What does a Head of Marketing do?

Heads of marketing own the marketing strategy, budget and team, and are accountable for marketing's contribution to growth.

Open roles now: 14
Remote: 29%
Most-requested tool: Generative AI

The job

A head of marketing owns the whole function: strategy, budget, team and results. At a startup this is often the first senior marketing hire, who builds the team and the playbook from scratch. At larger companies the role might be called VP marketing or CMO and lead several teams.

The job is mostly decisions about focus. Which customers to go after, which channels to invest in, how to split the budget, who to hire and in what order, and what to stop. A good marketing leader ties those decisions to the company's revenue goals and explains them clearly to the CEO and board.

Leaders also build the team. Hiring the right first few marketers, coaching them and setting a high bar matters more than any campaign. More and more companies also want marketing leaders who know how to use AI to get more from a small team.

A typical week

Review pipeline, revenue and channel performance against the plan
Meet with the CEO and sales leader on targets and priorities
Run one-on-ones and coach the team
Make budget calls and approve big campaigns
Interview candidates for an open role

How they're measured

Marketing-sourced and influenced pipeline and revenue
Customer acquisition cost and payback
Brand and category position
Team performance and retention
Budget efficiency

Skills that matter

Strategy: Choosing where to focus and what to ignore.
Budget allocation: Putting money where it returns the most.
Hiring and coaching: The team does the work; you build the team.
Executive communication: Explaining marketing's impact to the CEO and board.
Cross-functional leadership: Marketing only works aligned with sales and product.
Channel depth: Credibility comes from having been great at something.

Tools employers ask for

Share of 15 marketing leadership job posts on HeyMarketers in the last 12 months that name each tool.

Generative AI20%

Career path

1
Marketing manager or senior manager
Owns a channel or program.
2
Director of marketing
Owns several channels and a team.
3
Head of marketing or VP marketing
Owns the function and its number.
4
CMO
Owns marketing strategy at the executive level, sometimes with broader scope.

Open marketing leadership roles by level right now: lead or director 36%, vp or c-level 64%.

How to stand out

Show a function you built or turned around, with before and after numbers.
Explain how you split a budget and why.
Bring a hiring decision you're proud of and one you got wrong.
Show you can still do the work yourself when needed.

Preparing for interviews? See the questions heads of marketing get asked, or read a typical job description.

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Open marketing leadership roles

Head of Growth · Postscript
VP, Growth Marketing · Later
VP, Creator Growth (SLG) · Later
SVP, Revenue Marketing · MongoDB
Regional Vice President, Enterprise, Growth, UKI · MongoDB
Chief Growth Officer · quip

Hiring now: Later, MongoDB, Adyen, Duolingo, Glossier, Gusto, Inc..

See all 14 open marketing leadership jobs

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