting and onboarding a successor is part of good interim work.
- Invoices, but behaves like a permanent manager. Formally a B2B relationship, in practice a member of leadership.
When to look for an interim manager and when not
An interim manager is the right choice when a company has a built team and a working department, it just lacks a head. But if marketing is held by one junior and the owner does sales alone, there is nothing to bridge - there is no team that would require daily management.
In that situation the company does not need a full-time interim manager for 100 to 150 thousand a month. It needs senior leadership for part of the week, which sets the strategy, leads the people who already exist and builds what is missing. This model is called fractional, and few people in the Czech market know it yet - abroad it is a standard alternative. An external director for 1 to 3 days a week: a fractional CMO for marketing, a fractional CSO for sales.
The difference in price is fundamental: the fractional model starts from 38 thousand CZK per month, because you are not paying for presence but for strategic work in the hours that make sense.
How to tell which model you need
Ask yourself two questions. First: do we have a team that needs daily management? Second: are we building or holding? If you answer "we have a team" and "holding", look for an interim manager. If "the team is only forming" and "building", look for fractional. And if you are not sure, that is information in itself - companies that are not sure usually have nothing to hold.
Updated: July 2026
Frequently asked questions
What does an interim manager do?
They take over a management position in full: they lead the team, run daily operations, make decisions and keep continuity until the company finds a permanent solution. They often also help select and onboard their successor.
How much does an interim manager charge?
At the level of a marketing or sales director, typically 100 to 150 thousand CZK per month. The price reflects full commitment to one company.
How does an interim manager differ from a fractional manager?
An interim manager works for one company full time and bridges a leadership gap. A fractional manager works for 2 to 4 companies 1 to 3 days a week and comes to build strategy and a system, not to hold them.
Is an interim manager the same as a crisis manager?
Not necessarily. Crisis management is one possible interim situation, but most interim briefs are ordinary bridging: a manager leaving, parental leave, transformation. Crisis is a subset, not the definition.
The fractional model in practice
We describe what fractional leadership of marketing and sales looks like in a complete guide. And if you have a specific situation, let us meet over lunch. No slides, no commitments.