Where is the fractional marketing work right now?

Senior marketing leadership and growth lead the asks, and a third of the time-bound marketing work we scanned in October was fixed-term contracts.

Published 16 October 2026From Live roles, 4 to 16 October4 minute read

senior, time-bound marketing briefs in two weeks

of them fixed-term contracts, about a third

Nearly half

at head, director or lead level

45 of 100

adverts that said “marketing” weren’t marketing at all

Every morning we scan UK and US boards for senior, time-bound work. In the first two weeks of October, 55 marketing briefs made it through. Here’s what they tell us.

A third were fixed-term

Sixteen of the 55 were fixed-term contracts:

12-month contractsA 15-month maternity coverA 7-month campaign

A business ready to fund a full year of a full-timer has already told you its problem has an end date.

That’s the opening for a fractional conversation: the same outcome, with senior help a couple of days a week.

Leadership leads

Most asks were for someone to run marketing, not to do one task: Head of Marketing, Senior Marketing Manager, Marketing Lead. Nearly half were at head, director or lead level. In order of how often they came up:

Marketing leadershipRunning the function: head, director, lead
Growth and performanceAcquisition, paid and lifecycle
Brand and creative
Events
Communications
Product marketing

The problems repeat

Read past the titles and the same situations keep coming up.

Technology

Getting marketing ready for the next stage of growth.

Subscription and content

Keeping customers, not just winning them.

Charities and healthcare

Strengthening their communications.

Large organizations

Turning campaign data into decisions.

What to do with this

If one of those sounds like your best work, say it on your profile in the words a buyer would use. That’s how the right profile gets found at the right time.

Questions people ask

What fractional marketing work are businesses asking for?

Mostly someone to run marketing: head, director and lead level asks came first in the work we scanned in October. Growth and performance came next, then brand and creative, events, communications and product marketing.

Is a fixed-term marketing contract a fractional opportunity?

Often, yes. A 12-month contract or a maternity cover tells you the problem has an end date and the budget is agreed. That’s a conversation about the same outcome, delivered by a senior person a couple of days a week.