Yahoo is moving quickly to fill the void left this week by the surprising departure of sales chief Joanne Bradford by handing her duties temporarily to Yahoo North America head Hilary Schneider. A spokeswoman tells us that the company is “actively searching”—both internally and externally—for a replacement and that Schneider will “manage in the interim.”

SEE ALSO: Confirmed: Yahoo’s Bradford Joins Demand Media

The move should at least temporarily quell speculation about who will succeed Bradford at Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO). Schneider tells AdAge that the search is expected to take “a couple of months.” By all accounts, the departure of Bradford—who is leaving Yahoo to join Demand Media as its first chief revenue officer—was completely unexpected.

Schneider recently made an appearance at our recent paidContent2010 conference. Video highlights of her question and answer session is here.