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Fractional Marketing director services

Fractional Marketing Director Services · a fractional marketing director, briefed and shortlisted

Fractional marketing director services put a fractional marketing director into your business on a standing weekly commitment.

The marketing director runs the marketing function: plans, campaigns, channels, agencies and the team delivering them.

This page sets out what the service covers, when fractional is the right shape, and how we come back with a shortlist of 3–5, each with rate, availability and IR35 position set out.

Submit a brief → →

How a brief runswhat we undertake

  1. 01Brief30-MINUTE SCOPING CALLDay 0
  2. 02Shortlist of 3–5VETTED · RATE BENCHMARK · IR35After the brief
  3. 03InterviewsYOU MEET THE SHORTLISTYour diary
  4. 04Scoped startFIRST-MONTH OUTCOMES AGREEDYou set the date
  5. 05Fractional, interim and permanentIR35 POSITION SET OUTOn every brief

Shortlist3–5

Days a week, ongoing
Commitment

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 Services candidates, their day rates and availability.

  1. 0115 minutes, video or phone
  2. 02We scope the role and the days a week
  3. 03A shortlist of 3–5 after the call
  4. 04Fractional, interim and permanent briefs
Prefer email? Use the booking page →

Pick a day that suits · live availability

01/ the role

What fractional marketing director services cover

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

A fractional marketing director gives an SME a senior marketer on a standing weekly commitment to plan, direct agencies and coach the team.

The service covers the annual marketing plan and budget, campaign delivery across channels, agency and supplier management, and marketing operations, reporting and attribution and leading the marketing team.

If you are weighing the options, the same seat is also bought as interim marketing director services, part-time marketing director services, or permanent marketing director search.

What the seat does day to day is set out in the marketing director role explained; executives looking for this work can see current marketing director roles.

02/ scope

What is in scope — and what is not

In scope

The annual marketing plan and budget; campaign delivery across channels; agency and supplier management; marketing operations, reporting and attribution; leading the marketing team.

Not in scope

Company-level positioning and growth strategy may sit with a CMO where one exists.

Sales execution belongs to the sales director.

Marketing director or a neighbouring seat?

The marketing director runs the function; the CMO sets company-level growth strategy and sits on the board.

The scoping test: write down the three decisions you need the marketing director to own in the next ninety days. If you cannot, you are not ready to brief.

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.

Your companyAnother clientA third client

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 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 services.

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

A fractional marketing director 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 marketing director services routeTalk it through

05/ comparison

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

The same marketing director 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 marketing director 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

When fractional marketing director services are the right call

Three situations where the fractional shape beats the alternatives.

Scenario 01

Before full-time

Marketing director judgement, not marketing director hours

You need someone to own the annual marketing plan and budget and campaign delivery across channels, but the work does not fill five days a week yet.

Scenario 02

Signals

The trigger has arrived

A marketing team without a senior lead, agencies directing themselves, campaigns that are busy but not measured, or a CEO doing the marketing director’s job.

Scenario 03

Alongside a team

Senior direction for a capable team

The team can deliver; it needs someone senior to set direction on agency and supplier management and hold the standard.

07/ vetting

How we vet the shortlist

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

  1. 01

    Qualification screen

    Verify Fractional Marketing Director Services tenure, sector context and stage fit.

    SOURCING
  2. 02

    Mandate fit

    Match to your situation — stage, board dynamics, timing.

    MATCHING
  3. 03

    Reference deep-dive

    We take references ourselves, from recent past clients — real outcomes, not titles.

    VERIFY
  4. 04

    Shortlist

    Three to five candidates with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out.

    SHORTLIST OF 3–5

08/ how it runs

How a fractional marketing director engagement runs from brief to hand-over

Brief.

You tell us the scope, the days each week and the start date, and what success looks like in the first ninety days.

A clear brief names the decisions the marketing director will own.

Shortlist.

We come back with 3–5 fractional marketing directors against the brief, each with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out, assessed through our five-stage vetting.

Cadence.

A fractional marketing director works best with fixed days, a standing slot with the CEO and a seat at the board.

Review the commitment each quarter: days go up before a big moment and down once the machine runs.

Hand-over.

If the seat grows into full-time work, the fractional marketing director can help recruit the permanent successor, or convert themselves.

09/ before you sign

Before you buy fractional marketing director services three checks

Standing.

Check professional standing and references before you sign: the UK advertising rules a marketing lead is accountable for; see the CAP Code from the ASA.

Status.

Agree how the engagement will run in practice, because that decides its IR35 status; HMRC’s guidance for clients sets out who makes the status determination.

Scope.

Write down what is out of scope.

Company-level positioning and growth strategy may sit with a CMO where one exists.

Sales execution belongs to the sales director.

10/ questions

Fractional Marketing Director services FAQ

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

The marketing director seat’s full scope: the annual marketing plan and budget; campaign delivery across channels; agency and supplier management; marketing operations, reporting and attribution; leading the marketing team. Company-level positioning and growth strategy may sit with a CMO where one exists. Sales execution belongs to the sales director.
It depends on scope, sector and days. We do not publish a band for this seat because no source we can verify publishes one; each candidate on our shortlist states their own rate, so you compare like with like.
An interim marketing director works full-time for a fixed term, usually to cover a gap or lead a change. A fractional marketing director works a standing number of days each week, often for several clients, for as long as the business needs it.
A marketing team without a senior lead, agencies directing themselves, campaigns that are busy but not measured, or a CEO doing the marketing director’s job. Fractional is the right shape when the seat needs senior judgement every week but not every day.
It depends on how the engagement runs in practice — control, substitution and whether the marketing director is part and parcel of your organisation. For medium and large private-sector clients, the client makes the status determination. Each candidate on our shortlist states their IR35 position.
You brief us on the scope, the days and the start date. We come back with a shortlist of 3–5 fractional marketing directors, each with day rate or salary, 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

11/ related

Keep exploring

Adjacent roles and reading.

/marketing-director-servicesAll marketing director services

Fractional, interim, part-time and permanent, side by side.

/interim-marketing-director-servicesInterim Marketing Director Services

Full-time for a fixed term.

/part-time-marketing-director-servicesPart-Time Marketing Director Services

Set days each week.

/what-does-a-marketing-director-doThe marketing director role explained

What the seat does day to day.

/vettingHow we vet

The five-stage process behind every shortlist.

Executive servicesMarketing Director services hubThe marketing director seat, fractionalThe marketing director seat, interimIR35 guide

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
Fractional Quest logo — how to brief fractional marketing director services, fractional marketing director services