Trinny LondonSyndicatedInterim
Interim Head of MarketingPermanent VP of Marketing · hiring brief
Hire a VP of Marketing
Hire a VP of Marketing: decide whether you need a marketing executive or a leader of the marketing team, write the budget and pipeline they own, and test them on your own numbers.
Reviewed by Fractional Quest · updated 1 November 2026 · 4 sources linked below
- 3–5on every shortlist
- 5stages of vetting
- IR35set out on every brief
On the board · last 90 days
Which roles are on the board now?
Permanent VP of Marketing roles first, then the seat in any engagement and the wider function when the board runs short.
- E.ON NextSyndicatedContractHead of Growth Delivery
Every fractional role in the UK is on the fractional jobs board.
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 VP of Marketing: what must the role own?
The marketers and agencies they lead.
- 01TeamThe marketers and agencies they lead.
- 02BudgetWhat they control and approve.
- 03PipelineThe commercial measures they are judged on.
- 04ReportingTo a CMO, CRO or CEO.
Role reference: Chartered Institute of Marketing: global professional marketing framework. The CIM framework describes marketing leadership capabilities, useful for placing a VP of marketing between a CMO and a marketing manager.
VP or CMO
Hire a VP of marketing or a CMO?
Write the seat before the title.
Hire a VP of marketing when the gap is running the team and the pipeline. Hire a CMO when the gap is marketing strategy in the executive team.
Vice president titles are more common in US-headquartered companies; in the UK the same seat is often a marketing director.
The working pattern
What changes when the VP of Marketing is permanent?
A vice president of marketing usually runs the marketing function day to day and reports to a CMO, a CRO or the CEO. A CMO owns marketing strategy at executive level.
The illustrative brief: a B2B software company without a marketing leader. Four marketers report to the CRO, who has no time for them. Pipeline from marketing is falling.
The appointment owns: The company hires a VP of marketing reporting to the CRO.
Another owner retains: The CRO keeps targets; the CEO keeps brand positioning.
The case is illustrative; it does not describe a Fractional Quest placement.
From brief to start
How do you hire a VP of Marketing, step by step?
Hire a VP of Marketing, in practice: 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 VP of Marketing 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 404MandateTeam, budget, measures, reporting line.You
- Before day one · 205DataPipeline, spend and attribution.You
- Before day one · 306IntroductionsSales, product and agencies.You
- Before day one · 407First outputA channel review in the first month.You
Assessment
How should you assess each candidate?
Hire a VP of Marketing on evidence: put the same work in front of each candidate before comparing answers.
- Comparable workAsk for a pipeline result they owned and how they measured it.
- AuthorityTest a budget trade-off with sales.
- TeamAsk how they developed a marketer into a lead.
- HandoverAsk what reporting ran when they left.
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 VP of Marketing: questions, answered
A brief to hire a VP of Marketing begins with team: The marketers and agencies they lead. Then a stated working pattern and the evidence you will ask every candidate to show.
A vice president of marketing usually runs the marketing function day to day and reports to a CMO, a CRO or the CEO. A CMO owns marketing strategy at executive level.
Comparable work. Ask for a pipeline result they owned and how they measured it. Authority. Test a budget trade-off with sales. Team. Ask how they developed a marketer into a lead. Handover. Ask what reporting ran when they left.
Mandate. Team, budget, measures, reporting line. Data. Pipeline, spend and attribution. Introductions. Sales, product and agencies. First output. A channel review in the first month.
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
- 2Understanding off-payroll working (IR35) HMRCStatus depends on how the engagement runs; medium and large clients make the determination.
- 3
- 4Employment Agencies Act 1973 legislation.gov.ukThe law a recruitment agency works under; no fee to a work-seeker.