Managing director · job description template

Managing director job description

The short answer · updated 3 October 2026

A managing director job description sets out the senior role that runs a company, or a business within a group, and answers to the board for its results. The core responsibilities are the business plan and budget, leading the management team, the largest customers and contracts, reporting to the board, and keeping the company within the law.

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Job purpose

The Institute of Directors gives the main purpose of the role as directing and controlling the company’s operations and giving strategic guidance to the board, so the company achieves its objectives. Start the job description with that, then name the problem the next managing director has to solve: growth that has stalled, an owner stepping back, a turnaround, a sale to prepare for, or a new business to build. For the role itself, see what is a managing director.

Say which business the role runs. An MD of a standalone company answers to its board and owners; the MD of a subsidiary or division answers to a group as well. Acas publishes an outline job description template whose headings (the main duties and who the post reports to) suit either.

Key responsibilities

Order the duties by importance and start each with a verb. A typical managing director job description covers:

preparing the business plan and annual budget, taking them to the board for approval, and delivering them;
running the company’s operations day to day, and setting the targets each part of the business works to;
building and leading the management team: hiring, developing and, where needed, replacing its members;
advising the chair and the board on the market, the risks and the choices in front of the company;
owning the relationships with the largest customers, suppliers and partners, and negotiating the most important contracts;
managing cash, costs and margin with the finance lead, and reporting results the board can rely on;
overseeing the annual report and accounts for board approval;
making sure the company meets its health and safety and other legal obligations;
representing the company to investors, regulators, the community and the press;
setting the standards of conduct and culture the team is expected to keep;
preparing the business for the next stage: growth, investment, acquisition or sale.

Reporting line and scope

In a standalone company the managing director reports to the board, usually through the chair, and to the owners. In a group, the MD of a subsidiary or division reports to the group chief executive or a divisional head, and may also sit on the subsidiary’s own board. The finance, operations, sales and marketing leads usually report to the MD. List what reports to the role, and what stays with the group.

Say whether the role carries a board seat. A managing director appointed to the board owes the general duties that Companies House guidance sets out under the Companies Act 2006, including promoting the success of the company and exercising reasonable care, skill and diligence. If the MD reports to a group, name which company’s board the role sits on, if any.

Skills, experience and qualifications

No qualification is required by law to be a managing director. Describe the experience the business needs now, specifically, rather than counting years. The IoD’s own list of what the role requires starts with a proven record in senior general or commercial management, an understanding of financial management, and a very high level of commercial awareness.

a record of running a business, a division or a profit and loss account at a comparable scale;
results against the specific problem: growth, a turnaround, an exit, an integration or a new market;
budgeting, forecasting and reporting that a board or investor can rely on;
leading and rebuilding a management team;
negotiating with major customers, suppliers, lenders or investors;
working with a board, a chair, owners or a private equity house;
board credentials where the role will sit on a board, such as the IoD’s Chartered Director Programme, or CMI’s Chartered Manager status for management and leadership;
sector knowledge where the customers, contracts or regulation are specialised.

Fractional managing director job description

A fractional managing director works a set number of days a week or month, often beside an owner who is stepping back, so the job description narrows. Name the days, the outcomes expected over the first six to twelve months (a business plan agreed, a management team in place, the numbers reported monthly, a lender or investor process run), what the role owns and who decides on the days the MD is not there.

The nearest pages we keep are for the chief executive seat: our page on how to hire a fractional CEO sets out how a part-week engagement works, and the fractional CEO page explains the role.

A fractional managing director working through their own company may fall within the off-payroll working rules (IR35). Status depends on how the engagement runs in practice, not on the wording of the job description, and a medium or large client makes the determination. Our IR35 guide sets out the tests.

Interim and permanent versions

Interim. An interim managing director works full-time for a fixed period, so the job description leads with the situation (a sudden departure, a turnaround, a sale, or cover while the permanent search runs) and the date or event that ends the assignment. See the interim CEO page for how boards use one, and interim CEO jobs for the roles.

Permanent. The permanent version looks further ahead: the strategy, the team and the business over several years. The job title or a description of the work goes into the written statement of employment particulars an employee must have on the first day, so keep the two consistent. If the MD is a director and the contract guarantees employment, or notice, for more than two years, the Companies Act requires the members to approve it first, with exceptions such as a wholly-owned subsidiary.

We recruit fractional, interim, part-time, temporary and permanent executives, and non-executive directors. For a managing director brief we send a shortlist of 3–5, each with pay or day rate, availability and IR35 position set out, after our five-stage vetting.

A template you can copy

Copy these headings and write one short block under each. Keep pay out of the job description and state it in the offer.

Job title: managing director, the business it runs, and whether the role is fractional, interim, part-time or permanent.
Reports to: the board and chair, or the group chief executive; any board seat; the teams that report to the role.
Purpose: two or three sentences on why the role exists now and the result it must deliver.
Responsibilities: eight to twelve duties, each starting with a verb, in order of importance.
Requirements: essential and desirable experience, described specifically, and a qualification only where the job needs one.
Terms: full-time or days a week, location and travel, start date, fixed term or permanent, notice, and the pay basis (salary or day rate).

Questions people ask

What should a managing director job description include?

The job title and type of engagement, the business the role runs, who it reports to and which teams report in, the purpose, the key responsibilities, the experience required, and the terms. Put the problem the MD must solve at the top.

How long should a managing director job description be?

One to two pages is usually enough: purpose, responsibilities, reporting line, requirements and terms. The business plan, the numbers and the board papers belong in the candidate pack and the interviews.

Is a managing director job description the same as a CEO job description?

Often, in a single company: the two titles describe the same seat. In a group, a CEO job description covers the whole group and a managing director job description one business inside it. See our CEO job description.

How is a fractional managing director job description different?

It names the days a week or month, the outcomes over the first six to twelve months and who decides in between. See how to hire a fractional CEO.

What does a managing director earn?

It depends on the size of the business, its ownership and whether the role is permanent, interim or fractional. Our managing director salary page sets out published figures, each with its source.

How do I hire a managing director?

Define the problem the MD must solve, choose permanent, interim, part-time or fractional, write the job description around that problem, and test every candidate against it. We send a shortlist of 3–5, each with pay or day rate, availability and IR35 position set out; open roles are on managing director jobs.