Fractional marketing director salary · pro-rata of the permanent salary

What a fractional marketing director earns · pro-rata of the permanent salary

No independent UK source publishes a fractional marketing director day rate.

The figures here are the permanent marketing director salary from Robert Half spread across working days — our arithmetic, a pro-rata floor for comparison, not a market rate.

Robert Half’s 2026 national median is £79,500.

Over 220 working days that is about £360 a day.

A fractional marketing director salary is what those days add up to.

At one day a week for 46 weeks, the pro-rata line is £16,560 a year (our arithmetic).

When you hire a fractional marketing director through us, we send a shortlist of 3–5, each with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out.

Brief us on a fractional marketing director →See the roles

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

In the press

Fast Company 16 leaders on when fractional C-suite hires make sense · 24 Jun 2026
Leaders disagree on when a fractional hire makes sense and when a seat needs a full-time owner. Read it before you decide how many days of a marketing director your business needs.

£79,500

Marketing director salary, median · permanent, national; range £70,000–£90,000

Robert Half, 2026

£360

Day equivalent · £79,500 ÷ 220 working days, our arithmetic

Our arithmetic on Robert Half

£16,560

One day a week · a year: £360 × 46 weeks, our arithmetic

Our arithmetic on Robert Half

3–5

Shortlist · with day rate, availability and IR35 set out

15 minutes · video or phone

Book 15 minutes to hire a fractional marketing director

Tell us the scope and the days a week. We come back with Fractional Marketing Director 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

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On the board · last 3 months

Fractional Marketing director jobs on the board

0 Fractional Marketing director · 9 fractional executive

No Fractional Marketing director roles on the board in the last three months. Showing fractional executive roles instead.

Browse every role on the board →

Fractional marketing director roles on the board

Fractional recruiting starts with the brief, not the CV pile. Send a Fractional Marketing Director brief and we come back with a shortlist of three to five candidates, each through five-stage vetting.

01/ the role

How a fractional marketing director is paid, and why the figures here are arithmetic

A fractional marketing director runs marketing for part of the week, often for more than one business.

The client pays a day rate, or a monthly retainer for an agreed number of days.

There is no salary from the client.

No independent UK source publishes a day rate for this route.

We do not quote providers’ own price lists as the market.

So this page starts from what is published: Robert Half’s 2026 permanent marketing director salary, £70,000–£90,000 nationally with a median of £79,500, and £95,250–£122,500 in London with a median of £108,000.

The method is simple.

We divide the salary by 220 working days, our assumption for a full-time year, and round to the nearest £10.

We then multiply that day by 46 weeks at one, two and three days a week, leaving six weeks for holidays and bank holidays (our assumption; GOV.UK sets out the statutory holiday entitlement).

The result is a pro-rata line for comparison.

It is not what any fractional marketing director charges.

A marketing director can also be employed part-time on a salary.

A part-time employee must not be treated less favourably than a comparable full-time one, and some benefits are applied pro rata (GOV.UK).

For that route, the pro-rata line on this page is close to the salary itself.

02/ scope

How to hire a fractional marketing director

1. Count the days the work needs

List what the marketing director must own: the plan and budget, the agencies, a launch, the pipeline marketing hands to sales.

Then estimate the days a month it takes.

The days set the cost; the work sets the seniority.

2. Ask every candidate for the same three numbers

Ask for the day rate, the days a week or month, and the notice either side can give.

Put the quotes side by side with the pro-rata line in the table below.

That shows you how each quote compares with spreading a permanent salary across the same days.

3. Check the standing and the rules

The CIM’s Chartered Marketer status is a useful signal of professional standing, not a requirement.

Whoever runs your marketing signs off work that must meet the CAP Code, which the Advertising Standards Authority enforces, and the direct marketing rules the ICO explains.

What we do on a fractional brief

We recruit fractional, interim, part-time, temporary and permanent marketing leaders, and non-executive directors.

We send a shortlist of 3–5, each with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out, and every candidate goes through our five-stage vetting first.

Roles on the board are on fractional marketing director jobs.

03/ the week

How a week divides.

Part of a week is the point of the model: the days you buy are yours, the rest of the week goes to other clients. Move the days a week and the week redraws.

Days a week for your company2 days

Your companyAnother clientA third client

Mon

Tue

Wed

Thu

Fri

Illustration only: one way a fractional marketing director’s week can divide at 2 days a week for you. Each block is half a day.

04/ the board

What the board holds.

A read of the roles on the board on this page, counted as they stand: how each is engaged, whether the posting gives the days and the rate, and where the work happens.

On this board, last 90 days · 9 roles · fractional executive

Engagement

Fractional9

Seat

CFO3
CHRO1
General counsel1
HRD1
CISO1
Other1
Other seats1

Days a week

Stated in the posting4
Not stated5

Day rate

Verified rate1
Estimated (est)4
Rate not stated4

Work arrangement (as the job feed classifies it)

Remote2
Hybrid5
On-site2

Newest posting on the board: 6 Oct 2026.

