Should I lead my CV with brand work or demand work?

Lead with whichever owns the highest commercial number you can defend. If you have moved pipeline contribution from 30% to 55% of new ARR, lead demand. If you have lifted brand awareness in your ICP from 14% to 31% and that has fed measurable inbound, lead brand. If you have done both, lead with the one most relevant to the role you are applying for. CMO roles at PLG companies care more about brand and category; B2B sales-led businesses care more about pipeline. Tailor accordingly.

How big a team do I need to manage to call myself Marketing Director?

There is no fixed UK convention, but the practical band in 2026 is 8-25 people for a Marketing Director and 25-100+ for a CMO. Below 8, the title is usually Head of Marketing, not Director. If your title is Marketing Director but the team is 4 people, hiring panels will treat you as a Head of Marketing in a small company, which is fine — just be honest about the team scope so the conversation does not unravel in interview. Inflated team numbers are the fastest way to lose credibility.

Do I include CIM or other qualifications at this seniority?

Not prominently. By the time you are at Director level, your work record is the qualification. CIM Diploma or Chartered Marketer status can sit at the bottom of the CV in a single line, but never at the top. The exception is if you are moving into a regulated industry (financial services, healthcare) where formal qualifications smooth approval — in which case, list them clearly. Otherwise, lead with revenue, team, brand and Board impact.

CV Example · Senior Leadership · UK 2026

Marketing Director CV Example UK

Marketing Director CVs at the £120k-£200k UK band live or die on commercial proof. I have placed Marketing Directors into PE-backed scale-ups, FTSE consumer brands and B2B platforms, and the ones who land interviews are the ones who write a CV that reads like a P&L summary, not a campaign portfolio. Pipeline contribution, CAC payback, brand-tracker movement, retention impact. Show me you understand revenue, you can defend a marketing budget to a CFO, and you have built a team. The CMO interview panel will include the CEO, the CFO and probably the Chair; write for that audience.

By Alex · 12-year UK recruiter · Updated April 2026

Example header

Hannah Reeves · Marketing Director · 14 years · London

Personal statement / Professional summary

Marketing Director with 14 years across B2B SaaS and B2B services, currently leading a 22-person marketing function at a £48m ARR scale-up. Own a £4.2m annual budget across demand, content, brand, product marketing and operations. In 2025, marketing-sourced pipeline grew from 38% to 54% of total new ARR, and CAC payback shortened from 19 to 11 months. Comfortable presenting to the Board and partnering with the CFO on planning. Looking for a CMO role at a Series C-D B2B business with £30m-£100m ARR and ambition to IPO or exit within 3 years.

Bullet point examples

Strong bullets follow the same shape: action verb, specific scope, quantified outcome. Use these as patterns, not as copy-paste templates — the numbers must be your own.

Pipeline and revenue

Lifted marketing-sourced pipeline contribution from 38% to 54% of new ARR over 14 months, adding £6.8m of net-new ARR against a £4.2m marketing investment.
Reduced CAC payback from 19 to 11 months by retiring two underperforming paid channels and reallocating spend into content-led demand and partnerships.

Team and budget

Built and lead a 22-person marketing function across demand, content, brand, product marketing and ops; promoted two team members to Head-of-function level in 2025.
Own a £4.2m annual marketing budget; presented quarterly to the CFO and Board with full attribution model and channel-level ROI reporting.

Brand and positioning

Led the 2025 rebrand and category-positioning project, working with an external agency and the CEO; brand awareness in the target ICP rose from 14% to 31% in tracker.
Repositioned the platform from a point solution into a category-leader narrative, with the new messaging adopted by Sales and now used in 80% of opportunity-stage decks.

Product marketing and launches

Owned the launch of the Enterprise tier, hitting £2.1m of new ARR in the first three quarters against a £1.5m target, with 14 of the launch wins from new-logo accounts.
Built the company's first competitor-intelligence programme; in-quarter win rate against the lead competitor improved from 41% to 58%.

Board and exec partnership

Co-authored the 3-year strategic plan with the CEO and CFO, owning the marketing investment case and the assumed CAC and payback inputs.
Presented at three Board meetings in 2025 on category strategy, demand performance and brand health; Board feedback formalised marketing as a strategic function rather than a service line.

Skills section — what to list

Mirror the skills exactly as they appear in target job ads. The ATS reads this section literally — synonyms hurt match scores.

Demand generation and ABMMarketing-led pipeline and revenue ownershipCAC, LTV and payback modellingBrand strategy and positioningProduct marketing and launchContent and SEO strategyMarketing operations and attribution (HubSpot, Marketo, Salesforce)Team building and leadership at Director levelBudget ownership (£1m+)Agency and vendor managementBoard and Exec presentationPricing and packaging inputCustomer marketing and retentionCategory creationGTM partnership with Sales and CS

Marketing Director-specific CV mistakes that get you binned

× Writing a portfolio of campaigns instead of a P&L of impact — Boards do not buy 'a brilliant launch video', they buy revenue.
× Hiding the CAC and payback numbers — if you do not know them, you are not ready for a Director role and the panel will sniff that out.
× Listing 40 tools — pick the platforms you have implemented or owned and skip the trial accounts.
× Underplaying the team — at Director level, 'led a team of X' is a top-three fact, not a footnote.
× Using marketing jargon ('hyperpersonalised omnichannel storytelling') in a document a CFO will read — write in commercial English.

Common questions

Should I lead my CV with brand work or demand work?: Lead with whichever owns the highest commercial number you can defend. If you have moved pipeline contribution from 30% to 55% of new ARR, lead demand. If you have lifted brand awareness in your ICP from 14% to 31% and that has fed measurable inbound, lead brand. If you have done both, lead with the one most relevant to the role you are applying for. CMO roles at PLG companies care more about brand and category; B2B sales-led businesses care more about pipeline. Tailor accordingly.
How big a team do I need to manage to call myself Marketing Director?: There is no fixed UK convention, but the practical band in 2026 is 8-25 people for a Marketing Director and 25-100+ for a CMO. Below 8, the title is usually Head of Marketing, not Director. If your title is Marketing Director but the team is 4 people, hiring panels will treat you as a Head of Marketing in a small company, which is fine — just be honest about the team scope so the conversation does not unravel in interview. Inflated team numbers are the fastest way to lose credibility.
Do I include CIM or other qualifications at this seniority?: Not prominently. By the time you are at Director level, your work record is the qualification. CIM Diploma or Chartered Marketer status can sit at the bottom of the CV in a single line, but never at the top. The exception is if you are moving into a regulated industry (financial services, healthcare) where formal qualifications smooth approval — in which case, list them clearly. Otherwise, lead with revenue, team, brand and Board impact.