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Head of Growth DeliveryFractional CMO · hiring brief
Hire a Freelance CMO
Hire a Freelance CMO: engage an experienced chief marketing officer on agreed days rather than as an employee, owning the marketing plan and the team while working for other clients the rest of the week.
Reviewed by Fractional Quest · updated 23 October 2026 · 5 sources linked below
- 3–5on every shortlist
- 5stages of vetting
- IR35set out on every brief
In the press
- Financial TimesThe executives going ‘fractional’, not freelance
- International FinanceRenting the C-suite, and why the fractional executive era has arrived
The brief
Hire a Freelance CMO: what must the role own?
Name the plan the CMO owns: positioning, channels and the targets the board will judge it by.
- 01The marketing planName the plan the CMO owns: positioning, channels and the targets the board will judge it by.
- 02Budget authoritySet the budget the CMO can commit and what needs approval.
- 03The teamSay which people and agencies report to the CMO on the agreed days.
- 04ReportingAgree the measures the CMO reports to the board and how often.
Role reference: Chartered Institute of Marketing: qualifications. CIM’s Level 7 Marketing Leadership Programme is aimed at marketers already operating at a strategic level; a useful marker of senior marketing training, not a substitute for evidence of results.
On the board · last 90 days
Which CMO roles are on the board?
Fractional CMO roles first, then the seat in any engagement and the wider function when the board runs short.
Every fractional role in the UK is on the fractional jobs board.
The working pattern
What changes when the CMO is fractional?
A freelance CMO and a fractional CMO are usually the same arrangement under two names: a senior marketer who owns the function on recurring days. The difference that matters is not the label but whether the brief gives them ownership of the plan and the budget, or only advice.
The illustrative brief: a scale-up whose founder still runs marketing. The founder writes the campaigns, two agencies report to nobody in particular and the board asks for a pipeline number nobody owns.
The appointment owns: The freelance CMO owns the plan, the agencies and the pipeline number on two days a week.
Another owner retains: The founder keeps the brand voice and the final word on pricing; sales keeps the forecast.
The case is illustrative; it does not describe a Fractional Quest placement.
From brief to start
How do you hire a Freelance CMO, 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.
- Day 001The 15-minute callWhat the CMO must own, the working pattern, the start date and the budget.You and us
- Week 102Scope agreed in writingThe outcome the seat exists for, the days, and how the engagement will run for IR35.Us
- Weeks 1–303Search, references, shortlistWe approach people who aren’t looking, verify tenure, take references ourselves and return three to five.Us
- Week 404DaysAgree the recurring days and how urgent work is handled between them.You
- Before day one · 205PlanShare the current plan, budget and the last quarter’s results before day one.You
- Before day one · 306ContractSet the IR35 position and the notice on both sides.You
- Before day one · 407First reviewReview one campaign decision and whether the agreed days held.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
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.
- Ownership, not adviceAsk for a plan the candidate owned end to end and what it delivered against target.
- Working across clientsAsk how the candidate protects your agreed days and handles a launch that lands on another client’s day.
- Agency managementAsk how the candidate briefed and held agencies to account.
- Senior trainingNote senior marketing training such as CIM’s Level 7 programme, then ask for the results behind it.
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.
- Pedigree screenTenureWe verify prior tenure in the seat, at the scale and stage you need. No consultant presenting as an executive.
- Mandate fitFitFit to your stage, sector and the problem the seat exists to solve, not a CV keyword.
- Reference deep-diveVerifyWe take references ourselves, from recent clients and boards: what they delivered, not what they titled it.
- ShortlistShortlistThree to five candidates, each with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out.
- Kick-offStartScope, 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
Hire a Freelance CMO: questions, answered
Hire a Freelance CMO begins with the marketing plan: Name the plan the CMO owns: positioning, channels and the targets the board will judge it by. Then a stated working pattern and the evidence you will ask every candidate to show.
A freelance CMO and a fractional CMO are usually the same arrangement under two names: a senior marketer who owns the function on recurring days. The difference that matters is not the label but whether the brief gives them ownership of the plan and the budget, or only advice.
Ownership, not advice. Ask for a plan the candidate owned end to end and what it delivered against target. Working across clients. Ask how the candidate protects your agreed days and handles a launch that lands on another client’s day. Agency management. Ask how the candidate briefed and held agencies to account. Senior training. Note senior marketing training such as CIM’s Level 7 programme, then ask for the results behind it.
Days. Agree the recurring days and how urgent work is handled between them. Plan. Share the current plan, budget and the last quarter’s results before day one. Contract. Set the IR35 position and the notice on both sides. First review. Review one campaign decision and whether the agreed days held.
Brief us on what the role must own, how it will work and when it must start. We come back with a shortlist of 3–5, each with pay or day rate, availability and IR35 position set out, after five-stage vetting.
Sources
Where does every reference on this page come from?
- cim.co.uk
- HMRC
- legislation.gov.uk
- 1
- 2Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027 HMRCEmployer National Insurance at 15% above £5,000 a year.
- 3Understanding off-payroll working (IR35) HMRCStatus depends on how the engagement runs; medium and large clients make the determination.
- 4
- 5Employment Agencies Act 1973 legislation.gov.ukThe law a recruitment agency works under; no fee to a work-seeker.