Hire an Interim Marketing Director · Jobs UK
Hire an interim Marketing Director
for the gap.
Hire an interim Marketing Director — full-time marketing leadership on a fixed-term assignment, usually 3–12 months — to cover a vacancy, run the plan, manage the agencies and hit the pipeline number. Or browse live interim Marketing Director jobs UK-wide below.
- £500–£1,800 a day (Exec Capital)
- Full-time, fixed-term
- 3–12 months typical
- 12% fee on signing
How a brief runswhat we undertake
- 01Brief30-MINUTE SCOPING CALLDay 0
- 02Shortlist of 3–5VETTED · RATE BENCHMARK · IR3548h target
- 03InterviewsYOU MEET THE SHORTLISTYour diary
- 04Scoped startFIRST-MONTH OUTCOMES AGREEDYou set the date
- 05Our fee12% OF ENGAGEMENT VALUEDisclosed upfront
Shortlist target48h
15 minutes · video or phone
Book 15 minutes to hire an interim Marketing Director
Tell us the situation and the start date. We come back with interim Marketing Director candidates, their day rates and availability.
- 0115 minutes, video or phone
- 02We scope the assignment and the start date
- 03Shortlist target: 48 hours after the call
- 04No retainer — 12% only if you sign
Pick a day that suits · live availability
Interim Marketing Director jobs · last 3 months
Live Interim Marketing Director jobs
No live Interim Marketing Director roles right now.
We only show real, verified vacancies from the last three months — we never pad the board with fabricated listings. New Interim Marketing Director roles appear here as our pipeline finds them.
01/ definition
What is an interim Marketing Director?
An interim Marketing Director runs the marketing function full-time for a fixed term: the plan, the team, the budget and the agencies. It is a separate hire from an interim CMO, who sets company-level growth strategy from the board.
01 · cadence
The Marketing Director seat, five days a week.
An interim Marketing Director takes the role in full — the marketing plan, the team, the budget and the agencies — rather than advising from outside it.
02/ scope
What an interim Marketing Director owns
The interim Marketing Director owns the function’s output for the term; specialists and agencies keep the execution.
- Marketing plan and budget
- Campaign and channel mix
- Pipeline and lead targets
- Brand guardianship
- Team management and hiring
- Agency and supplier management
- Marketing reporting to the leadership team
- Handover to the permanent hire
- Copywriting and content production
- Paid media buying
- Social scheduling
- Design execution
- Events logistics
- CRM administration
03/ alternatives
Interim Marketing Director vs CMO, fractional and permanent
If you searched “fractional v part time v interim marketing director”, this is the comparison.
→ Different searches, different hires. See the interim CMO page for the board-level role.
04/ rates
Interim Marketing Director day rates, UK 2026
Published figures only, each with its source. Company size sets the band.
- Head of Marketing, growth stage£400–£800Exec Capital
- SME and scale-up£500–£900Exec Capital
- Interim Marketing Director£700–£1,000Intelligent People
- Mid-market and PE-backed£800–£1,400Exec Capital
- Large corporate / brand-led£1,200–£1,800Exec Capital
Six months full-time (about 130 working days) is roughly £65,000–£117,000 at SME scale and £104,000–£182,000 mid-market, before our fee — our arithmetic on the Exec Capital bands.
05/ calculator
What an interim Marketing Director costs
Model a fixed-term interim Marketing Director against a permanent Marketing Director over the same period.
£700 a day is within the published SME / scale-up band (£500–£900, Exec Capital).
Interim cost for the term
£101,920
130 working days · 5 d/wk · 6 mo · incl. our 12% fee
Interim costs more over 6 months — the price of starting now£32,358
Book a 15-minute call →Our arithmetic, indicative. Permanent = the £79,500 median Marketing Director salary (Robert Half) pro rata for the same months, plus 15% employer NI, plus a 30% search fee on the annual base (UK retained search runs 25–35%, headhunters.co.uk). Excludes pension, bonus and equity.
06/ tax
Is an interim Marketing Director tax-deductible?
