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Fractional Paid Media Manager · hiring brief

Hire a Fractional Paid Media Manager

Hire a Fractional Paid Media Manager: set the channels, budget and targets the paid media manager runs, the advertising rules they follow and who approves spend changes.

Brief us on this role →How it works

Reviewed by Fractional Quest · updated 28 October 2026 · 4 sources linked below

  • 3–5on every shortlist
  • 5stages of vetting
  • IR35set out on every brief
Hire a Fractional Paid Media Manager: leadership meeting in a Covent Garden office (illustration)

In the press

The brief

Hire a Fractional Paid Media Manager: what must the role own?

Name the channels.

  • 01ChannelsName the channels.
  • 02BudgetSet spend and change limits.
  • 03TargetsAgree cost and return targets.
  • 04RulesConfirm advertising code compliance.

Role reference: ASA: the CAP non-broadcast code. The CAP code sets the advertising rules paid media must follow.

The working pattern

What changes when the Paid Media Manager is fractional?

A fractional paid media manager runs paid channels on agreed days, reporting to a marketing lead who owns strategy.

The illustrative brief: an in-house team after an agency exit. The agency has gone and campaigns need running.

The appointment owns: The fractional paid media manager runs search and social, two days a week.

Another owner retains: The marketing lead owns budget and strategy.

The case is illustrative; it does not describe a Fractional Quest placement.

From brief to start

How do you hire a Fractional Paid Media Manager, 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.

  1. Day 0
    01
    The 15-minute call
    What the Paid Media Manager must own, the working pattern, the start date and the budget.
    You and us
  2. Week 1
    02
    Scope agreed in writing
    The outcome the seat exists for, the days, and how the engagement will run for IR35.
    Us
  3. Weeks 1–3
    03
    Search, references, shortlist
    We approach people who aren’t looking, verify tenure, take references ourselves and return three to five.
    Us
  4. Week 4
    04
    Access
    Grant ad account access.
    You
  5. Before day one · 2
    05
    Targets
    Agree targets.
    You
  6. Before day one · 3
    06
    Limits
    Set spend limits.
    You
  7. Before day one · 4
    07
    Review
    Weekly review for a month.
    You

Assessment

How should you assess Paid Media Manager candidates?

Put the same work and evidence in front of each candidate before comparing answers.

  1. Results
    Ask for an account they improved.
  2. Tracking
    Check how they measure conversions.
  3. Compliance
    Ask how they follow advertising rules.
  4. Reporting
    Ask for a sample report.

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.

  1. Pedigree screen
    Tenure
    We verify prior tenure in the seat, at the scale and stage you need. No consultant presenting as an executive.
  2. Mandate fit
    Fit
    Fit to your stage, sector and the problem the seat exists to solve, not a CV keyword.
  3. Reference deep-dive
    Verify
    We take references ourselves, from recent clients and boards: what they delivered, not what they titled it.
  4. Shortlist
    Shortlist
    Three to five candidates, each with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out.
  5. Kick-off
    Start
    Scope, first-month outcomes and the contract agreed before day one.

The full process is on how we vet.

Questions

Hire a Fractional Paid Media Manager: questions, answered

A brief to hire a Fractional Paid Media Manager begins with channels: Name the channels. Then a stated working pattern and the evidence you will ask every candidate to show.

Read next

Related hiring and role pages

Sources

Where does every reference on this page come from?

  • asa.org.uk
  • HMRC
  • legislation.gov.uk
  1. 1
    ASA: the CAP non-broadcast code asa.org.uk
  2. 2
    Understanding off-payroll working (IR35) HMRC
    Status depends on how the engagement runs; medium and large clients make the determination.
  3. 3
    Check employment status for tax (CEST) HMRC
    HMRC’s own status check for each engagement.
  4. 4
    Employment Agencies Act 1973 legislation.gov.uk
    The law a recruitment agency works under; no fee to a work-seeker.

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