Head of Marketing (Temp)

Type: Full-time, executive
Marketing staff, agencies, contractors, and freelancers as the function is built

McCarthy & Akers, PLC is building a predictable, measurable go-to-market engine for its estate-planning practice across Northern Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley.

We serve individuals and families making important decisions about their legacy, assets, and loved ones. We are hiring a hands-on Chief Marketing Officer to build the demand engine that makes that possible.

This is not a brand-only role, and it is not a role for someone who needs a large existing team, a mature data environment, or lengthy approval cycles. You will set the strategy and personally drive execution: build channels, improve conversion systems, manage partners and vendors, install clean attribution, and make decisions from data.

Build a predictable, profitable pipeline of highly qualified estate-planning consultations that converts into measurable marketing-sourced revenue, allowing the founding partners to exit day-to-day marketing decisions.

Within 12 months, deliver the agreed annual target for marketing-sourced revenue while meeting agreed standards for:

Customer acquisition cost by channelReturn on marketing spendPipeline forecast accuracyConversion from qualified consultation to signed engagement, in partnership with intake and attorneys
Build, propose, and manage annual marketing budget.
Build repeatable demand across SEO, Google Ads, Local Services Ads, paid social, email, content, video, local search, community events, seminars, webinars, and referral partnerships.Forecast qualified consultations, signed matters, and marketing-sourced revenue by channel, month, and quarter.
FUNNEL PERFORMANCE AND CLIENT JOURNEY
Own marketing's portion of the client journey: first touch through qualified consultation booking and nurture.Build nurture sequences for prospects not ready to engage immediately.Improve lifetime value through plan-maintenance programs, client reviews, referrals, family-member outreach, and relevant cross-service opportunities.
REFERRAL AND LOCAL-MARKET DEVELOPMENT
Build measurable referral programs with financial advisors, CPAs, insurance professionals, senior-care providers, and other attorneys.Strengthen the firm's local presence through Google Business Profiles, reviews, reputation management, events, and community partnerships.
• TECHNOLOGY, DATA, AND AI LEVERAGE
CRM, intake and practice-management integrations, call tracking, attribution, dashboards, and data quality.Build AI-enabled workflows that improve output and speed, including content production, campaign optimization, lead scoring, nurture, chat, intake automation, and reporting.Use data to make budget and channel-allocation decisions.
TEAM AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Build and lead a lean, high-leverage mix of internal staff, agencies, contractors, and technology.Hold vendors and team members accountable to defined outcomes, deadlines, and performance standards.Report performance monthly and lead a quarterly go-to-market review with the partners.
Complete an audit of current channels, spend, marketing assets, intake workflow, CRM, attribution, website, local presence, and referral activity.
• Establish reporting cadence and data-quality standards.
Deliver a 12-month go-to-market plan with budget, channel forecast, targets, and testing roadmap.

Launch the highest-leverage channel improvements and stop spend that cannot be justified by data.Implement an AI-assisted content and nurture system.Achieve the agreed marketing-sourced revenue target.Produce a reliable pipeline forecast for planning and capacity decisions.Agency, contractor, and vendor managementContent calendar and campaign creativeCRM and marketing-technology configurationTesting prioritiesApproved marketing spend within the agreed budget and approval threshold
Annual budget and material unbudgeted spend
Major brand changesLegal and ethical review of attorney advertising and solicitation materialsHiring permanent employees
A documented record of personally building and operating measurable demand generation for a professional-services or similarly complex services business.
Comfort operating with imperfect data and limited resources while building the systems required to improve both.Preferred, but not required, hands-on technical experience with online marketing tools, tracking systems, and AI-enabled workflows.Ability to translate complex estate-planning services into clear, compelling language for families.Professional-services, legal, financial-advisory, accounting, estate-planning, elder-law, or retiree/pre-retiree audience experience is preferred.Familiarity with attorney advertising and solicitation requirements is helpful.
You want to manage a large established team rather than build a lean function.
You prefer brand activity without direct accountability for pipeline and revenue.You need perfect data, extensive support staff, or long approval cycles before acting.You have not personally owned channel performance, budget decisions, and measurable acquisition outcomes.We give our people time to re-create because we care about who they are outside the office: we want them to come back to their families on even the hardest days with something left to give.Base salary (depending on structure): $150,000+Performance-based compensation based on firm profitability, qualified lead generation, CAC, return on marketing spend, and forecast accuracy.Retirement plan with employer matchEmployer-paid Short-Term Disability InsuranceWork that matters in the lives of families and business ownersA one-page summary of a business you helped scale, including:
Budget managed