Updated October 2026
A strong startup marketing manager job description names the one channel the hire must own in year one, says who carries the pipeline number, and is honest that the role is hands-on with little or no team. It lists six-month outcomes instead of every marketing activity, and shows salary and equity up front.
Decide which single channel your next twelve months depend on, then write the JD around it. Content, demand generation, product marketing and events each need a different person, and a JD asking for all four describes a team of four on one salary.
Our illustrative example is a Series A company selling compliance software to manufacturers. Most deals start at two trade shows, so it picks events as the year-one channel.
Copy-and-paste marketing manager job description
About [Company]
[Company] helps [customer] to [problem you solve]. We raised [round] from [investors] in [month, year] and are [number] people. Most customers find us through [main source today].
The role
We're hiring our first marketing manager to own [year-one channel, e.g. events] and build the marketing plan around it. You'll run campaigns yourself, with a budget of [amount] and help from [freelancers / nobody yet], reporting to [name]. You'll carry [a marketing-sourced pipeline target / no pipeline target in year one].
What you'll do in your first 6 months
- Run the [channel] plan, producing [number] qualified opportunities a quarter that sales accepts.
- Rewrite our positioning and website copy with [founder], tested in [number] customer interviews.
- Launch [campaign, release or event] by [month].
- Set up [CRM] reporting so marketing, sales and the board count pipeline the same way.
What you'll bring
- You've owned [channel] at a B2B company and can show the pipeline it produced.
- You've been a first or only marketer, or did the hands-on work in a small team.
- You write [website copy, emails, one-pagers] without an outside writer.
- You can build your own reports in [CRM].
- You've agreed a qualified-lead definition with sales and kept to it.
Nice to have
- Experience marketing to [industry or buyer].
- Depth in [second channel].
What we offer
- Salary: [£/$/€ X to Y].
- Equity: [X% to Y%], [vesting schedule].
- [Remote / hybrid, X days in City].
- Stage: [Seed / Series A / Series B], marketing budget of [amount]. [Benefits].
Working from rough notes? The free job description builder drafts one in minutes, and our marketing manager interview questions test the scorecard below. If you need fast acquisition experiments more than a plan, see the growth marketer job description.
For the compliance company, the first must-have becomes trade show experience with CRM follow-up, and content moves to Nice to have.
How the marketing manager job description changes by stage
| Seed | Series A | Series B | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Marketing manager, not Head of | Marketing manager or senior manager | Head of marketing, or a manager under one |
| Hands-on work | Nearly all | Most, with a written plan | Planning and managing others |
| Channels | One, plus the website | One main, one under test | Several, each with an owner |
| Pipeline number | Shared informally with the founder | Agreed target with sales | Reported to the board |
Benchmark pay against current data for your market. Building a team from day one is a different search, covered in how to hire a head of marketing.
Scorecard: how you'll judge success
Agree this with your sales lead first. First marketers who fail usually fail on the sales relationship, not on marketing skill.
| Outcome | What good looks like at 12 months | How you'll test it in interviews |
|---|---|---|
| Year-one channel | Runs on a steady rhythm; [number] accepted opportunities a quarter | Rebuild a past plan for your channel and budget |
| Positioning | Website and deck say the same thing; sales uses both unedited | Ask who your homepage is written for |
| Pipeline reporting | One agreed definition, visible in the CRM | Ask where sales disagreed with their numbers |
| Campaigns | [Number] shipped on time, each with a debrief | Walk through a campaign that missed |
| Working with sales | Your sales lead calls marketing useful | Sales lead interviews them alone |
30-60-90 day plan
| Days | Focus | By the end they should have |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 30 | Join sales calls, interview customers, audit existing marketing | A one-page view of who buys and where leads come from |
| 31 to 60 | Agree the channel plan and pipeline definition | A two-quarter plan, budget and CRM pipeline view |
| 61 to 90 | Run the first campaign or event under the plan | Results and a lead-quality debrief with sales |
Mistakes founders make in marketing manager job descriptions
Listing every channel. This attracts people who have dabbled in each and owned none.
"Own content, SEO, paid, social, events, PR and brand."
"Drive awareness across all channels."
"Own events, starting with [trade show] in [month]."
"[Number] qualified opportunities a quarter that sales accepts."
Calling it Head of Marketing. Head-of candidates expect a team. When they find themselves writing nurture emails, they leave.
Leaving the pipeline number out. You'll attract brand marketers when you need demand, and the argument surfaces at the first board meeting.
Asking for a famous logo. Big-brand marketers with specialists around them may never have built a campaign alone.
Where Funded.club fits
We've helped 500+ startups from Seed to Series D across North America, Europe and APAC, and agree a low fixed fee per hire upfront, averaging 6 to 9% of salary. Illustratively, on a $100,000 marketing manager a 20 to 25% contingency fee is $20,000 to $25,000; our fixed fee is $7,500 (see pricing).
One dedicated recruiter runs the search, with first screened candidates within 7 days. Read how to hire a head of marketing for a startup for the full process.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a marketing manager and a growth marketer?
A marketing manager owns the plan, positioning and campaigns around one main channel. A growth marketer runs fast experiments on acquisition and conversion.
Should a marketing manager carry a pipeline target?
Yes, if creating demand is the reason for the hire. Define a marketing-sourced opportunity with sales first and put the target in the JD.
How do I choose the channel to build the JD around?
Check where your last ten customers first heard of you. Pick the channel that would change the next year most, and list any second channel under Nice to have.
Worth a brief chat about your next hire? Book a free call.
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