Marketing Director Recruitment

15 minutes · video or phone

Book 15 minutes to hire a marketing director

Tell us the scope and the days a week. We come back with Marketing Director candidates, their day rates and availability.

0115 minutes, video or phone
02We scope the role and the days a week
03A shortlist of 3–5 after the call
04Fractional, interim and permanent briefs

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On the board · last 3 months

Marketing director jobs on the board

0 Marketing director · 9 fractional executive

No Marketing director roles on the board in the last three months. Showing fractional executive roles instead.

Browse every role on the board →

Live marketing leadership roles

Fractional Quest is a fractional recruitment agency: send a Marketing Director brief and we come back with a shortlist of three to five vetted candidates.

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01/ the role

What a marketing director does, and when you need one

A marketing director runs the marketing function and answers for what it delivers: brand, positioning, demand and pipeline, the budget, the agencies and the team.

The marketing director usually reports to the CEO or a CMO and works closely with sales, product and finance.

When a company needs a marketing director

The usual triggers: the founder can no longer run marketing alongside everything else; the team has grown past a manager’s span; a new market, product or rebrand needs one owner; or the board wants to know what the marketing budget returns.

If the gap is delivery rather than leadership, a head of marketing may be the better hire.

If the job is strategy at board level, look at the CMO seat.

The rules the marketing director answers for

The CAP Code, enforced by the Advertising Standards Authority, covers non-broadcast ads, sales promotions and direct marketing, including the evidence behind every claim.

Email, text and phone marketing, and cookies, fall under the ICO’s direct marketing and PECR guidance.

Ask candidates how they have kept a team inside both.

02/ scope

How to hire a marketing director

1. Scope the seat before the search

Write down what the marketing director will own (brand, demand, pipeline targets, budget, agencies, the team), who they report to, and what marketing should look like in two years.

A first marketing director for a B2B scale-up and a brand-led marketing director for a consumer business are different hires.

2. Choose the route: permanent, interim, part-time or fractional

A permanent marketing director suits a business that needs a senior marketing owner every day.

If the seat is empty or a launch needs full-time cover for a fixed term, hire an interim marketing director.

For a set number of days a week, hire a part-time marketing director.

For senior marketing judgement across a few days a month, see fractional marketing leadership.

If the job is strategy at board level, hire a fractional CMO or read our CMO headhunter guide.

3. Test the work, not the CV

The CIPD’s factsheet on selection methods covers structured interviews and skill-based assessment tasks, which suit this role well.

Give candidates a real brief from your business, such as a launch or a stalled channel, and ask for their plan and budget.

Take references from a CEO and a sales leader who worked with them.

CIM Chartered Marketer status shows graded membership, continuing development and a passed assessment; it is a useful signal, not a requirement.

4. Set the pay and run the checks

Robert Half’s 2026 salary guide gives a marketing director a range of £70,000 to £90,000, with a median of £79,500.

For an employee, you must check their right to work before they start.

Permanent pay in full sits on the marketing director salary page; interim and contract day rates sit on interim marketing director salary.

What we do on a marketing director brief

We send a shortlist of 3–5 candidates, each with pay or day rate, availability and IR35 position set out.

Every candidate goes through our five-stage vetting first.

03/ the board

What the board holds.

A read of the roles on the board on this page, counted as they stand: how each is engaged, whether the posting gives the days and the rate, and where the work happens.

On this board, last 90 days · 9 roles · fractional executive

Engagement

Fractional9

Seat

CFO3
Financial controller1
CTO1
Other1
CHRO1
General counsel1
Other seats1

Days a week

Stated in the posting3
Not stated6

Day rate

Verified rate1
Estimated (est)3
Rate not stated5

Work arrangement (as the job feed classifies it)

Remote1
Hybrid6
On-site2

Newest posting on the board: 8 Oct 2026.

Postings per week on this board, last 90 days

9 postings on this board in the last 90 days, counted by the week each was published.

04/ the route

Fractional, interim or permanent?

Four taps. The answer names the route for the seat and the page that covers it.

How much of the week does the work fill?

Is there a fixed end or a programme?

Does the seat sit on the board for years?

Is the need now, or can it wait for a search?

The route · Fractional

A fractional marketing director.

The work fills part of the week, so buy the days it needs.

