Head of Marketing Job Description
Hire an experienced senior marketer to set strategy, lead the marketing team and drive measurable growth across brand, demand and digital channels.
What does a Head of Marketing professional do?
Senior leader responsible for overall marketing strategy, team leadership and delivering measurable commercial impact.
Head of Marketing job description template
Use this employer-ready example as a starting point, then replace the placeholders and adjust the content so it accurately reflects your vacancy.
Head of Marketing
About the role
We are looking for a Head of Marketing to own marketing strategy and delivery for [Company] in [Location]. You will lead a multi-channel marketing function, manage the marketing budget, line-manage senior marketers and work closely with the executive team to deliver brand, demand and growth objectives. This role reports to [Reporting Line] and will have responsibility for a team of approximately [team size].
Key responsibilities
- Define and own the 12–24 month marketing strategy aligned to commercial objectives and present it to the executive team.
- Lead, mentor and develop a multidisciplinary marketing team (brand, digital, content, performance and comms).
- Set clear KPIs (lead generation, conversion, revenue contribution, brand metrics) and report performance to senior stakeholders.
- Plan and manage the marketing budget, prioritising spend across channels to maximise ROI.
- Oversee integrated campaigns across digital, content, social, events and PR to build pipeline and brand awareness.
- Work with sales and product teams to define go-to-market plans for new products or services.
- Commission and interpret market and competitor insights to inform positioning and campaigns.
- Implement a testing and optimisation culture using analytics to improve acquisition and customer retention.
Essential skills and experience
- Proven experience in a senior marketing leadership role with responsibility for strategy, budget and team management.
- Track record of planning and delivering multi-channel marketing programmes that drove measurable growth.
- Strong stakeholder management and experience presenting to executive teams or boards.
- Ability to set and report on meaningful marketing KPIs and use analytics to make decisions.
- Experience managing external agencies and suppliers.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills and strong commercial awareness.
Desirable
- Experience in the same or adjacent industry sector (e.g. B2B tech, consumer, SaaS) relevant to the organisation.
- Hands-on experience with CRM, marketing automation or analytics platforms.
- Experience leading brand repositioning or major product launches.
- Evidence of running performance marketing at scale (PPC, paid social, programmatic).
- Formal marketing qualification or MBA.
- Experience working with international or multi-market rollouts.
What we offer
- Competitive base salary (placeholder – enter band or range)
- Bonus or performance-related pay (placeholder)
- Pension scheme (placeholder)
- Generous holiday entitlement (placeholder)
- Flexible / hybrid working policy (placeholder)
- Training and professional development budget (placeholder)
How to apply
Apply with your CV and any additional information requested. Make the interview process, closing date and any assessment stages clear where known.
Use this as a starting point rather than a final advert. The strongest version will reflect the real role, salary, location, systems, responsibilities, benefits and working arrangements.
What is a Head of Marketing role?
A Head of Marketing leads an organisation’s marketing function, shaping strategy to grow awareness, generate demand and support commercial goals. They translate business objectives into measurable marketing plans, manage budgets and teams, and coordinate across sales, product and leadership. The role balances strategic planning, execution oversight and performance measurement to ensure marketing contributes to revenue and long-term brand equity.
Team leadership
Typically manages a cross-functional team of marketers and external agencies; responsible for performance and development.
Strategic remit
Owns medium-term marketing strategy (12–24 months) and alignment with commercial and product plans.
Performance focus
Accountable for measurable outcomes such as leads, conversion rates, pipeline and brand metrics.
Operational delivery
Balances strategic thinking with hands-on oversight of campaigns, tech stacks and supplier relationships.
Typical Head of Marketing responsibilities
Responsibilities should reflect the real scope of the vacancy rather than every task someone in this profession might ever complete.
Define
Define and own the 12–24 month marketing strategy aligned to commercial objectives and present it to the executive team.
Lead, mentor
Lead, mentor and develop a multidisciplinary marketing team (brand, digital, content, performance and comms).
Set clear KPIs (lead generation
Set clear KPIs (lead generation, conversion, revenue contribution, brand metrics) and report performance to senior stakeholders.
Plan and manage the marketing budget
Plan and manage the marketing budget, prioritising spend across channels to maximise ROI.
Oversee integrated campaigns across digital
Oversee integrated campaigns across digital, content, social, events and PR to build pipeline and brand awareness.
Work with sales
Work with sales and product teams to define go-to-market plans for new products or services.
