01
Senior consultant on every search
A named lead consultant runs the search end to end. They co-create the brief with you, run candidate calibration sessions and personally close the offer.
- Recruitment -
Marketing recruitment across Europe and the UK
CMOs, demand-gen leaders and senior specialists who blend strategic positioning with measurable execution across European markets.
- Why this practice exists -
A senior, cross-border practice for marketing
Senior marketing hires sit at the intersection of brand, revenue and product. Go Ahead HiRe recruits the leaders and senior specialists who can hold all three together across multiple European markets and languages.
We routinely run searches for CMOs and VPs of Marketing for Series B to Series D scale-ups, regional Heads of Demand Generation for established European groups and senior Product Marketing Managers for technical SaaS companies. Every brief is treated as a positioning exercise as much as a recruitment one: we help you define the seniority, scope and reporting line before the search goes live.
Read more about our six-step approach or the six European markets we cover.
- What we do -
Inside the marketing recruitment practice
A focused set of services delivered by a single accountable consultant, with senior calibration on every shortlist.
- Retained search for CMO, VP Marketing and Head of Marketing roles across all six core European markets.
- Headhunting for senior demand generation, growth, product marketing, brand and communications specialists.
- Confidential leadership replacements when an existing CMO needs to be quietly succeeded.
- Multilingual senior content and PR leadership searches for pan-European brands.
- Salary and equity benchmarking against the local market for every shortlisted marketing leader.
- Typical mandates -
Roles we recruit, week in week out
A snapshot of the marketing recruitment mandates that come across our desk most often. If your role is not listed but lives at the senior end of the function, send us a one-paragraph brief.
- Chief Marketing Officer
- VP Marketing EMEA
- Head of Demand Generation
- Head of Product Marketing
- Head of Brand and Communications
- Senior Product Marketing Manager
- Director of Performance Marketing
- European Content and SEO Lead
Looking for a current opening? Browse our live open positions or submit your CV confidentially.
- Who we work with -
The kind of clients on this practice
A representative cross-section of the marketing recruitment clients we partner with across Europe and the UK.
B2B SaaS and tech-enabled scale-ups hiring their first senior marketing leader in Europe.
Established European brands hiring a regional CMO or Head of Marketing for a new geography.
Private equity-backed portfolio companies upgrading marketing leadership ahead of a growth phase.
Founder-led businesses ready to professionalise positioning, demand and brand under one senior leader.
- Our approach -
A six-step search method, applied consistently
Every marketing recruitment engagement runs on the same six-step search process: discovery, market mapping, sourcing and longlisting, calibrated shortlisting, client interviews and selection, and offer plus onboarding support. Most senior searches close within 6 to 10 weeks, with a calibrated longlist visible to you within 2 to 3 weeks of kickoff.
See the full six-step approach- Why choose us -
Why clients pick Go Ahead HiRe for marketing
02
Real positioning conversation
We push every client to define the marketing function before defining the role: who owns demand, who owns product marketing, who owns brand. The right hire follows from the right organisation design.
03
Cross-border and multilingual
We assess marketing leaders comfortably in English, Dutch, German, French, Spanish and Italian. For pan-European mandates we map the candidate pool in every relevant market in parallel.
Ready to start a marketing search?
Brief us on the role and Darcie will personally come back within one business day with proposed next steps. Want to see how we run cross-border searches first? Read about our six-step approach or the six European markets we cover.
- Country specialisations -
Marketing Recruitment by country
Country-specific landing pages for marketing recruitment, with local salary benchmarks, market context and FAQs.
Marketing recruitment in Netherlands
CMO, VP Marketing, Demand Generation and Product Marketing leaders placed across Amsterdam and the Randstad. Native Dutch sourcing, written briefs and a calibrated longlist in two ...
OpenMarketing recruitment in United Kingdom
CMO, VP Marketing, Head of Demand Generation and Product Marketing leaders placed across London, Manchester, Edinburgh and Bristol. Honest UK comp benchmarks and calibrated longlis...
OpenMarketing recruitment in Germany
Senior marketing leaders placed across Berlin, Munich, Hamburg. Native local sourcing, written Germany compensation benchmarks and a single accountable consultant on every search.
OpenMarketing recruitment in France
Senior marketing leaders placed across Paris, Lyon, Toulouse. Native local sourcing, written France compensation benchmarks and a single accountable consultant on every search.
OpenMarketing recruitment in Spain
Senior marketing leaders placed across Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia. Native local sourcing, written Spain compensation benchmarks and a single accountable consultant on every search...
OpenMarketing recruitment in Italy
Senior marketing leaders placed across Milan, Rome, Turin. Native local sourcing, written Italy compensation benchmarks and a single accountable consultant on every search.
OpenMarketing recruitment in Portugal
Senior marketing leaders placed across Lisbon, Porto, Braga. Native local sourcing, written Portugal compensation benchmarks and a single accountable consultant on every search.
Open- Explore further -
The other five recruitment specialisations
Most clients work with us across more than one discipline. Browse the rest of the practice or return to the recruitment services hub.
Sales Recruitment
Hunters, account managers and revenue leaders.
Open practiceEngineering Recruitment
Software, platform and engineering leaders.
Open practiceOperations Recruitment
Supply chain, customer ops and revenue ops.
Open practiceManagement & Leadership
C-suite, country leadership and board roles.
Open practiceConsultancy Recruitment
Strategy, transformation and advisory talent.
Open practice- Marketing Recruitment FAQ -
Process, pricing and how we work
Five questions we are asked most often about marketing recruitment at Go Ahead HiRe.
Last reviewed: · Source: goaheadhire.com
Do you recruit for marketing leadership only, or also senior specialists?
Both. Roughly 60 percent of our marketing work is leadership search (CMO, VP Marketing, Head of Marketing) and 40 percent is senior specialist (Head of Demand Gen, Senior Product Marketing Manager, European Content Lead). The common factor is seniority and cross-border scope, not the level on the org chart.
Related: See the six European countries we cover, Brief us on a marketing role
Reviewed · Source: goaheadhire.com
How do you handle multilingual content and brand leadership searches?
For European content and brand leadership roles we map candidate pools in each of the relevant languages in parallel. A Head of Content for a pan-European SaaS brand might require strong English plus working German or French, and we screen for those language combinations explicitly during the longlist stage rather than discovering gaps during interviews.
Related: See our cross-border approach
Reviewed · Source: goaheadhire.com
Can you help me design the marketing org before we start the search?
Yes. For first senior hires we routinely spend the discovery call mapping the marketing org design before agreeing the brief: who owns demand vs brand, where product marketing reports, whether the CMO inherits a team or builds one from scratch. This conversation tightens the brief and shortens the search by weeks.
Related: See our six-step approach
Reviewed · Source: goaheadhire.com
Do you recruit performance and growth marketing leaders, not just brand?
Yes. Performance, growth and lifecycle marketing leadership is a regular part of our work, particularly for Series B to D B2B SaaS scale-ups. We screen on attribution maturity, paid media P&L responsibility, marketing-influenced pipeline and the candidate's comfort working alongside a strong RevOps function.
Related: See our sales recruitment practice
Reviewed · Source: goaheadhire.com
Are CMO searches always retained?
In our experience, yes. CMO and VP Marketing searches at the seniority we work with require deep market mapping, off-market sourcing and confidential reference work that contingent recruiters cannot deliver. We run all CMO searches on a retained basis. Mid-senior specialist searches can run on container or selective contingent terms.
Related: Speak to a recruiter
Reviewed · Source: goaheadhire.com
Still have a question? Send us a message on the contact page or brief us on a new role.