Postings per week on this board, last 90 days

9 postings on this board in the last 90 days, counted by the week each was published.

05/ 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 marketing director.

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

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

The fractional marketing director route Talk it through

06/ rates by stage

Fractional marketing director salary pro-rata of the permanent salary, our arithmetic

Our arithmetic, not a market rate. Each salary is Robert Half’s 2026 permanent marketing director figure (base, starting salary projections). The day equivalent is the salary ÷ 220 working days, rounded to the nearest £10. The yearly columns are that rounded day × 46 weeks at one, two and three days a week. No independent UK source publishes a fractional marketing director day rate. Robert Half is a recruiter.

Permanent salaryDay equivalent (÷ 220)1 day a week, a year2 days a week, a year3 days a week, a yearSalary source

National, low of range: £70,000£320£14,720£29,440£44,160Robert Half, 2026

National, median: £79,500£360£16,560£33,120£49,680Robert Half, 2026

National, high of range: £90,000£410£18,860£37,720£56,580Robert Half, 2026

London, low of range: £95,250£430£19,780£39,560£59,340Robert Half, 2026

London, median: £108,000£490£22,540£45,080£67,620Robert Half, 2026

London, high of range: £122,500£560£25,760£51,520£77,280Robert Half, 2026

07/ economics

What a day rate leaves out, and who settles IR35

A day rate paid to a director’s own company carries no paid holiday, sick pay or employer pension.

An employee on the same pro-rata salary would have them, including the employer’s workplace pension contributions.

If the director’s company is registered for VAT, VAT is added to each invoice.

Ask whether a quote includes it.

Tax status is decided by how the engagement runs, not by the title or the contract alone.

Under the off-payroll working rules (IR35), a medium or large client makes the status determination; for a small client outside the public sector, the director’s own company decides.

The rules apply engagement by engagement.

HMRC’s CEST tool gives its view on one engagement, and our IR35 guide sets out the tests.

08/ vetting

How we vet fractional marketing directors

What we undertake on every brief, before a candidate reaches you.

01
Qualification screen
Verify Fractional Marketing Director 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

09/ fractional marketing director day rate

Fractional marketing director day rate: what to ask for in a quote

No independent UK source publishes a fractional marketing director day rate, so the quotes you receive are the market for your brief.

Ask each candidate for the same things: the day rate, the days a week or month, the notice either side can give, and whether VAT is added.

Then lay each quote against the pro-rata line.

On Robert Half’s national median, a permanent marketing director’s salary spreads to about £360 a day; on its London median, about £490 (our arithmetic).

The gap between a quote and that line is a question to ask, not a verdict on the candidate.

To model the days and the total, use the rate calculator.

10/ the three pay bases

Permanent, interim or fractional: three ways to pay for the seat

A permanent marketing director is paid a salary and package; see marketing director salary for every benchmark and what the seat costs an employer.

An interim covers the seat full-time for a fixed period, on a day rate; see interim marketing director salary.

A fractional marketing director is paid only for the days bought.

Compare the total for the days you need, not the headline numbers.

If the seat needs a full-time owner, hire a marketing director on that basis.

For the role itself, see what a marketing director does.

11/ questions

Fractional marketing director salary FAQ

The questions people ask before bringing in a fractional marketing director.

A fractional marketing director is paid a day rate or retainer, not a salary. No independent UK source publishes that rate. Spread across 220 working days, Robert Half’s £79,500 permanent median comes to about £360 a day, or £16,560 a year at one day a week for 46 weeks (our arithmetic, a comparison and not a market rate).

No independent UK source publishes one. As a comparison, Robert Half’s 2026 permanent salary spreads to about £320–£410 a day nationally and £430–£560 in London, over 220 working days (our arithmetic, rounded to the nearest £10). The quotes you receive are the market for your brief.

We take Robert Half’s 2026 permanent marketing director salary, divide it by 220 working days and round to the nearest £10. For a year, we multiply that day by 46 weeks at one, two or three days a week. Both 220 days and 46 weeks are our assumptions, stated so you can change them.

On Robert Half’s £79,500 national median, the pro-rata line is £33,120 a year at two days a week and £49,680 at three. On its £108,000 London median it is £45,080 and £67,620. All are our arithmetic, at 46 weeks a year.

Count the days the work needs, then ask every candidate for the same three numbers: day rate, days, and notice. Compare the quotes with the pro-rata line and settle IR35 status before you agree terms. Roles on the board are on fractional marketing director jobs.

The day rate times the days. As a pro-rata comparison, one day a week on Robert Half’s national median is £16,560 a year, about £1,380 a month (our arithmetic). Add VAT if the director’s company is registered. We send a shortlist of 3–5, each with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out.

It depends on how each engagement runs. A medium or large client makes the status determination; a small private-sector client leaves it to the director’s own company (HMRC). Status is set contract by contract, not per person.

No. A day rate paid to the director’s own company carries no paid holiday, sick pay or employer pension. That is one reason a quote and the pro-rata line can differ. A part-time employee, by contrast, gets those benefits, some of them pro rata.

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.

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