Here's a marketing manager job description you can copy and edit free of charge. It's written for a hands-on marketing manager who owns campaigns, a budget and a number, with brackets wherever your channels or targets differ. Below it, we cover the real day-to-day, U.S. pay data from O*NET, interview questions to ask first and how to write a post strong marketers will answer.
Marketing manager job description template
What a marketing manager does
A marketing manager turns a growth goal into campaigns, spends a budget to reach it, and proves what worked. A typical week includes checking last week's numbers, adjusting ad spend, reviewing a landing page or email, meeting with sales about lead quality, and planning next month's launch. O*NET's tasks for the occupation describe the same core: coordinating marketing activities, using forecasting and planning to drive sales, setting marketing strategy, running market research and developing pricing approaches.
Marketing managers work with sales, product, design, content writers and outside agencies. In many companies they're the link between what the business wants to sell and what buyers actually respond to, and they're often first to hear when a message isn't working.
At a startup, the marketing manager may be the whole department, writing copy, running ads, building emails and setting up tracking alone. At a large company, the title often means a specialist, such as a product marketing, brand, field or lifecycle marketing manager, working inside a bigger team with set budgets and approvals. Make the scope clear, because a generalist and a specialist will read the same title very differently.
Skills and qualifications
A bachelor's degree is common. In O*NET's survey for Marketing Managers, 80% of respondents said a bachelor's degree is required for new hires, 12% said a high school diploma and 6% said a master's. Fields vary, and no license or certification is required, so a portfolio of results should carry more weight than the major.
Salary
O*NET's matching occupation is Marketing Managers (11-2021.00). Its reported titles run from marketing coordinator and brand manager up to marketing director and business development director, so it covers more senior roles than many companies mean by "marketing manager." Based on 2025 Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data, the U.S. median is $166,790 a year ($80.19 an hour). The 10th percentile is $90,260 and the 90th percentile is $293,610.
Because directors are in the group, a hands-on manager at a small or mid-size company may land well below that median. Look at your state on O*NET's local wage page (California's median is $193,620) and at your own bands. Then include the range in the post: a growing number of states and cities require it, and marketers will compare it with other open roles.
Interview questions for marketing manager candidates
- "Walk me through a campaign you ran from brief to results." Strong candidates give the goal, budget, channels, numbers and what they'd change, and are honest about what didn't work.
- "Cost per lead doubled on your best channel this month. What do you look at?" Good answers check tracking first, then audience, bids, creative fatigue, competition and seasonality before cutting spend.
- "Sales says marketing leads are low quality. How do you respond?" Listen for asking for examples, agreeing on a shared definition, and looking at conversion data together instead of defending the number.
- "You have an extra $20,000 next quarter. Where does it go and why?" The best answers tie the choice to data on what's working and include how they'll measure it.
For 20+ more questions with what good looks like and a rubric, see our marketing interview questions. Our interview scorecard template helps panelists score each answer the same way.
Writing tips for this role
- Say whether it's a generalist or specialist role. "Owns all demand generation" and "owns lifecycle email" attract different people. Pick one and say it first.
- Share the budget size. Someone who has managed $10,000 a month and someone who has managed $1 million a month bring very different skills.
- Name the number they'll own. Leads, pipeline, revenue or sign-ups: tell candidates how success is measured.
- Don't stack five specialties into one post. A manager who is expert at SEO, paid, brand, events and product marketing rarely exists. List one or two as must-haves.
- Use the title candidates search for. "Marketing manager," "demand generation manager" and "growth marketing manager" each get searched. Add the common variant if yours is unusual. If the role is product-focused, compare our product manager template.
Screening marketing manager candidates with AI
Marketing resumes are full of big percentages that are hard to check from a page. NTRVSTA ranks every resume against your job description, then holds a live first-round interview with an AI interviewer, as a video avatar or audio, at whatever hour suits the candidate. It uses STAR questions and adapts as it goes, so a claim like "grew leads 300%" gets a follow-up about budget, baseline and timeframe. You can tailor questions to your channels.
Reports show a score breakdown and clips of key moments, and NTRVSTA integrates with your ATS (Lever and others), so your marketing lead can review candidates before the final rounds. To see how the scores are built, read how AI interviews are scored.
Questions
What's the difference between a marketing manager and a marketing director?
A marketing manager usually runs campaigns and owns results for one area or channel mix. A marketing director sets the overall strategy and budget, manages managers, and answers to leadership for all of marketing. At small companies one person may hold both jobs, so describe the actual scope in your post.
Should a marketing manager be a generalist or a specialist?
Early-stage companies usually need a generalist who can run several channels well enough. Larger teams usually get more from specialists in one area. Hire for what your next year of growth needs most, and say so plainly in the post.
Should we ask for a portfolio?
Yes, but keep it light. Ask candidates to bring two or three campaigns they can discuss, with results, rather than a formal portfolio. Many marketers can't share client or employer data, so let them talk through it instead of sending files.
Thinking about an AI first round for your next marketing hire? Book a 20-minute demo to see it live, or try a sample interview as a candidate would. For more templates, head to our job descriptions hub.
