Founding Head of Managed Marketing Services (Contract-to-Hire)

This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, who manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Founding Head of Managed Marketing Services (Contract-to-Hire) based in the United States.

This is a senior leadership opportunity to build a new managed marketing services business from the ground up.

You will define the offering, pricing, positioning, delivery model, and quality standards while owning early client relationships.

The role combines strategic leadership with hands-on marketing execution across the full customer acquisition and retention lifecycle.

You will work across paid media, SEO, AI-search visibility, social, content, reputation, reviews, and direct marketing.

AI and automation will be central to creating a high-quality service model that can scale efficiently.

As the business grows, you will recruit and lead the delivery organization, establish repeatable playbooks, and own commercial performance.

This is an ideal role for an entrepreneurial marketing services leader who thrives in ambiguity and enjoys building from zero to one.

Accountabilities

• Build the managed services offering: Define the scope, service tiers, deliverables, pricing, packaging, positioning, sales motion, and differentiation between the software platform and the managed service.
• Lead early client delivery: Serve as the marketing strategist and lead for initial clients, develop unified marketing roadmaps, oversee execution, communicate results, and maintain accountability for ROI.
• Own full-stack marketing delivery: Direct integrated programs spanning paid search and social, SEO, AEO/AI-search visibility, social media, content, reputation and reviews, and direct marketing, supported by unified strategy and reporting.
• Establish quality standards: Define what excellent service and measurable results look like, create operating standards, and ensure they remain consistent as the offering scales.
• Build AI-powered operations: Design AI-assisted and automated workflows that increase delivery efficiency without compromising strategic quality, creativity, or client outcomes.
• Shape the technology ecosystem: Specify the tools, data infrastructure, reporting capabilities, and AI functionality required for service delivery, partnering with product and technology teams to develop them.
• Own commercial performance: Drive service growth and business performance while managing pricing, packaging, go-to-market strategy, and overall economics.
• Build the organization: Recruit, develop, and lead account and delivery teams as the business expands, establishing playbooks, metrics, processes, and accountability systems.
• Collaborate cross-functionally: Partner closely with Sales, Client Success, Product, and delivery teams to create a cohesive client experience and scalable operating model.
• Establish the first-year foundation: Launch a clearly defined and commercially viable service, delight early customers, develop scalable delivery and automation systems, and create the team and processes needed for future growth.

Requirements

• Marketing services leadership: Demonstrated experience building and operating a done-for-you marketing services offering or agency-style practice, including commercial ownership and responsibility for making the service successful.
• SMB and local marketing expertise: Deep understanding of how small and local businesses evaluate, purchase, and measure marketing services, with experience delivering tangible business value to these audiences.
• Full-stack channel expertise: Strong, current knowledge of paid search, paid social, SEO, and AEO/AI-search visibility, with working knowledge of social media, content, reputation management, reviews, and direct marketing.
• AI and automation fluency: Practical experience using AI and automation to improve marketing delivery, ideally including experience designing or implementing AI-enabled workflows and systems.
• Commercial acumen: Comfortable owning pricing, packaging, go-to-market strategy, revenue growth, and the commercial performance of a services business.
• Hands-on leadership: Willingness to personally sell, strategize, execute, and manage client accounts during the early stages before building and leading a larger team.
• Quality orientation: Strong commitment to service quality, measurable outcomes, operational consistency, and delivering on client commitments.
• Entrepreneurial mindset: Comfortable operating in an early-stage environment, navigating ambiguity, creating structure from scratch, and moving quickly from strategy to execution.
• Preferred experience: Background in automotive repair, franchises, multi-location businesses, dealer networks, or other local-service industries is advantageous.
• Additional preferred experience: Experience launching a services line within a software or technology platform company, building distributed delivery teams, or maintaining a network of marketing specialists is a plus.
• Work authorization: Must be authorized to work in the United States; visa sponsorship is not available.
• Engagement fit: Willingness to work within a contract-to-hire structure, with an initial contract period of approximately six to nine months and potential conversion to a permanent leadership position with reassessed scope and compensation.

Benefits

• Competitive contract rate during the initial contract period.
• Upon conversion, competitive base salary and access to the full employee benefits package.
• Flexible work schedule and fully remote work within the Continental United States.
• Four weeks of paid time off and seven days of paid sick time.
• One paid birthday day and one floating holiday annually.
• Seven paid holidays plus an annual holiday break.
• Annual anniversary bonus.
• 401(k) retirement plan.
• Family, medical, and bereavement leave.
• Employee Assistance Program and work-life wellness program.
• Remote employee reimbursement program.
• Health, dental, vision, life insurance, and disability coverage.
• 50% paid gym membership through an employee wellness program, up to $100.
• Team-building events and professional development through LinkedIn Learning.
• Employee referral bonus.
• Opportunity to build and lead a new, scalable marketing services business with significant strategic and commercial ownership.