Free chief growth officer (CGO) job description templates: general, startup, fractional, head of growth, enterprise, and marketing-led, with FLSA help.
6 free templates across general, startup, fractional, head of growth, enterprise, and marketing-led roles, with the CGO-versus-CMO-versus-CRO distinction the generic templates skip. Download as DOCX.
A chief growth officer job description has a distinction worth getting right before you write a word: by the accounts of the firms that recruit for it, CGO is one of the most misunderstood titles in the C-suite. It is a growth integrator, pulling marketing, sales, product, and customer success around one growth strategy, which is different from a CMO who owns marketing or a CRO who owns revenue, even though it overlaps with both.
At FirstHR, we build templates that name the role clearly, add the FLSA and equity context the boilerplate skips, and tell you honestly who hires a CGO and what a smaller company should do instead. The six below cover general, startup, fractional, head of growth, enterprise, and marketing-led versions. The guide to writing a job description covers the fundamentals.
TL;DR
A chief growth officer (CGO) is a senior executive who integrates marketing, sales, product, and customer success around one growth strategy, distinct from a CMO (marketing) or CRO (revenue). A full-time CGO is an exempt, six-figure-plus-equity role hired by enterprises and venture-backed companies. A smaller company usually wants a fractional CGO or a Head of Growth instead. Pick the right version and download six as DOCX.
What a Chief Growth Officer Does
A chief growth officer is a senior executive responsible for driving sustainable growth, and the defining feature is integration: the CGO pulls marketing, sales, product, and customer success together around one growth strategy and one set of targets, reporting to the CEO and owning the company's top-line growth.
There is no dedicated federal occupation code for the role; the nearest is chief executives. The title is relatively new, popularized around 2017, and concentrates in large consumer brands, private-equity portfolios, and venture-backed companies.
What CGO Means (and Doesn't)
Before writing anything, make sure chief growth officer is the title you actually mean, because it is easily confused with adjacent C-suite roles and even with unrelated jobs that share the initials.
Chief Growth Officer
Growth integrator
A senior executive who owns growth across the whole journey, integrating marketing, sales, product, and customer success around one growth strategy. This is the role these job descriptions mean.
CMO or CRO instead?
Adjacent C-suite roles
If you mean a marketing and brand leader, the title is CMO. If you mean revenue, sales, and conversion, it is CRO. CGO often overlaps with both, which is why the role is so often confused.
Not the other CGOs
Same initials
Chief Growth Officer shares initials with Chief Green Officer (sustainability), Chief Governance Officer, and nonprofit giving roles. This page is about the growth executive only.
Name the Role Correctly
If marketing and brand are the priority, you likely want a CMO. If revenue and sales execution are the priority, a CRO. If growth genuinely needs a cross-functional integrator above the functions, a CGO. And if you need a hands-on leader rather than an executive, a Head of Growth. Naming it right determines the candidates you attract.
Chief Growth Officer Duties and Responsibilities
A CGO's duties cluster into four areas: strategy, growth execution, cross-functional leadership, and reporting and stakeholders. The balance shifts by stage (hands-on at a startup, organization-leading at enterprise), but the integrating role is common to all.
The single most useful thing a CGO job description can do is be clear about which executive role it really is. Here is how the three compare across the dimensions that matter.
CGO
CMO
CRO
Owns
Growth across the journey
Marketing and brand
Revenue and sales
Scope
Marketing, sales, product, CS
Demand and brand
Sales, conversion, rev ops
Horizon
Long-term growth
Brand and demand
1 to 3 year revenue
Best when
Growth needs an integrator
Marketing is the priority
Revenue and sales are the priority
The takeaway: if the role is really marketing or really revenue, name it a CMO or CRO and attract the right candidates. Reserve CGO for a genuine cross-functional growth integrator.
Which Template Should You Use?
Pick the template by stage and context: general for a broad full-time role, startup for a venture-backed company, fractional for part-time contractor leadership, head of growth for the hands-on alternative, enterprise for a large organization, and marketing-led for the expanded-CMO interpretation. Use this guide to choose.
Chief Growth Officer
General baseline
The general full-time CGO version, integrating growth across functions, with the FLSA and equity note built in.
Startup / Venture-Backed
Scaling startup
For a venture-backed startup, hands-on and strategic, building the growth engine with equity in the package.
Fractional / Part-Time
Contractor, scope of work
For senior growth leadership part-time, usually as a contractor. The version a smaller company is most likely to use.
Head of Growth / VP
First growth hire
For the hands-on growth leader below C-level, often the practical alternative to a CGO at a smaller company.
Enterprise CGO
Large organization
For a large company, leading the enterprise growth organization across brands, units, and markets.
Marketing-Led CGO
Expanded CMO
For the marketing-led interpretation, an expanded CMO who also owns demand generation and revenue growth.
Match the Template to the Stage
A scaling startup: Startup. Part-time senior help without a full-time hire: Fractional. A first hands-on growth hire: Head of Growth. A large company: Enterprise. A marketing-driven growth executive: Marketing-Led. A broad full-time role: the general CGO. Classify a full-time CGO as exempt; classify a fractional CGO carefully as a contractor.
Download all six as a single Word document or copy individual templates. Each follows the same structure: company overview, summary, responsibilities or scope of work, qualifications, a compliance note, and how to apply or engage. Fill in the brackets, set the reporting line, and post.
