What does a head of marketing do?
The head of marketing primarily oversees all marketing departments and operations, ensuring to convey the message of the brand. Their responsibilities revolve around devising strategies and business plans, preparing and allocating the budget for all departments, identifying new opportunities and assets, and analyzing consumers' needs. There are also instances when the head of marketing has to produce progress reports and presentations, monitor the competition, spearhead the hiring activities, and manage schedules. Furthermore, one must lead and encourage staff to meet all goals and deadlines in the joint effort to improve brand awareness and strengthen the client base.
Head of marketing responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real head of marketing resumes:
- Provide strategic oversight and a strong business approach to managing existing systems and developing enhance models for future events.
- Establish and maintain a dashboard of key sales and operational metrics (KPIs).
- Present monthly and quarterly program ROI report to in country marketing team and regional executive team.
- Create all advertising units - physical ads for film festivals; website advertising; Google, Facebook, and LinkedIn ads.
- Create PowerPoint audio and video presentations.
- Track and analyze program effectiveness to determine ROI and prioritize resources.
- Advance Facebook advertising campaign strategy, creation, execution & management.
- Develop an in-house marketing automation system and CRM using open-source platforms.
- Improve CRM capabilities by enabling bankers with profile-base next-best offer suggestions at customer interaction points
- Prioritize initiatives and develop a B2C marketing strategy to drive seller acquisition, engagement, and revenue generation.
- Re-Create and deploy the marketing message and relate identity materials, translating it for those unfamiliar with e-business technology and terminology.
- Lead a corporate wide SEM v-team responsible for authoring best practices, developing company policies, and negotiating keyword governance.
- Used HTML and CSS to create product pages with custom video players.
- Supervise daily, monthly and annual marketing budgets for PPC, social, native, outdoor and print advertising.
- Champion the implementation of Salesforce.com, into the business for business reporting and campaign management.
Head of marketing skills and personality traits
We calculated that 12% of Heads Of Marketing are proficient in Digital Marketing, Integrated Marketing, and Marketing Campaigns. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Communication skills, and Creativity.
We break down the percentage of Heads Of Marketing that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Digital Marketing, 12%
Collaborate closely with internal team of developers, graphic designers and copywriters to implement digital marketing projects from start to finish.
- Integrated Marketing, 6%
Designed and implemented integrated marketing and communications strategies for 50+ businesses ranging from capital markets to treasury management.
- Marketing Campaigns, 4%
Managed budget and an international team providing regional deployment and tailoring of marketing campaigns and messaging.
- KPIs, 3%
Streamlined processes and identified Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to measure ROI; improved employee productivity by 40%.
- Channel Marketing, 3%
Led go-to-market and partner/channel marketing and implementation efforts for a growth-phase financial technology firm.
- Google Analytics, 3%
Increased website visits by 300% leveraging tools like Google Analytics, e-mail campaigns and social media.
Common skills that a head of marketing uses to do their job include "digital marketing," "integrated marketing," and "marketing campaigns." You can find details on the most important head of marketing responsibilities below.
