How to hire a content director

How to hire a content director, step by step

Here's a step-by-step content director hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a content director job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new content director
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a content director do?

Post a content director job for free, promote it for a fee

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your content director job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find a content director for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A content director's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, content directors from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   This list shows salaries for various types of content directors.

   Type of Content Director	Description	Hourly rate
   Content Director	Advertising, promotions, and marketing managers plan programs to generate interest in products or services. They work with art directors, sales agents, and financial staff members.	$42-91
   Director Of Communications And Marketing	A director of communications and marketing spearheads a company's marketing and communication projects in adherence with the company's vision and mission. Being the director, they have the authority to make decisions, delegate responsibilities among managers and teams, and direct the project and program cycle from planning to execution, solving issues and concerns if any would arise... Show more	$27-63
   Director Of Marketing & Development	A director of marketing development is a management professional who is responsible for improving the marketing scheme of an organization while discovering ways to obtain new customers. This director is required to lead a team of marketers and work with other departments to make the organization's marketing plans become a reality... Show more	$28-77

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Digital Marketing
   • Content Strategy
   • Content Development
   • Content Marketing
   • Digital Content
   • Content Creation
   • Web Content
   • Project Management
   • Edit Content
   • Content Production
   • Video Content
   • Facebook
   • PowerPoint
   • Twitter

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Lead a team of social media managers to grow two Facebook business pages to more than a million fans.
   • Manage implementation of marketing automation software and lead integration with CRM to improve tracking and visibility into campaign performance.
   • Oversee submission, editing and revision of articles for publication through WordPress.
   • Review and analyze website content for editing and HTML coding, exclusively in Wordpress.
   • Create social media campaigns for clients including content creating, posting and monitoring Facebook pages and other social mediums as requested.
   • Convert static content into dynamic, utilizing database-driven tool for uploading, stripping and recoding most content using JavaScript.

   More content director duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the content director job description is a good way to get more applicants. A content director salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for a content director in Kentucky may be lower than in Rhode Island, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level content director. Additionally, a content director with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average content director salary

   $130,468yearly

   $62.73 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level content director salary

   $89,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 22, 2026

   Average content director salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Rhode Island	$150,465	$72
   2	California	$146,190	$70
   3	Washington	$144,940	$70
   4	Hawaii	$142,846	$69
   5	Massachusetts	$134,246	$65
   6	Pennsylvania	$131,527	$63
   7	Maryland	$129,667	$62
   8	Ohio	$129,442	$62
   9	Florida	$128,028	$62
   10	Connecticut	$126,355	$61
   11	New York	$122,419	$59
   12	Georgia	$118,192	$57
   13	Utah	$110,514	$53
   14	Virginia	$109,193	$53
   15	District of Columbia	$107,834	$52
   16	Texas	$107,115	$52
   17	Illinois	$104,873	$50
   18	North Carolina	$104,649	$50
   19	Indiana	$104,094	$50
   20	Colorado	$102,672	$49

   Average content director salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Meta	$195,499	$93.99	108
   2	Apple	$181,767	$87.39	4
   3	Etsy	$170,565	$82.00	1
   4	Netflix	$156,653	$75.31	10
   5	Tastemade	$156,140	$75.07
   6	Lattice Semiconductor	$149,690	$71.97	4
   7	Sephora	$145,528	$69.97	2
   8	Amazon	$145,437	$69.92	55
   9	Invesco	$143,241	$68.87	1
   10	Clean Harbors	$142,318	$68.42	8
   11	The Walt Disney Company	$139,358	$67.00	30
   12	Salesforce	$136,054	$65.41	84
   13	Perficient	$134,468	$64.65	10
   14	VitalChek	$133,936	$64.39	7
   15	Randstad North America, Inc.	$133,761	$64.31	2
   16	Ashley HomeStore	$133,557	$64.21	4
   17	Snap	$133,209	$64.04	2
   18	Wayfair	$132,975	$63.93	2
   19	NinjaTrader	$130,621	$62.80	3
   20	AT&T	$130,482	$62.73	8

4. Writing a content director job description

   A content director job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. To help get you started, here's an example of a content director job description:

   Content director job description example

   Core Digital Media brands empower people to improve their financial lives every day. We are one of the largest advertisers on the internet and tens of millions of people come to our sites each month. We have helped many of them save thousands of dollars off a variety of recurring expenses such as their mortgage, insurance premiums, credit card fees, etc. Our websites provide our consumers with valuable information and the ability to comparison shop service providers as they navigate some of life's biggest financial decisions.
   
   Core Digital Media is a proud member of the Rocket Companies family [“RKT” on NYSE] and works in close partnership with its sister companies Rocket Mortgage, Rocket Homes and Rocket Auto. These companies are all market leaders in their industries and who are obsessed with helping their clients achieve the dream of homeownership and financial freedom.
   
   Core Digital Media is committed to building and maintaining a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion, where all are welcomed and have the opportunity to flourish in their careers.
   The Opportunity
   Core Digital Media is currently seeking a Director of Content to join the team in Playa Vista. We are looking for an experienced editorial and peopleleader with expertise in the personal finance category to establish the editorial and content strategy for our new content-driven brands. You will work alongside the SEO and product teams and be integral in ensuring that we publish top content that resonates with our readers, search engines, and ultimately drives quality organic traffic.
   
   You
   You are an experienced leader adept and developing, articulating, and driving the implementation of content strategies that have resulted in significant increases in relevant user traffic, preferably from the ground up. You are analytical, metrics-driven, and action-oriented. You are comfortable taking ownership and developing strategy, as well as rolling up your sleeves to get things done.
   You demonstrate a clear ability to develop tactics and campaigns that drive the business goals: audience growth, engagement, acquisition, and reach.
   You are passionate about the development and growth of team members and ensuring that diverse points of view are considered in all decision-making. You are guided by the fact that leader success is determined by team success.
   Responsibilities Oversee, mentor, and empower team members and direct reports to achieve company, team, and personal development goals.Own the editorial vision, provide leadership, and be goal orientated toward article performance and volume.Work with SEO, CRM, and product teams to help develop and implement profitable content initiatives.Oversee an editorial calendar for personal finance topics that adapts to search trends.Lead the process of developing content via our freelance writers.Manage content distribution Track content performance, user behavior and traffic patterns, and make strategic decisions based on that data.
   Qualifications6+ years of hands-on experience in content management, increasing traffic and revenue.Strong project management skills. Will need to see projects from beginning to end.Proactive and solution oriented.Ability to interpret trends and deliver engaging content that drives qualified customers to the sites.Content distribution and/or PR experience is a plus Detail-oriented, highly organized.Bachelor's degree or higher or equivalent experience
   Core Digital Media an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status.
   
   Core Digital Media is committed to diversity, equity and inclusion and the principle of equal employment opportunity for all employees. CDM provides employees with a work environment free of discrimination and harassment.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find content directors for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your content director job on Zippia to find and attract quality content director candidates.
   • Use niche websites such as swipe files, exit five, marketinghire, american marketing association.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit content directors, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new content director

   Once you have selected a candidate for the content director position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire a content director?