Lead and Executive Jobs
Looking for a new management or director-level role in digital marketing or digital sales?
Learn about working and applying as a digital leader, the different role categories, responsibilities and salaries.
This will help you assess not only the job title, but also the mandate, functional scope and leadership level of a role.
Working as a lead, manager or executive
At Finest People, Leadership & Executive focuses on senior leadership within digital, marketing, commercial growth and digital transformation. We place leaders with a go-to-market specialism at growth-stage organisations, leaders hired to drive change and leaders at established multinationals. It is not only about the job title, but about the combination of functional responsibility, leadership level and organisational stage.
A Manager or Team Lead often combines day-to-day operations with coaching and team performance. In Head of, Director and VP roles, the emphasis shifts towards strategy, organisational development, budgets and collaboration across disciplines. C-level and Managing Director positions generally carry broader responsibility for direction, performance, people and sometimes a full P&L.
The exact remit differs greatly between organisations. A scale-up, for example, often requires someone to build and accelerate, whereas a larger organisation may place greater emphasis on governance, stakeholder management and international alignment. The type of employment arrangement that works best also differs by organisation. Interim leadership is often used to cover a role before a permanent appointment is made, but it can also be the most suitable solution for organisations that temporarily need specific expertise, change capability or additional leadership capacity.
What lead, management or executive roles are there?
Job titles within Leadership & Executive are not standardised. At one organisation, a Head of Growth may lead a marketing team, while elsewhere the same title includes responsibility for product, sales and partnerships. Director, VP and C-level titles likewise say little about the size of the mandate without additional context.
For every vacancy, consider:
- the primary functional field and the results for which you will be responsible.
- the size and composition of the team, the budget and any P&L responsibility.
- the balance between strategy, people management and operational execution.
- the reporting line and your position in relation to the board, shareholders and other disciplines.
- which decisions you may make independently and which resources are available to you.
- the maturity, growth stage and international context of the organisation.
- the composition of base salary, variable pay, pension and any shares or options.
This prevents an impressive title from carrying more weight than the actual mandate and substance of the role.
What can you earn as a lead, manager or executive?
What you earn as a lead, manager or executive cannot be captured accurately in a single average. Our own vacancy data shows substantial differences between functional role categories and leadership levels. Team size, budget, P&L responsibility, organisational stage and international scope also influence base salary. Start-ups and scale-ups regularly include equity as an additional component of the package.
The analysis below is based on a dataset of 257 Finest People vacancies, of which 118 could be used reliably for the analysis. Bonus, commission, equity and other variable pay are not included in the figures.
Manager or Team Lead
Approximately € 45,000 to € 85,000 gross per year (excluding bonus)
The median is € 60,000. Managers and Team Leads generally oversee the day-to-day work of a team. They set priorities, coach employees, monitor results and act as the link between the team and senior management. The exact responsibility depends partly on the size of the team and the extent to which the role remains hands-on.
Head of
Approximately € 50,000 to € 110,000 gross per year (excluding bonus)
The median is € 80,000. A Head of is usually ultimately responsible for a functional field or department, such as Sales, Marketing, Product or Operations. The role combines strategy development with responsibility for budgets, people and results. The broad salary range reflects differences in discipline, team size and the national or international scope of the role.
Director or VP
Approximately € 55,000 to € 125,000+ gross per year (excluding bonus)
The median is € 90,000. Directors and Vice Presidents generally provide direction to multiple teams, disciplines or markets. They translate organisational objectives into policy, manage senior managers and often carry responsibility for budgets, revenue or P&L. The greater the international, commercial and organisational scope, the more senior the role is generally graded.
C-level or Managing Director
Approximately € 60,000 to € 140,000+ gross per year (excluding bonus)
The median is € 100,000. C-level executives and Managing Directors are responsible for the direction and performance of an organisation or independent business unit. Depending on the role, this may include strategy, growth, finance, operations, organisational development and P&L. Base salary is only one part of the total compensation package: at this level, bonuses, equity or other long-term incentives can play an important role.
Which factors have the greatest impact on your salary?
In addition to leadership level, your functional scope, mandate and organisational context are the main factors determining what you can earn in a lead, manager or executive role.
- The functional field: revenue, paid advertising, brand, content, analytics, CRM, product, e-commerce or growth & strategy.
- The size and seniority of the team you manage.
- Responsibility for budgets, revenue and any P&L.
- The balance between strategy, people management and operational execution.
- The growth stage, complexity and international scope of the organisation.
- Your position within the management or executive team and the authority to make decisions.
- The composition of base salary, variable pay, pension and any equity or options.
Salaries by functional focus
The median varies considerably between roles with different functional focuses, from € 58,300 for Product & Delivery to € 96,700 for Marketing Automation & CRM. This may be related to the low representation of these categories in our usable dataset. These figures should therefore be regarded as indicative and may change as more data points become available.
Of the leadership roles in our dataset, 160 belong to digital marketing and 83 to digital sales; 14 roles cannot be categorised unambiguously.