Analytical skills. The most essential soft skill for a head of marketing to carry out their responsibilities is analytical skills. This skill is important for the role because "advertising, promotions, and marketing managers must be able to analyze industry trends to determine the most promising strategies for their organization." Additionally, a head of marketing resume shows how their duties depend on analytical skills: "led the "content transformation" strategic initiative to transition to a customer-centric, data-driven, inbound and content marketing approach. "
Communication skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling head of marketing duties is communication skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "managers must be able to communicate effectively with a broad-based team made up of other managers or staff members during the advertising, promotions, and marketing process." According to a head of marketing resume, here's how heads of marketing can utilize communication skills in their job responsibilities: "manage all internal/external communications and press releases. "
Creativity. heads of marketing are also known for creativity, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to head of marketing responsibilities, because "advertising, promotions, and marketing managers must be able to generate new and imaginative ideas." A head of marketing resume example shows how creativity is used in the workplace: "lead the creative process behind social media marketing for two family operated hotels. "
Interpersonal skills. For certain head of marketing responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "interpersonal skills." The day-to-day duties of a head of marketing rely on this skill, as "managers must deal with a range of people in different roles, both inside and outside the organization." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what heads of marketing do: "mastered project management, team building, negotiating, needs analysis and interpersonal communication skills. "
Organizational skills. Another crucial skill for a head of marketing to carry out their responsibilities is "organizational skills." A big part of what heads of marketing relies on this skill, since "advertising, promotions, and marketing managers must manage their time and budget efficiently while directing and motivating staff members." How this skill relates to head of marketing duties can be seen in an example from a head of marketing resume snippet: "participated with product management to develop marketing and brand strategies to support organizational objectives. "
The three companies that hire the most head of marketings are:
- Meta190 heads of marketing jobs
- Zurich51 heads of marketing jobs
- Cengage Learning50 heads of marketing jobs
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Compare different heads of marketing
Head of marketing vs. Marketing and operations manager
A marketing and operations manager handles the marketing program and campaigns of an organization. Marketing and operations managers plan and create production process management, data and analytics, brand compliance, and technology infrastructure. They oversee both the marketing and positioning of the product or brand they sell. It is their duty to establish promotions with advertising managers. Skills they need to develop include good motivational skills, customer service, and relation awareness, strong negotiation skills, and exceptional communication skills.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a head of marketing are more likely to require skills like "content strategy," "brand management," "strategic thinking," and "business objectives." On the other hand, a job as a marketing and operations manager requires skills like "salesforce," "data analysis," "html," and "html css." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Marketing and operations managers earn the highest salaries when working in the professional industry, with an average yearly salary of $96,074. On the other hand, heads of marketing are paid more in the media industry with an average salary of $134,857.marketing and operations managers tend to reach lower levels of education than heads of marketing. In fact, marketing and operations managers are 7.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.4% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Head of marketing vs. Marketing program manager
The job of marketing program managers is to create marketing campaigns for a company's programs and products. They often work closely with the sales and advertising managers and assist in developing pricing strategy and monitoring marketing trends. As a marketing program manager, you are responsible for implementing programs that aim to maximize business revenue. Other duties may include maintaining the segmentation of marketing database, participating in the evaluation of marketing technology, and analyzing the performance of webinars, emails, and campaigns.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that head of marketing responsibilities requires skills like "content strategy," "brand management," "strategic thinking," and "business objectives." But a marketing program manager might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "salesforce," "strong project management," "program management," and "web content."
Marketing program managers earn a lower average salary than heads of marketing. But marketing program managers earn the highest pay in the transportation industry, with an average salary of $93,811. Additionally, heads of marketing earn the highest salaries in the media with average pay of $134,857 annually.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Marketing program managers tend to reach lower levels of education than heads of marketing. In fact, they're 5.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.4% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for Heads of marketing in the next 3-5 years?
Dr. Gail Hudson Ph.D.
Director, College of Business Internship Program, Arkansas State University
Head of marketing vs. Marketing account manager
A marketing account manager is the point of contact for both accounts and marketing companies. You are responsible for establishing contact with new accounts and maintaining strong relations with existing ones. This role typically requires you to perform a few tasks, including developing marketing plans and strategies to meet the account's needs, ensuring that the implementation of these strategies runs smoothly, and meeting with representatives to update them on the account's status. You may also be tasked to monitor budgets and revenue and explain to clients about cost factors.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from head of marketing resumes include skills like "kpis," "content strategy," "brand management," and "strategic thinking," whereas a marketing account manager is more likely to list skills in "account management," "html css," "html," and "sem. "
Marketing account managers earn the highest salary when working in the energy industry, where they receive an average salary of $72,442. Comparatively, heads of marketing have the highest earning potential in the media industry, with an average salary of $134,857.When it comes to education, marketing account managers tend to earn lower degree levels compared to heads of marketing. In fact, they're 10.0% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.3% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Head of marketing vs. Marketing vice president
Marketing vice presidents (VPs) are responsible for a company's overall marketing efforts and strategies. They plan and develop marketing strategies to bolster their company's market positioning and attain business goals. In addition, they are responsible for overseeing and coaching a marketing team and driving the implementation of marketing campaigns. Marketing VPs also direct and support the collection, analysis, and interpretation of market data market research, and manage marketing expenditures and budgets. The qualifications and requirements for this position include a master's degree in marketing or communication, previous work experience, and outstanding leadership skills.
Types of head of marketing
Updated January 8, 2025
