Market note

Market: UK, with a particular focus on Manchester and the North West.

Date: September 2026.

Basis: Essential Resourcing market observation, not a published salary survey.

Intro

“What’s the market rate?”

Probably one of the questions I’ve been asked most throughout my recruitment career.

And unfortunately the truthful answer is usually:

It depends.

Helpful, David. Cheers. 😂

But senior marketing salaries genuinely aren’t determined by job title alone.

A £50m retailer hiring its first Marketing Director and a global business recruiting somebody to lead 100 marketers could use exactly the same title.

They’re not the same job.

So before deciding what to pay, look at what you’re actually asking somebody to own.

Start with scope, not title

A senior marketing salary should reflect business size and complexity.

What size organisation are they joining?

Team.

Are they a standalone marketer or leading 40 people?

Budget.

Are they managing £500k or £20m?

Commercial accountability.

Are they delivering marketing activity or genuinely responsible for growth?

Leadership expectations.

Are they sitting on the leadership team and influencing business strategy?

Transformation.

Are they inheriting something healthy or being asked to rebuild the bloody thing?

Scarcity.

How many people in your geography genuinely have the experience you need?

Those variables can move compensation considerably.

Don’t build a £100k brief with a £70k budget

This happens more than you’d think.

The requirements gradually grow.

Commercial leadership.

Brand.

Performance.

Digital transformation.

Data.

AI.

Team development.

Agency management.

Board experience.

International expansion.

And then somebody says:

“We were thinking about £65k?”

Right. 😂

There’s nothing wrong with having a fixed budget.

But something has to give.

Benchmark the people, not just the salary surveys

Salary guides are useful.

They’re a reference point.

They’re not gospel.

When I run a search, I’m interested in what the actual people capable of doing the job are earning, what would motivate them to move and what competing opportunities they’re considering.

That’s your real market.

Think about the whole proposition

Senior candidates don’t move purely for another £5k.

They consider remit, autonomy, CEO relationship, quality of leadership, team, budget, flexibility, equity, bonus, career trajectory, brand and whether the job actually sounds enjoyable.

Money matters.

Of course it bloody does.

But compensation is only part of the proposition.

What good costs

My general advice is simple.

Don’t ask:

“What’s the cheapest we can get this person for?”

Ask:

“What does somebody genuinely capable of solving this problem cost?”

They’re very different questions.