FractionalQuestAsk about this roleSign inBook a call

Permanent CMO · hiring brief

CMO for Hire

CMO for Hire: choose the engagement first (fractional, interim, part-time or permanent), then brief the marketing decisions the CMO will own and test candidates on your own numbers.

Brief us on this role →See CMO roles

Reviewed by Fractional Quest · updated 28 October 2026 · 5 sources linked below

  • 3–5on every shortlist
  • 5stages of vetting
  • IR35set out on every brief
CMO for Hire: a marketing leader walking her team through campaign concepts (illustration)

On the board · last 90 days

Which CMO roles are on the board?

Permanent CMO roles first, then the seat in any engagement and the wider function when the board runs short.

Roles

See every role on the board →

Every fractional role in the UK is on the fractional jobs board.

In the press

The brief

CMO for Hire: what must the role own?

Decide how much of the week and for how long marketing needs an executive.

  • 01EngagementDecide how much of the week and for how long marketing needs an executive.
  • 02DecisionsList the strategy, budget and team decisions the CMO owns.
  • 03BoardSay how marketing reports to the CEO and board.
  • 04MeasuresAgree the commercial results the CMO is judged on.

Role reference: Chartered Institute of Marketing framework. The CIM framework describes the marketing leadership capabilities that apply whichever way a CMO for hire is engaged.

For hire

CMO for hire: which engagement?

Fractional for part of each week, interim for a defined gap, part-time employed, or permanent.

Fractional suits a business that needs senior marketing judgement but not five days of it. Interim covers a departure or a launch with an end date. Permanent suits a seat that needs an owner for years.

Whichever you choose, the brief is the same: the decisions the CMO will own, the budget they control and the results you will judge.

The working pattern

What changes when the CMO is permanent?

A CMO for hire can join on any engagement. The marketing problem decides which: a part-week owner, a cover for a defined gap, or a permanent executive.

The illustrative brief: a business choosing its first CMO. Revenue has grown through founder sales; marketing is a coordinator and an agency. The board wants a marketing executive but is unsure how much of one.

The appointment owns: The company hires a fractional CMO for six months to set the strategy and define the permanent role.

Another owner retains: The board keeps the decision on a permanent CMO at the review point.

The case is illustrative; it does not describe a Fractional Quest placement.

From brief to start

How do you hire a CMO for hire, step by step?

The first three steps are ours; the last four are what has to be true before the first day. We don’t promise a shortlist by a date.

  1. Day 0
    01
    The 15-minute call
    What the CMO must own, the working pattern, the start date and the budget.
    You and us
  2. Week 1
    02
    Scope agreed in writing
    The outcome the seat exists for, the days, and how the engagement will run for IR35.
    Us
  3. Weeks 1–3
    03
    Search, references, shortlist
    We approach people who aren’t looking, verify tenure, take references ourselves and return three to five.
    Us
  4. Week 4
    04
    Route
    Confirm the engagement, days or term, and review point.
    You
  5. Before day one · 2
    05
    Data
    Provide revenue, pipeline, spend and customer research.
    You
  6. Before day one · 3
    06
    Team
    Introduce the team, agencies and sales lead.
    You
  7. Before day one · 4
    07
    First decision
    Pick one live marketing decision for the CMO to own.
    You

Your figures

What does part of a CMO’s week cost?

Rate × days × weeks, against a loaded full-time package. Move the sliders; the numbers redraw.

  • CMO band £750–£1,400 (Connectd 2026)
Year-one cost, fractional
£101,200
2 days a week · 46 weeks · day fees, before tax · our arithmetic
Fractional executive£101,200
Full-time CMO, loaded£168,300£765 a day over 220 days · our arithmetic
Fractional costs less in year one by£67,100

Our arithmetic. £147,000 Robert Half 2026 median salary + employer NI at 15% above £5,000 (HMRC) = £168,300. Excludes pension, bonus and any search fee.

Assessment

How should you assess CMO candidates?

Put the same work and evidence in front of each candidate before comparing answers.

  1. Comparable decision
    Ask for a marketing strategy they owned and its commercial effect.
  2. Authority
    Test how they would work with the CEO on a budget trade-off.
  3. Team
    Ask how they built or restructured a marketing team.
  4. Handover
    Ask how they set up a successor or a permanent hire.

Acas recommends a consistent, fair selection process: choosing who to interview.

Vetting

What happens before anyone reaches your shortlist?

Five stages before a candidate reaches a shortlist of three to five.

  1. Pedigree screen
    Tenure
    We verify prior tenure in the seat, at the scale and stage you need. No consultant presenting as an executive.
  2. Mandate fit
    Fit
    Fit to your stage, sector and the problem the seat exists to solve, not a CV keyword.
  3. Reference deep-dive
    Verify
    We take references ourselves, from recent clients and boards: what they delivered, not what they titled it.
  4. Shortlist
    Shortlist
    Three to five candidates, each with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out.
  5. Kick-off
    Start
    Scope, first-month outcomes and the contract agreed before day one.

The full process is on how we vet.

The right pattern

Does this hiring pattern fit the work?

Test the amount of the week, the expected end and the continuity needed before writing the contract.

Questions

CMO for Hire: questions, answered

A brief to hire a CMO for hire begins with engagement: Decide how much of the week and for how long marketing needs an executive. Then a stated working pattern and the evidence you will ask every candidate to show.

Read next

Related hiring and role pages

Sources

Where does every reference on this page come from?

  • cim.co.uk
  • HMRC
  • legislation.gov.uk
  1. 1
    Chartered Institute of Marketing framework cim.co.uk
  2. 2
    Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027 HMRC
    Employer National Insurance at 15% above £5,000 a year.
  3. 3
    Understanding off-payroll working (IR35) HMRC
    Status depends on how the engagement runs; medium and large clients make the determination.
  4. 4
    Check employment status for tax (CEST) HMRC
    HMRC’s own status check for each engagement.
  5. 5
    Employment Agencies Act 1973 legislation.gov.uk
    The law a recruitment agency works under; no fee to a work-seeker.

For hiring managers

Bring the brief. We bring the shortlist.

Sign up now →Book a call

  1. A shortlist of 3–5, each with day rate, availability and IR35 position
  2. Fractional, interim, part-time, temporary or permanent — and non-executive directors
  3. Every candidate through our five-stage vetting
  4. Your briefs and their candidates, in one room