Chief marketing officer services · fractional, interim, part-time, permanent

CMO Services · fractional, interim, part-time and permanent

CMO services come in four shapes: fractional, interim, part-time and permanent.

The CMO owns growth from the market side: positioning, brand, demand generation and the marketing team and budget behind them.

This hub sets out what the seat covers, which shape fits which situation, and what the market publishes on rates.

Each route has its own page; every brief gets a shortlist of 3–5 with rate, availability and IR35 position set out.

Submit a brief → →

How a brief runswhat we undertake

01Brief30-MINUTE SCOPING CALLDay 0
02Shortlist of 3–5VETTED · RATE BENCHMARK · IR35After the brief
03InterviewsYOU MEET THE SHORTLISTYour diary
04Scoped startFIRST-MONTH OUTCOMES AGREEDYou set the date
05Fractional, interim and permanentIR35 POSITION SET OUTOn every brief

Shortlist3–5

£750–£1,400

Fractional day rate · Connectd 2026

£700–£2,000

Interim day rate · Exec Capital 2026

£110,250–£183,750

Permanent salary · Robert Half 2026

15 minutes · video or phone

Book 15 minutes to hire a CMO

Tell us the scope and the days a week. We come back with CMO Services candidates, their day rates and availability.

0115 minutes, video or phone
02We scope the role and the days a week
03A shortlist of 3–5 after the call
04Fractional, interim and permanent briefs

Prefer email? Use the booking page →

Pick a day that suits · live availability

Open the booking calendar →

01/ the role

What CMO services cover

The CMO owns growth from the market side: positioning, brand, demand generation and the marketing team and budget behind them.

In scope: marketing strategy, positioning and brand; demand generation and pipeline contribution; the marketing budget and channel mix; building and leading the marketing team and agencies; customer insight and market research.

Sales execution belongs to the sales leader and, at board level, the CRO.

Product decisions belong to the product leader, informed by marketing.

What the seat does day to day is set out in the CMO role explained; executives looking for this work can see current CMO roles; the full cost picture is on the CMO cost guide.

02/ scope

Four ways to buy the CMO seat

Fractional CMO services

A fractional CMO holds the CMO seat on a standing weekly commitment, usually alongside a small number of other clients, and owns outcomes rather than hours.

A fractional CMO sets strategy, directs agencies and builds the team on a standing weekly commitment, which suits a business that needs senior marketing judgement before it needs a full-time executive.

Fractional CMO services sets out the scope, the rates and how we shortlist.

Interim CMO services

An interim CMO works full-time for a fixed term to cover a gap, lead a change or see a transaction through, then hands over.

Interim executives are hired for immediate impact: they expect to take decisions from the first week.

Interim CMO services sets out the scope, the rates and how we shortlist.

Part-Time CMO services

A part-time CMO works set days each week for one organisation.

A part-time CMO works set days each week as part of the leadership team, suited to a business with a marketing team that needs consistent senior direction.

Part-Time CMO services sets out the scope, the rates and how we shortlist.

Permanent CMO

A permanent CMO is right when marketing is a large budget and team, or brand and demand are core to the company’s value.

Our permanent CMO search page covers the process.

Outsourced CMO services

Sold as virtual CMO: a provider or a named individual off your payroll.

See outsourced CMO services.

03/ the route

Fractional, interim or permanent?

Four taps. The answer names the route for the seat and the page that covers it.

How much of the week does the work fill?

Is there a fixed end or a programme?

Does the seat sit on the board for years?

Is the need now, or can it wait for a search?

The route · Fractional

A fractional CMO services.

The work fills part of the week, so buy the days it needs.

A fractional CMO services holds the seat on agreed days for as long as the seat is needed, and works for other clients on the rest.

The fractional CMO services route Talk it through

04/ rates by stage

CMO rates what the published benchmarks say

Every figure is the named source’s own published band. Fractional Quest publishes no fees: each candidate on a shortlist states their own rate.

