Part-time head of marketing · Set days · Part-time vs fractional
Part-time head of marketing · what one does, how many days, when it fits
A part-time head of marketing leads a company’s marketing on fewer days than a full-time week, usually as an employee of one company on a set pattern of days. They own the marketing plan, the budget, the team and agencies, and the results, and report to the CEO or a marketing director. The job is whole; the week is shorter.
This page covers what the role involves, how the days fall, how part-time differs from fractional, interim and full-time, and when it fits. Open roles are on head of marketing jobs. To hire a part-time head of marketing, send us the brief. We recruit part-time, fractional, interim, temporary and permanent marketing leaders.
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
15 minutes · video or phone
Book 15 minutes to hire a part-time head of marketing
Tell us the scope and the days a week. We come back with Head of Marketing 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
On the board · last 3 months
Part-time head of marketing jobs on the board
No Part-time head of marketing roles on the board right now.
We only show real vacancies from the last three months, each marked whether we could confirm it is still open — we never pad the board. New Part-time head of marketing roles appear here as our pipeline finds them.
Current head of marketing and marketing leadership roles
Fractional Quest is a fractional recruitment agency: send a Head of Marketing brief and we come back with a shortlist of three to five vetted candidates.
01/ the role
What is a part-time head of marketing?
A part-time head of marketing is the senior marketing manager of a business, employed for an agreed number of days each week. “Part-time” describes the hours, not the seniority: the person runs marketing in full, on set days, and is on the payroll like any other employee. Most work for one company, and the contract fixes which days they are in.
The work is the work of a head of marketing: the plan, the positioning and messages, the channels and the budget, the team and the agencies, and the numbers that show what the spend returned. In most companies the role reports to the CEO or to a marketing director, and runs marketing rather than setting company strategy at board level.
Head of marketing, marketing director or CMO?
A head of marketing usually runs the function and the team. A marketing director usually owns the strategy and the budget, often with a seat at or near the board. A CMO sits in the executive team. If the part-time seat is the director-level one, see part-time marketing director; for the executive seat, see part-time CMO.
Part-time is not the same as fractional
A fractional head of marketing also works part of the week, but usually under a contract for services, through their own company, often for more than one client. A part-time head of marketing is usually an employee of one company, with a payslip and employment rights. GOV.UK sets out that part-time workers should get the same treatment as comparable full-time workers on pay rates, pension, holidays and training. For the contract route, see fractional head of marketing jobs.
02/ scope
What the role covers, and how the days fall
Marketing on fewer days works when the plan, the team and the reporting carry the work between the days the head of marketing is in. In most companies the week covers five things.
The plan and the budget
Who the company sells to, what it says, which channels carry it and what the budget buys. Written down and agreed, so the team can act on it on the days the head of marketing is out.
The team and the agencies
Briefing and managing the marketing team, freelancers and agencies against clear targets. A part-time head of marketing leans on written briefs and a fixed weekly review.
Campaigns and content
Signing off what goes out: campaigns, the website, content and launches. The calendar is set around the days worked, so approvals do not queue for a week.
The rules that come with the channels
Email and text campaigns follow the ICO’s direct marketing and PECR guidance; advertising claims follow the CAP Code, which the Advertising Standards Authority enforces. A head of marketing owns both, whatever their days.
Reporting what the spend returned
Pipeline, cost per lead or sale, and what each channel delivered, reported to the CEO on a fixed cycle. The reporting is how the business sees the work on the days it cannot see the person.
03/ comparison
Part-time, fractional, interim or a full-time head of marketing
Four ways to fill the seat. They differ in the days, the length and above all the contract.
04/ timing
When a part-time head of marketing fits
Part-time fits when marketing needs a senior owner every week, the team and agencies can carry the daily work, and the leadership does not fill five days.
Scenario 01
Marketing has no senior owner
A founder or a sales lead has been running marketing on the side. The budget is spent, but nobody senior decides where it goes or judges what it returned.
Scenario 02
A small team needs leading
A marketing executive or two and some agencies, doing good work without a plan. A senior lead on set days gives them one.
Scenario 03
The best candidate wants fewer days
Many experienced marketers want a shorter week. Offering it reaches candidates a five-day advert never does.
Scenario 04
After a fractional or interim stint
A rebrand or a relaunch is done, the plan is set, and the company wants an employee on fewer days to run it.
05/ vetting
How we vet part-time heads of marketing
What we undertake on every brief, before a candidate reaches you.
- 01
Qualification screen
Verify Head of Marketing 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
06/ pay
What a part-time head of marketing earns pro rata to the days
A part-time head of marketing is normally paid a salary pro rata: the full-time rate for the role, in proportion to the days worked. For the full-time reference point, Intelligent People’s marketing salary guide, drawn from the recruiter’s own placements between July 2025 and July 2026, gives an average Head of Marketing salary of £105,000. That is a salary figure from one firm’s placements, not a part-time salary or a market-wide figure.
Part-time workers should get the same pay rates, pension opportunities and holidays as comparable full-time staff, with some benefits applied pro rata, as GOV.UK sets out; GOV.UK’s holiday guide explains how part-time leave is worked out. Our head of marketing salary page sets out pay in more depth, each figure sourced. Every shortlist we send states each candidate’s pay or day rate.
07/ part-time vs fractional
Part-time or fractional: the contract, not the seniority
The days can look the same. The difference is the relationship. A part-time head of marketing is your employee: on the payroll, under your policies, usually working only for you. A fractional head of marketing runs marketing part of the week as an independent, invoicing for the days and often working for other companies as well. An interim head of marketing is usually full-time for a fixed period, such as a relaunch or a vacancy, and then leaves.
The contract changes what you manage. The CIPD treats part-time hours as one of several forms of flexible working, and every employee has the right to request flexible working, including different hours or days, from their first day. A fractional working through their own company brings the off-payroll working rules (IR35) into view instead: status depends on how the engagement runs in practice, and a medium or large client makes the determination. Our IR35 guide sets out the tests.
08/ hiring
Hiring one: the short version
Start with what marketing must deliver over the next year and what the team and agencies can do without a senior lead in the room. That sets the days. Then write down what the role owns, who it reports to and how the weekly review runs.
Ask candidates to show a plan they wrote and what it returned, and how they have led a team on fewer than five days. Professional standing helps: the CIM’s Chartered Marketer status requires graded membership, two consecutive years of CPD and an online assessment. Take references from the people they reported to.
To hire a part-time head of marketing through us, send the 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. If a contract suits the work better, the fractional hub explains how to hire a head of marketing that way.
09/ questions
Part-time head of marketing FAQ
The questions people ask before bringing in a part-time head of marketing.
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.
