Marketing director recruitment · Marketing director jobs
Marketing director recruitment · hire a marketing director, permanent or part of the week
Marketing director recruitment starts with scope: whether you need someone to run the marketing function and own the pipeline it feeds, a head of marketing to deliver the plan, or a CMO to set strategy at board level. To hire a marketing director, fix that first, then test candidates on a real brief from your business and check their results with the people who saw them.
We recruit permanent, interim, fractional, part-time and temporary marketing leaders. On every brief we send a shortlist of 3–5, each with pay or day rate, availability and IR35 position set out, after five-stage vetting.
How a brief runswhat we undertake
- 01Brief30-MINUTE SCOPING CALLDay 0
- 02Shortlist of 3–5VETTED · RATE BENCHMARK · IR35After the brief
- 03InterviewsYOU MEET THE SHORTLISTYour diary
- 04Scoped startFIRST-MONTH OUTCOMES AGREEDYou set the date
- 05Fractional, interim and permanentIR35 POSITION SET OUTOn every brief
Shortlist3–5
In the press
Marketing Week Demand for fractional CMOs ‘driven by expertise over cost’ · 27 May 2026
Finds that companies bring in fractional CMOs mainly for senior expertise at growth moments, not to save money. Worth weighing before you commit to a permanent marketing director search.
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
Pick a day that suits · live availability
Live roles · last 3 months
Live Marketing director jobs
No live Marketing director roles in the last three months. Showing live fractional executive roles instead.
- FractionalSyndicated
Fractional CISO (Contract / Project Based)
Cambridge Spark · United Kingdom
est £1,500/day2 d/wk - FractionalSyndicated
Head of Medical Compliance, Governance & Diligence (Fractional)
CNX Therapeutics Ltd · Greater London
est £1,000/dayGreater London - FractionalSyndicated
Head of Applied Legal – AI Product (Fractional)
Stealth Startup · London
est £1,600/day2 d/wk - FractionalSyndicated
Fractional Product Practice Leader - 9 Month Contract
Tails.com · London
est £1,000/day2 d/wk - FractionalSyndicated
Fractional CPO
Log my Care · City of London
est £3,250/day3 d/wk - FractionalSyndicated
Fractional Finance Directors
PWF Associates Limited · Manchester
est £750/dayManchester - FractionalSyndicated
Fractional legal counsel
Nifina · London
est £750/dayLondon - FractionalExclusive
Fractional COO
Confidential client (Fractional Quest mandate) · London
Rate n/aLondon - FractionalSyndicated
Fractional Financial Controller
MarcoPolo Learning · City of Westminster
est £750/day2 d/wk
Live marketing leadership roles
How fractional recruitment agencies compare is set out in one place, including how we work: a Marketing Director brief and a shortlist of three to five.
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 £70,000 at the 25th percentile to £90,000 at the 75th, with a median of £79,500. For an employee, you must check their right to work before they start. More pay detail, including interim and contract day rates, sits on the marketing director salary page.
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/ 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.
04/ 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
05/ 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.
06/ 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, the board below lists the marketing director jobs and other marketing leadership roles we hold.
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.
07/ questions
Marketing director recruitment FAQ
The questions people ask before bringing in a marketing director.
Book 15 minutes · shortlist of 3–5
Bring the brief. We architect the team.
A shortlist of 3–5 with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out, after five-stage vetting.
