Fractional CMO – Marketing Strategy & Operating System (Inbound-Led, Trust-Based B2B)

We are a founder-led B2B company operating in cybersecurity services and building a new AI platform for retail and healthcare environments. Our buyers are senior, risk-aware decision makers (CIO, IT, Ops, Finance). Sales cycles are long, trust-based, and credibility-driven. Today, sales are driven primarily by the founder. Marketing activity exists, but it does not meaningfully contribute to inbound demand or sales readiness. The issue is not execution capacity — it is lack of senior judgement, strategy, and clear rules. We have a Marketing Executive who executes well when given direction but does not yet have the strategic judgement to decide what should or should not be done. This role exists to fix that. What This Role Is: This is a fractional CMO role focused on strategy, judgement, and system design. Your job is to: •Design the marketing strategy • Build a marketing operating system • Translate founder judgement into clear rules • Enable our Marketing Executive to operate confidently without constant founder involvement • Create the conditions for high-quality inbound over time You are not being hired to: • Run campaigns • Execute marketing • Build funnels • Implement CRM or RevOps • Drive outbound • Optimise for likes, shares, or vanity metrics If your instinct is to “add activity” when results are slow, this is not the right role. Core Objectives 1. Inbound, not volume Design marketing so the right buyers self-select, trust us, and initiate conversations. Fewer enquiries is acceptable; better enquiries are the goal. 2. Trust transfer Externalise the founder’s judgement, credibility, and buyer intuition into marketing — without turning this into “personal brand” noise. 3. Marketing restraint Define what marketing will not do just as clearly as what it will do. 4. One system, two motions Build two distinct strategies: o Cybersecurity services (risk, compliance, resilience) o AI platform (operational visibility, pilots, proof) Supported by one unified operating system that a single Marketing Executive can realistically run. Scope of Work 1. Strategy (Written, Decision-Ready) • ICPs and buying committees for each motion • Buyer problems, triggers, and language • Differentiation and credibility signals • Sales enablement implications • Explicit constraints (what marketing will not attempt) 2. Marketing Operating System • Channel intent (not channel presence) • Asset hierarchy and standards • Case study and proof-point pipeline • Founder thought-leadership guardrails • Clear “never do this” rules (e.g. giveaways, gimmicks, public engagement incentives) • Sales → marketing feedback loops • Governance and review cadence 3. Execution Framework (for our Marketing Executive) • 90-day execution plan • Weekly / monthly rhythm • Capacity-aware priorities • Stop-rules for low-signal activity • Clear definition of success 4. Measurement • Focused on: o Sales usefulness of assets o Quality of conversations o Opportunity progression • Not focused on: o Likes, shares, impressions o Generic lead volume 5. Handover & Founder De-Bottlenecking • Clean documentation • Clear decision rules • Reduced founder involvement in marketing decisions • Optional light advisory after system is live What “Good” Looks Like After 90 days: • Marketing activity feels calmer, quieter, and more deliberate • Our Marketing Executive knows what good and bad marketing look like here • Marketing no longer damages trust with gimmicks or generic tactics • Sales conversations feel warmer and more aligned • Inbound may still be modest — but it is higher quality • The founder is no longer the marketing decision engine Required Experience You must have: • Senior B2B marketing leadership experience (services and/or SaaS) • Experience in regulated or high-trust environments (cybersecurity, healthcare, finance, enterprise IT) • Experience supporting founder-led sales • Experience designing marketing systems, not just campaigns • Comfort saying “no” more than “yes” Strong preference for: • Ireland or UK market experience • Understanding of conservative buyer psychology • Evidence of restraint-driven marketing This Role Is NOT For You If • You describe yourself as “full-stack” • You default to outbound or paid demand gen • You optimise for activity or engagement • You want to implement tools or run execution • You believe inbound comes from volume • You struggle to slow things down deliberately Engagement Details • Fractional engagement (approx. 5–10 hrs/week) • Initial 90-day scope • Strategy + system design focus • Remote is fine; UK/Ireland market familiarity is important How to Apply Please include: 1. A short summary of similar work you’ve done 2. An example of a written strategy or operating playbook (redacted is fine) 3. How you would prevent marketing from quietly damaging trust in the first 60 days Final note If you read this and thought “this sounds refreshingly strict”, you’re probably a fit. If you thought “we could layer more tactics on top”, you’re not. Apply tot his job