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Full-time temporary Chief Marketing Officers earning £1,200-£2,000 per day. Leadership roles lasting 3-12 months for rebrands, transformations, and crisis situations.
An Interim CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) is a senior marketing executive hired on a full-time, temporary basis to provide marketing leadership during periods of transition, transformation, or crisis. Unlike fractional or part-time CMOs, interim CMOs work exclusively for one organisation, typically for 3-12 months.
Interim CMOs are brought in to handle specific situations: covering a vacancy while recruiting a permanent CMO, leading a major rebrand, driving digital transformation, managing a crisis, or integrating marketing teams post-merger. They hit the ground running with deep expertise and the authority to make decisions and drive change quickly.
This is not a part-time role. Interim CMOs work full-time (5 days per week) with complete focus on the organisation's marketing challenges. They are embedded in the business, leading teams, making strategic decisions, and delivering results within a defined timeframe.
Interim CMOs are hired for specific, high-impact assignments. Here are the most common scenarios:
Your CMO has departed and you need immediate full-time leadership while recruiting a permanent replacement. The interim maintains momentum and ensures no critical projects stall.
Complete brand overhaul requiring dedicated full-time leadership. From strategy through to launch, the interim CMO drives the entire transformation.
Overhauling your marketing tech stack, moving to digital-first, or transforming your go-to-market approach. Requires full-time expertise and change management.
Launching into new markets or launching a new product requiring intensive full-time marketing leadership for planning and execution.
Post-merger integration of marketing teams, consolidating brands, and aligning marketing strategies across the combined entity.
Marketing performance crisis, brand reputation issues, or team dysfunction requiring immediate full-time intervention and turnaround leadership.
Interim CMOs in the UK typically earn between £1,200-£2,000 per day, depending on experience, sector expertise, and assignment complexity.
5-10 years marketing leadership experience
10-15 years, proven track record
15+ years, complex transformations
Based on working 220 days per year (allowing for time between assignments):
Note: As a contractor, you'll need to manage your own tax, pension, and insurance.
Most interim CMOs follow a similar career trajectory before transitioning to interim work:
Start in marketing roles and progress to Head of Marketing, Marketing Director, or CMO positions in permanent roles. You need proven experience leading teams, owning P&L, and delivering results at a strategic level.
Build deep expertise in specific areas: rebrands, digital transformation, B2B marketing, D2C growth, or specific sectors (tech, finance, retail). This expertise makes you valuable for specific interim assignments.
Document your achievements: successful rebrands, revenue growth, team transformations, crisis turnarounds. You'll need concrete case studies and references to win interim roles.
Register as a limited company or umbrella company contractor. Get professional indemnity insurance, set up accounting, and ensure you are IR35-compliant.
Connect with interim agencies, recruiters specialising in interim executives, and build relationships with CEOs and boards. Most interim work comes through referrals and networks.
Your first role is the hardest to get. Start with your network, register with specialist interim agencies, and be prepared to move quickly when opportunities arise. Once you have one successful interim assignment, more follow.
Typical Background:
Most interim CMOs are 40-55 years old with 15-25 years of marketing experience. They have held permanent CMO or Marketing Director roles and are looking for variety, higher earnings, and the challenge of different assignments.
Beyond standard marketing expertise, interim CMOs need specific skills to thrive in temporary, high-pressure assignments:
Ability to quickly understand the business, market, team dynamics, and marketing challenges within the first 2-4 weeks. No time for lengthy onboarding.
Leading teams through transformation, managing resistance, and getting buy-in from stakeholders who may be sceptical of a temporary executive.
Understanding and navigating complex stakeholder dynamics, board politics, and organisational cultures quickly without an established power base.
Delivering tangible results within 3-12 months. No time for just strategy—you need to execute and show measurable impact before your assignment ends.
Building credibility and trust with teams quickly, motivating them during uncertainty, and developing capabilities that outlast your tenure.
Handling the pressure of fixing problems quickly, working in crisis situations, and managing the uncertainty of contract-to-contract work.
Documenting your work, training teams, and ensuring your initiatives continue after you leave. Planning your exit from day one.
Running your own business, managing finances, marketing yourself, maintaining networks, and handling gaps between assignments without the safety net of employment.
Core Marketing Skills Required:
Brand strategy, digital marketing, demand generation, marketing operations, team leadership, budget management, stakeholder management, analytics and measurement. You should have led at least one major transformation or rebrand successfully.
Interim CMO roles are typically found through specialist interim agencies, executive recruiters, and professional networks. Unlike permanent roles, interim positions move fast—from initial contact to start date can be as little as 2-3 weeks.
Register with agencies specialising in interim executives (The FD Centre, Vercida, Odgers Interim, etc.)
Build relationships with headhunters who place interim as well as permanent C-suite roles
Optimise your profile for interim work, join interim executive groups, and engage with recruiters actively
Former colleagues, board connections, and CEOs you have worked with are often the best source of interim work
Online platforms connecting interim executives with businesses (Interim Quest, Exec Appointments, etc.)
Join Interim Quest to access exclusive interim CMO roles and connect with businesses seeking temporary marketing leadership.
Join as an Interim CMO| Feature | Interim CMO | Fractional CMO | Full-Time CMO |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commitment | Full-time (temporary) | 1-3 days/week | Full-time (permanent) |
| Duration | 3-12 months | Ongoing (6+ months typical) | Permanent |
| Cost | £8,000-£12,000/week | £3,000-£6,000/week | £150,000-£250,000/year + benefits |
| Focus | Gap-fill or transformation | Strategic + operational | All responsibilities |
| Flexibility | Fixed term contract | Scale up/down as needed | Limited flexibility |
| Best For | Leadership gaps, major transitions | Growing companies, specific expertise needs | Large orgs with full-time need |
Join Interim Quest to find your next assignment or hire an interim CMO for your business.