Heads of marketing · the role
What does a head of marketing do?
The short answer · updated
A head of marketing leads the marketing team and the programme it runs: campaigns, channels, content, agencies and the leads handed to sales. They turn the strategy into a plan, run the budget and report results. In a larger business a head of marketing reports to a marketing director or CMO; in a smaller one, to the chief executive.
What is a head of marketing?
A head of marketing is the person in charge of a company’s marketing team and the work it delivers. The title sits between the marketing managers who run individual channels and the marketing director or chief marketing officer who owns the strategy and the budget at board level.
The National Careers Service describes marketing managers as planning how to promote products, services or brands and overseeing all marketing activity. A head of marketing does that work at the top of the team: setting the plan the managers deliver, hiring and developing them, and answering for what the spend produced.
In a smaller company the head of marketing is often the most senior marketer, and does much of a director’s job. The CIM’s Global Professional Marketing Framework groups the work into direction, capability, professionalism and impact, and is written for hiring and team leadership as well as careers. It is a useful checklist when you scope the role.
What a head of marketing is responsible for
The remit changes with the size of the business and what sits above it. The common core is below.
- The marketing plan. Turning the strategy and targets into campaigns, a calendar and a channel mix.
- The team and agencies. Hiring, managing and developing marketers, and briefing and managing agencies and freelancers.
- Campaigns and content. Launches, campaigns, content, events, email, paid and organic channels.
- Pipeline. The leads marketing hands to sales, agreed with the head of sales, and how they are scored and followed up.
- The budget. Spending the budget set above it, and showing what each part produced.
- Brand and messaging. Keeping what the company says consistent across every channel.
- Reporting. Results against target, to the marketing director, the CMO or the chief executive.
Who a head of marketing reports to
In a larger company a head of marketing reports to a marketing director or CMO, and may run one brand, region, channel or product line. In a company without either, the head of marketing reports to the chief executive or managing director and is the top marketer.
The closest peer is the head of sales. Pipeline targets, lead definitions and the hand-off between the two teams are agreed between them, and a head of marketing whose leads sales will not work has a problem no campaign fixes.
Marketing managers, executives and specialists in content, digital, product marketing and events report into the head of marketing, along with the agencies the business uses.
Head of marketing vs marketing director vs CMO
A head of marketing runs the team and the plan. The strategy, the budget and the positioning are usually set above the role, and the head of marketing is judged on delivering them.
A marketing director owns the marketing strategy and budget, and answers for the return on it. In a mid-sized company the marketing director is the top marketer; in a large group, one of several. See what a marketing director does.
A chief marketing officer sits in the executive team and makes the case to the board for where growth comes from, often with marketing directors reporting in. See what a CMO does.
Titles drift with company size: a head of marketing at a large company may carry more than a marketing director at a small one. Read the remit, the budget and the reporting line, not the title.
The rules the marketing team works within
The head of marketing signs off much of what goes out, so the rules land on the role. The CAP Code is the rule book for non-broadcast advertising, sales promotions and direct marketing, and the Advertising Standards Authority enforces it; claims need evidence.
Emails, texts, calls and cookies fall under the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations and data protection law. The ICO’s direct marketing guidance covers consent, business-to-business marketing and the use of bought-in data. Environmental claims carry their own risk: the Competition and Markets Authority’s Green Claims Code explains how to make them within consumer protection law.
Fractional, interim and part-time heads of marketing vs permanent
A permanent head of marketing is an employee who builds and runs the team over years. That suits a business with a team to lead and a programme that needs an owner every day. For open roles, permanent first, see head of marketing jobs.
A fractional head of marketing works agreed days a week or month: setting the plan, managing the agencies and coaching a small team. You can hire a head of marketing on those terms. Where the gap is strategy and budget rather than delivery, a fractional marketing director may fit better. An interim works full-time for a fixed period, to cover a vacancy or run a launch; see interim marketing director cover.
A fractional or interim marketer working through their own company may fall within the off-payroll working rules (IR35). Status turns on how the engagement runs in practice, and a medium or large client makes the determination. Our IR35 guide sets out the tests.
What a head of marketing earns
Pay moves with the size of the team and budget, the sector, the location and whether the role answers for pipeline and revenue or for activity. A permanent head of marketing is paid a salary, sometimes with a bonus; a fractional or interim one, a day rate.
We do not publish a figure on this page. Our head of marketing salary page sets out pay with its sources, and our marketing director salary page covers the tier above.
How to hire a head of marketing
Start with the gap. If the strategy is settled and delivery keeps slipping, you need a head of marketing. If positioning, the target customer or the budget split is still open, you need someone senior enough to settle it, which is usually a marketing director or CMO.
Test the work. The CIPD’s guidance on selection methods favours clear, objective, structured processes with skill-based assessment tasks. Ask candidates to review last quarter’s campaigns and pipeline, or to plan your next launch on a budget you set. CIM Chartered Marketer status, which takes graded membership, two years of CPD and an assessment, shows professional standing; it is not a requirement.
We recruit fractional, interim, part-time, temporary and permanent executives, and non-executive directors. To hire a head of marketing, brief us: every brief gets a shortlist of 3–5, each with pay or day rate, availability and IR35 position set out, after our five-stage vetting.
Questions people ask
What is a head of marketing?
The person in charge of a company’s marketing team and the work it delivers: campaigns, channels, content, agencies and the leads handed to sales. The role sits between marketing managers and the marketing director or CMO.
Is a head of marketing the same as a marketing director?
Not usually. A head of marketing runs the team and the plan; a marketing director owns the strategy and budget and answers for the return. In a smaller company one person may do both. See what a marketing director does.
Who does a head of marketing report to?
To a marketing director or CMO in a larger company; to the chief executive or managing director where there is neither.
What qualifications does a head of marketing need?
None is required. Most have several years running campaigns and teams. Professional qualifications from the Chartered Institute of Marketing, including Chartered Marketer status, are a useful signal.
How much does it cost to hire a head of marketing?
A permanent head of marketing is paid a salary, sometimes with a bonus, plus employer’s National Insurance and pension; a fractional or interim one a day rate. Our head of marketing salary page sets out sourced figures. We set out pay or day rate for every candidate on the shortlist.
How do I hire a head of marketing?
Decide whether the gap is delivery or strategy, choose permanent, fractional, interim or part-time, and test candidates on a real campaign or plan. Our fractional head of marketing page sets out the part-week route; we send a shortlist of 3–5, each with pay or day rate, availability and IR35 position set out.