A fractional marketing director holds the seat on agreed days for as long as the seat is needed, and works for other clients on the rest.

The fractional marketing director route Talk it through

05/ comparison

Head of marketing vs marketing director vs CMO

Three marketing seats that overlap. Choose by what the person will own and who they answer to.

Head of marketingMarketing directorCMO

OwnsDelivery of the marketing plan and its channelsThe marketing function: brand, demand, budget and teamMarketing strategy, positioning and growth at board level

Typically reports toThe marketing director or CMOThe CEO or CMOThe CEO and the board

Board seatNoSometimesUsually

Robert Half 2026 median£66,250£79,500£147,000

06/ vetting

How we vet marketing directors

What we undertake on every brief, before a candidate reaches you.

01
Qualification screen
Verify Marketing Director tenure, sector context and stage fit.
SOURCING
02
Mandate fit
Match to your situation — stage, board dynamics, timing.
MATCHING
03
Reference deep-dive
We take references ourselves, from recent past clients — real outcomes, not titles.
VERIFY
04
Shortlist
Three to five candidates with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out.
SHORTLIST OF 3–5

07/ marketing director recruitment

Marketing director recruitment: how the search runs

Marketing director recruitment follows the same fair process as any senior hire.

Acas says there is no set process the law requires, but employers must recruit fairly and follow discrimination and data protection law throughout.

The brief should name the numbers the role will own, the budget, the agencies and the team.

Many strong marketing directors are not looking, so the search has to reach them.

Professional bodies such as The Marketing Society, a membership network for senior marketers, and CIM are worth knowing when you map the market.

If a search firm runs the search, GOV.UK guidance on the Conduct Regulations says the Employment Agencies Act applies to executive search consultants and that agencies may not charge work-seekers for finding them work.

Get the terms you will pay in writing before the search starts.

If the marketing director will work through their own company, as an interim or fractional one often does, the off-payroll working rules (IR35) may apply.

A medium or large client decides the worker’s status; for a small client outside the public sector, the worker’s own company decides.

Status turns on how the engagement runs in practice.

Our IR35 guide sets out the tests.

For the seat that owns sales and revenue as well, see commercial director recruitment.

08/ marketing director jobs

Marketing director jobs: permanent, interim and part of the week

We recruit permanent marketing directors as well as interim, part-time and fractional ones.

If you are a marketing director or head of marketing looking for your next role, every role we hold is on marketing director jobs — permanent, interim and fractional on one board — and the board below shows the latest.

Robert Half’s 2026 figures put a marketing director’s median at £79,500, a head of marketing’s at £66,250 and a CMO’s at £147,000.

For part-week roles, see part-time marketing director jobs and fractional marketing jobs.

09/ questions

Marketing director recruitment FAQ

The questions people ask before bringing in a marketing director.

Scope the seat first: what the marketing director will own, the numbers they answer for and who they report to. Then choose the route (permanent, interim, part-time or fractional), test candidates on a real brief from your business, take references from a CEO and a sales leader, and check right to work before the offer. For a few days a week, hire a part-time marketing director instead.

Robert Half’s 2026 salary guide gives a marketing director range of £70,000 to £90,000, median £79,500. On every brief we set out each candidate’s pay or day rate on the shortlist. For interim and contract rates, see interim marketing director salary.

A written brief (scope, numbers owned, budget, reporting line, pay band), a search that reaches people who are not looking as well as those who are, a practical test on a real brief, references and right-to-work checks, and an offer. We send a shortlist of 3–5, each with pay or day rate, availability and IR35 position set out.

Yes. We recruit permanent marketing directors as well as interim, part-time and fractional ones. The board on this page lists the marketing leadership roles we hold.

A head of marketing delivers the plan and its channels. A marketing director runs the whole function and its budget, usually reporting to the CEO or a CMO. A CMO sets marketing strategy at board level. Robert Half’s 2026 medians are £66,250, £79,500 and £147,000 respectively.

No. Results and references matter more. CIM Chartered Marketer status is a useful signal of continuing development, but most briefs do not require it.

Permanent when the business needs a senior marketing owner every day. Interim when the seat is empty or a launch needs full-time cover for a fixed term: hire an interim marketing director. Fractional when you need senior judgement for part of the week. If the job is strategy at board level, hire a fractional CMO.