Commission
Commission and interpret market and competitor insights to inform positioning and campaigns.
Implement a testing
Implement a testing and optimisation culture using analytics to improve acquisition and customer retention.
Head of Marketing skills and experience to look for
Keep the essential list focused on what the person really needs to perform the role. Move useful-but-trainable experience into desirable criteria.
Usually worth prioritising
- Proven experience in a senior marketing leadership role with responsibility for strategy, budget and team management.
- Track record of planning and delivering multi-channel marketing programmes that drove measurable growth.
- Strong stakeholder management and experience presenting to executive teams or boards.
- Ability to set and report on meaningful marketing KPIs and use analytics to make decisions.
- Experience managing external agencies and suppliers.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills and strong commercial awareness.
Useful where relevant
- Experience in the same or adjacent industry sector (e.g. B2B tech, consumer, SaaS) relevant to the organisation.
- Hands-on experience with CRM, marketing automation or analytics platforms.
- Experience leading brand repositioning or major product launches.
- Evidence of running performance marketing at scale (PPC, paid social, programmatic).
- Formal marketing qualification or MBA.
- Experience working with international or multi-market rollouts.
See our guide to what to include in a job advert before publishing.
How to write a Head of Marketing job advert
Small role-specific details can make the advert much easier for suitable candidates to assess.
State the remit and level of seniority
Clearly say whether this role is the senior marketing leader for the whole organisation, a regional lead, or reports into a CMO/MD.
List key outcomes not only tasks
Candidates want to know the KPIs they will be measured against (e.g. pipeline contribution, lead targets, brand metrics).
Be specific about team and budget
Include team size, direct reports and whether the role controls a marketing budget (give approximate band or signpost a range).
Describe decision authority
State whether the role hires agencies, sets budget allocations and approves creative and channel strategies.
Head of Marketing salary considerations
Head of Marketing pay varies widely; consider factors below when setting a salary band rather than quoting a single figure.
depending on experience
- Use a genuine range
- Separate variable pay
- Avoid “competitive” alone
- Match salary to seniority
What Head of Marketing candidates will want to know
Practical details can influence whether a suitable candidate applies, even when the title and salary are attractive.
What will I be accountable for day-to-day?
Describe whether the role is hands-on (campaign management) or strategic (setting direction and managing leaders) and list immediate priorities.
Who will I manage and who do I report to?
State team size, seniority of direct reports and the reporting line to clarify leadership expectations.
What budget and authority will I have?
Confirm budget ownership, approval limits and responsibility for agency contracts or vendor selection.
What is the working pattern and flexibility?
Explain hybrid/remote expectations, core office days and any travel or event commitments.
How is success measured?
List primary KPIs such as pipeline, revenue contribution, customer acquisition cost and brand measures.
What support and development is available?
Clarify training budgets, mentoring, leadership development and access to external agencies or consultants.
Where to post a Head of Marketing job
For a senior marketing leader use a mix of broad UK job boards and targeted channels. Promote the vacancy on professional networks (LinkedIn), senior marketing communities, industry-specific job boards and marketing trade publications. For hard-to-fill or executive roles consider targeted headhunting or executive search and promote the role through your existing leadership networks to reach passive candidates.
Related marketing / senior management job descriptions
Recruiting for a slightly different role? These templates may be a closer fit.
Head of Marketing job description FAQs
Should I advertise this as Head of Marketing or Marketing Director?
Use the title that best reflects seniority and reporting line. 'Head of Marketing' is commonly used for the top marketing leader in smaller to mid-sized businesses; 'Marketing Director' may be expected in larger organisations with C-suite reporting structures.
How long does it usually take to hire a Head of Marketing?
Allow 6–12 weeks from advertising to offer for senior roles, longer if using executive search or if you need niche sector experience.
What interview stages are recommended?
A typical process includes an initial screening, task or presentation on strategy, a panel interview with senior stakeholders and final cultural fit or reference checks.
Do I need to set a formal job task or presentation?
Yes — asking candidates to prepare a short marketing strategy or audit for a real business challenge helps assess strategic thinking and communication skills.
How should I assess cultural fit for a senior marketing hire?
Evaluate leadership style, cross-functional collaboration, evidence of hiring and developing teams, and whether they prefer centralised vs. decentralised approaches.
Ready to hire your Head of Marketing?
Use this template to build a clear vacancy and decide which channels to target. If you need help advertising or running a senior hire, consider combining broad job boards with targeted headhunting to reach both active and passive candidates.