BenchmarkPublished figureSource

Fractional CMO day rate£750–£1,400Connectd 2026

Interim CMO day rate£700–£2,000Exec Capital 2026

Permanent CMO salary (25th–75th percentile)£110,250–£183,750Robert Half 2026

05/ comparison

Four ways to buy a CMO fractional, interim, part-time or permanent

The same CMO seat can be filled four ways. The difference is commitment, contract and how long you need it.

FractionalInterimPart-timePermanent

CommitmentDays a week, ongoingFull-time, fixed termSet days each weekFull-time, open-ended

Usual contractContract for services, often via the executive’s companyDay-rate contract for the mandateOften pro-rata employment; sometimes a contractorEmployment contract

Clients at onceA small portfolioOneOneOne

Best whenYou need CMO judgement every week, not every dayYou need full-time cover or a change led nowYou want the same person on the same days for the long termThe seat is full-time work for years

ExitNotice period, or convert to permanentHand-over at the end of the mandateEmployment noticeResignation or redundancy

06/ timing

Which shape fits your situation

Match the shape to the work, not the title.

Scenario 01

Weekly judgement

Fractional

You need a CMO to own decisions every week, but the work does not fill five days.

Growth that depends on founder networks, agencies with no strategy above them, a rebrand or launch with a date, or marketing spend nobody can tie to pipeline.

Scenario 02

Now, full-time

Interim

A product launch, market entry or rebrand needs full-time senior leadership until it lands.

Scenario 03

Long term

Part-time or permanent

A part-time CMO works set days each week as part of the leadership team, suited to a business with a marketing team that needs consistent senior direction.

A permanent CMO is right when marketing is a large budget and team, or brand and demand are core to the company’s value.

07/ vetting

How we vet the shortlist

Five stages: qualification, mandate fit, reference deep-dive, shortlist and analysis, kick-off.

01
Qualification screen
Verify CMO Services tenure, sector context and stage fit.
SOURCING
02
Mandate fit
Match to your situation — stage, board dynamics, timing.
MATCHING
03
Reference deep-dive
We take references ourselves, from recent past clients — real outcomes, not titles.
VERIFY
04
Shortlist
Three to five candidates with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out.
SHORTLIST OF 3–5

08/ before you brief

Before you buy CMO services what to decide first

The decisions.

Write down the three decisions the CMO will own in the next ninety days.

That list decides the shape: weekly decisions point to fractional, a time-bound programme to interim, a steady load to part-time.

The neighbours.

The CMO owns the market and the message; the marketing director runs the function day to day; the CRO joins marketing, sales and customer success into one revenue number.

The checks.

The UK professional body for marketers: see the Chartered Institute of Marketing.

For a contractor engagement, agree how it will run in practice, because that decides IR35 status; HMRC’s guidance for clients sets out who makes the determination.

09/ questions

CMO services FAQ

The questions people ask before bringing in a CMO.

Ways of filling the CMO seat without, or before, a permanent hire: fractional (days a week, ongoing), interim (full-time, fixed term) and part-time (set days, one employer), alongside a permanent search. The CMO owns growth from the market side: positioning, brand, demand generation and the marketing team and budget behind them.

Fractional when you need CMO judgement every week but not every day; interim when you need full-time cover or a change led now; part-time when the load is steady and you want the same person long term; permanent when the seat is full-time work for years.

Published UK bands: Fractional CMO day rate £750–£1,400 (Connectd 2026); Interim CMO day rate £700–£2,000 (Exec Capital 2026); Permanent CMO salary (25th–75th percentile) £110,250–£183,750 (Robert Half 2026). Fractional Quest publishes no fees; each candidate on a shortlist states their rate.

Sales execution belongs to the sales leader and, at board level, the CRO. Product decisions belong to the product leader, informed by marketing.

You brief us on scope, shape and start date. We come back with a shortlist of 3–5, each with rate, availability and IR35 position set out, assessed through our five-stage vetting.

Book 15 minutes · shortlist of 3–5

Bring the brief. We architect the team.

A shortlist of 3–5 with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out, after five-stage vetting.

Book a call →Submit a brief