Trinny LondonSyndicatedInterim
Interim Head of MarketingPermanent marketing director · hiring brief
Marketing Director for Hire
Marketing Director for Hire: choose the engagement first, then brief the budget, team and commercial measures the marketing director owns.
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 marketing director 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
Marketing Director for Hire: what must the role own?
Days a week, a term, or permanent.
- 01EngagementDays a week, a term, or permanent.
- 02PlanThe marketing plan they own.
- 03BudgetSpend they control.
- 04MeasuresPipeline or revenue they are judged on.
Role reference: Chartered Institute of Marketing: global professional marketing framework. The CIM framework sets out the marketing leadership capabilities that apply whichever way a marketing director for hire is engaged.
For hire
Marketing director for hire: which engagement?
Four routes into the seat.
Fractional for part of each week; interim for a defined gap; part-time employed for steady work; permanent for a seat that needs an owner for years.
The brief is the same each time: the plan, the budget, the team and the measures.
The working pattern
What changes when the marketing director is permanent?
A marketing director for hire runs the marketing function: plan, budget, team and agencies. The engagement can be fractional, interim, part-time or permanent.
The illustrative brief: a business replacing its agency-led marketing. Marketing is run by three agencies with no internal lead.
The appointment owns: A fractional marketing director for hire takes ownership of the plan and agencies, two days a week.
Another owner retains: The MD keeps brand decisions and the total budget.
The case is illustrative; it does not describe a Fractional Quest placement.
From brief to start
How do you hire a marketing director for hire, step by step?
Marketing Director for Hire, 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 marketing director 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 404RouteEngagement and review point.You
- Before day one · 205DataSpend, pipeline and agency contracts.You
- Before day one · 306IntroductionsAgencies and sales.You
- Before day one · 407First outputA plan review in the first month.You
Assessment
How should you assess each candidate?
Marketing Director for Hire on evidence: put the same work in front of each candidate before comparing answers.
- Comparable workAsk for a plan they ran and its commercial effect.
- AuthorityTest a budget decision with the MD.
- TeamAsk how they managed agencies.
- HandoverAsk what they left documented.
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
Marketing Director for Hire: questions, answered
A brief to hire a marketing director for hire begins with engagement: Days a week, a term, or permanent. Then a stated working pattern and the evidence you will ask every candidate to show.
A marketing director for hire runs the marketing function: plan, budget, team and agencies. The engagement can be fractional, interim, part-time or permanent.
Comparable work. Ask for a plan they ran and its commercial effect. Authority. Test a budget decision with the MD. Team. Ask how they managed agencies. Handover. Ask what they left documented.
Route. Engagement and review point. Data. Spend, pipeline and agency contracts. Introductions. Agencies and sales. First output. A plan 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.