General position under UK rules, with the HMRC source for each point. Not tax advice — check your own case with your accountant.
01 · DEDUCTIBLE
The fees are a business expense
An interim Marketing Director’s fees, like a salary, are deductible against profits when incurred wholly and exclusively for the trade (HMRC BIM37000). At the 25% main rate, each £1,000 of fees costs a profitable company £750 after relief.
02 · NO EMPLOYER NI
Outside IR35, no 15% on top
A permanent Marketing Director carries employer National Insurance at 15% (gov.uk). An interim engaged through their own company outside IR35 does not. Inside IR35, the fee-payer deducts tax and NI and pays employer NI.
03 · WHO DECIDES
IR35 status, by company size
Medium and large clients determine the interim’s status themselves; for a small private-sector client, the interim’s own company decides (HMRC off-payroll guidance).
07/ decision
When to hire an interim Marketing Director
Four situations where companies hire an interim Marketing Director — and where most interim Marketing Director jobs come from.
Which sounds like you?
The Marketing Director leaves or goes on parental leave with a plan half-delivered.
- → Hold the plan
- → Keep the agencies
- → Hit the number
A product, market or brand launch with a date and no one to run it.
- → Go-to-market plan
- → Campaign
- → Launch readiness
Activity is high, results are not, and the team needs direction.
- → Channel audit
- → Budget reset
- → Reporting
A new name, a merger or a repositioning that needs an owner for a defined period.
- → Brand plan
- → Agency brief
- → Roll-out
08/ guide
Hiring an interim Marketing Director: what to get right
Decide whether you need a Marketing Director or a CMO. The Marketing Director runs the function; the CMO sets company-level growth strategy and sits on the board. They are different searches — for the board-level role see hire an interim CMO.
Start with the outcome: a plan delivered, a launch shipped, a function back on track, a permanent hire in post. Write it and a date into the brief.
Choose between interim, fractional and part-time. If marketing needs a full-time owner for a few months, hire an interim Marketing Director. If it needs senior direction a day or two a week, a fractional Marketing Director costs less.
Budget from the published bands. Exec Capital puts interim Marketing Director day rates at £500–£900 for SMEs, £800–£1,400 mid-market and PE-backed, and £1,200–£1,800 for large or brand-led businesses; Intelligent People quotes £700–£1,000. A permanent Marketing Director is a median £79,500 (Robert Half) before on-costs and a retained search fee.
If you are looking for interim Marketing Director jobs rather than hiring, the live board below lists current roles; fractional marketing jobs cover the part-time market.
09/ structure
IR35 for an interim Marketing Director
Our contracts are drafted to sit outside IR35. Status still turns on how the assignment runs day to day, and a full-time interim needs more care here than a fractional role. Medium and large clients make the determination; for a small private-sector client the interim’s own company does. See the IR35 guide.
TEST 1
Substitution
The contract is with the interim’s limited company and carries a genuine right to send a qualified substitute.
✓ In the contractTEST 2
Control
You set the outcomes for the assignment; the interim decides how the work gets done.
✓ In the contractTEST 3
Mutuality
No obligation to offer or accept work beyond the agreed assignment and term.
✓ In the contract10/ process
How to hire an interim Marketing Director with us
What we undertake on every brief. No retainer; you pay only if you sign.
- 01
Brief
A 30-minute call on the assignment, the start date and what the interim Marketing Director must have delivered by the end of the term.
DAY 0 - 02
Search
We search and screen against that brief: track record at your stage and in your situation, and references we take ourselves.
SCREENING - 03
Shortlist
Three to five candidates with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out. We aim to send it within 48 hours.
48H TARGET - 04
Start
You interview and choose. Our fee is 12%, charged on signing, with flexible fee clawback agreed case by case.
12% ON SIGNING
11/ questions
Interim Marketing Director FAQ
Hiring an interim Marketing Director, or looking for interim Marketing Director jobs.
No retainer · 12% only if you sign
Need an interim Marketing Director this month?
Book 15 minutes. We aim to have a shortlist with you within 48 hours of the call.