Salary trend over the years
The pooled median increased from € 55,000 in 2016–2018 to € 70,000 in 2023–2025. The individual annual medians fluctuate more strongly, partly because different types of roles are advertised each year. After adjusting for role category and leadership level, the nominal trend over 2016–2025 is approximately 2.0% per year.
For 2026, the available data covers only part of the year and the median is € 80,000 based on ten salaries. All amounts are nominal, have not been adjusted for inflation and exclude bonuses, commission, equity or other variable pay.
Which fields does Finest People recruit digital leaders for?
The nine role categories below map one-to-one to Finest People’s Leadership & Executive specialisation. They describe the primary functional field of the role; the leadership level may range from Manager or Team Lead to C-level or Managing Director.
Employers look for leaders who combine functional expertise with clear decision-making, team development and demonstrable results. The capabilities that matter most differ by role category.
Revenue / Commercial / Sales
You are responsible for commercial growth, sales strategy, revenue operations and managing sales or commercial teams. You connect the proposition, pipeline, customer segments and revenue objectives with a scalable commercial organisation.
Common job titles include Chief Revenue Officer, Commercial Director, Sales Director, Head of Sales, VP Sales and Revenue Director.
Paid Advertising
You lead paid media, performance marketing and digital advertising budgets. You manage teams, agencies and channels with a focus on returns, scalability, brand impact and commercial growth.
Common job titles include Head of Paid Media, Head of Performance Marketing, Paid Advertising Lead, Director Performance Marketing and Digital Marketing Director.
Brand & Communications
You lead brand positioning, communications, PR and reputation development. You safeguard the strategic direction of the brand and ensure that internal and external communications are consistent, distinctive and effective.
Common job titles include Head of Brand, Brand Director, Communications Director, Head of Communications, PR Director and Marketing Communications Lead.
Organic Content & Creative
You are responsible for content strategy, creative teams, social content and brand storytelling. You translate strategy into formats, campaigns and creative output that reaches, activates and engages audiences.
Common job titles include Head of Content, Creative Director, Content Director, Head of Social, Editorial Lead and Creative Lead.
Analytics & Customer Insights
You use data, customer insights, analytics and optimisation to support better decision-making. You build teams and processes around measurement, dashboards, customer behaviour, CRO and customer experience.
Common job titles include Head of Analytics, Insights Director, Customer Insights Lead, Data & Analytics Director, CRO Lead and Head of Customer Experience.
Marketing Automation & CRM
You lead CRM, marketing automation, lifecycle marketing and customer retention. You ensure that customer data, technology, segmentation and journeys contribute to loyalty, repeat purchases and customer value.
Common job titles include Head of CRM, CRM Director, Marketing Automation Lead, Lifecycle Marketing Director, Retention Lead and Customer Engagement Director.
Product & Delivery
You lead digital products, projects, programmes and delivery teams. You connect customer needs, business objectives, technology and execution through a clear product or delivery strategy.
Common job titles include Head of Product, Product Director, VP Product, Programme Director, Head of Delivery and Digital Transformation Director.
E-commerce
You are responsible for digital sales channels, marketplaces, revenue, conversion and e-commerce growth. You bring together commerce, marketing, technology, operations and customer experience.
Common job titles include E-commerce Director, Head of E-commerce, VP E-commerce, Marketplace Director and Digital Commerce Director.
Growth & Strategy
You lead growth, go-to-market, full-funnel marketing and commercial strategy. You connect the market, proposition, channels, data and organisational development to achieve sustainable growth.
Common job titles include Chief Marketing Officer, VP Marketing, Growth Director, Head of Growth, Strategy Director and Go-to-Market Lead.
Looking for a team lead, manager or executive?
Are you not looking for a job yourself, but seeking an experienced leader for your organisation?
We would be happy to help you define the profile and find the right professional for your recruitment challenge.
How do you find a good lead or executive job?
A good next step offers more than a higher title or a more attractive base salary. In senior leadership roles, it is the mandate, the context and the organisation’s support that determine whether you can make a real impact.
Compare vacancies on questions such as:
- Which specific results must you achieve in the first twelve months?
- Which teams, budgets, channels, products or commercial results fall within your responsibility?
- Which decisions can you make independently and which require approval?
- Who will you report to, and will you be part of the management or executive team?
- How are functional depth, people management and organisation-wide strategy balanced?
- What growth stage is the organisation in, and which problems or backlogs will you inherit?
- How are base salary, variable pay, pension and any shares or options structured?
- Why is the position open, and how much support is there for the change you will be expected to deliver?
During the application process, ask about the current situation, available resources, decision-making and success criteria. This will give you a more realistic view of the scope you will actually have to develop teams, strategy and performance.
Do not only ask yourself whether you can perform the role today. Also consider what you can build in this context and which responsibilities you could carry in two or three years’ time.
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View all current Leadership & Executive vacancies and filter by location, employment type, salary, functional field and leadership level. You can also contact us directly about an application or speculative application.