Download All 6 Job Description Templates
General, startup, fractional, head of growth, enterprise, and marketing-led. All in one DOCX.
Template 1: Chief Growth Officer (General)
The general full-time CGO version, integrating growth across functions, with the FLSA and equity note built in.
Chief Growth Officer Job Description
CHIEF GROWTH OFFICER (CGO) JOB DESCRIPTION
Company: __ ([City, State])
Reports to: [CEO]
Employment type: Full-time
FLSA status: Exempt (salaried)
Compensation: $_____ per year [plus equity and bonus]
ABOUT [COMPANY NAME]
[Company Name] is a [industry] company in [City, State]. We are hiring a Chief
Growth Officer to own and accelerate our growth across the customer journey.
POSITION SUMMARY
The Chief Growth Officer (CGO) is a senior executive responsible for driving
sustainable growth. The role integrates marketing, sales, product, and customer
success around a single growth strategy, owns the growth targets, and reports to
the CEO.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
•Own the company growth strategy and targets
•Align marketing, sales, product, and customer success around growth
•Identify and prioritize growth opportunities and channels
Compensation: $_____ per year [plus equity and bonus]
ABOUT THIS ROLE
Some companies use Chief Growth Officer for a marketing-led growth executive,
closer to an expanded CMO who also owns demand generation and revenue growth.
This version is for that interpretation. (If you mean a marketing-only leader,
the title is CMO; if you mean revenue and sales, it is CRO.)
POSITION SUMMARY
The Chief Growth Officer leads marketing-driven growth: brand, demand
generation, marketing, and the customer journey, with direct ownership of the
growth and pipeline targets that result. The role blends marketing leadership
with cross-functional growth accountability.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
•Own the marketing and demand-generation strategy for growth
•Lead brand, content, and performance marketing
•Drive pipeline, acquisition, and revenue growth
•Align marketing with sales and product
•Own marketing and growth metrics and ROI
•Build and lead the marketing and growth team
•Use data and experimentation across channels
•Report growth and marketing performance to leadership
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
•Senior marketing leadership experience (CMO or equivalent)
•Proven track record driving measurable revenue growth
•Strong brand, demand-generation, and performance-marketing skills
•Data-driven and cross-functional
•Bachelor's degree; advanced degree common
COMPLIANCE NOTE
Exempt (salaried) under the FLSA executive exemption. As with any C-level role,
compensation typically includes equity, and the actual duties (not the title)
determine the exemption. This is general information, not legal advice.
EEO STATEMENT
[Company Name] is an equal opportunity employer and provides reasonable
accommodations for the essential functions of this role.
COMPENSATION AND HOW TO APPLY
Compensation: $_____ per year [plus equity and bonus]
To apply, email __ with your resume.
FLSA, Equity, and Contracts
The compliance picture for a CGO is straightforward on overtime classification but has a few executive-specific pieces the generic templates skip entirely. Four points belong in the hiring decision.
Almost always exempt (executive)
A full-time Chief Growth Officer is exempt from overtime, meaning salaried and not entitled to overtime pay, under the FLSA executive exemption: the primary duty is management of the company or a department, the role regularly directs the work of others, and it carries authority over hiring and strategy. At C-level pay the role also clears the highly compensated employee test, which simplifies the analysis. Because compensation runs well into the six figures, the salary basis is met with a wide margin and the duties test does the real work. A Head of Growth a level down is also typically exempt, under the administrative or executive exemption depending on whether the role manages a team. The title does not decide it; the actual duties and pay do. This is general information, not legal advice.
Fractional CGO: classify the relationship correctly
Smaller companies that want senior growth leadership usually engage a fractional or part-time CGO as an independent contractor rather than a full-time employee. That classification must reflect the real relationship, not just the contract: under the federal economic-realities test, and stricter ABC tests in states like California, a worker you direct day to day and who is economically dependent on your business may be an employee regardless of the agreement. A genuine part-time advisory engagement across multiple clients is typically a contractor, but a fractional CGO who effectively runs your growth full time under your direction may not be. Misclassification carries back-tax and penalty exposure, so confirm the facts fit the label. This is general information, not legal advice.
Equity is part of the package and carries its own rules
C-level compensation almost always includes equity, typically stock options or restricted stock units, and that piece carries tax and legal considerations a salary alone does not. Incentive stock options and non-qualified options are taxed differently, a 409A valuation sets the strike price for options, and grants commonly vest over several years with service or performance conditions. None of this is an obstacle to hiring, but it means a CGO offer is not just a salary number, and the equity grant, vesting schedule, and any acceleration on a sale should be documented and reviewed with counsel rather than improvised. This is general information, not legal advice.
Restrictive covenants matter at the executive level
Because a Chief Growth Officer sees the full growth strategy, customer data, and competitive plans, executive contracts commonly include restrictive covenants such as confidentiality, non-solicitation, and, where enforceable, non-compete provisions, along with severance terms. Enforceability of non-competes varies significantly by state and has been the subject of regulatory change, so these clauses should be drafted to your state's current law rather than copied from a template. For the company, the more reliably enforceable protections are usually confidentiality and non-solicitation. Handle the executive agreement, including any restrictive covenants and severance, with counsel. This is general information, not legal advice.
A full-time CGO is clearly exempt; the executive exemption and the pay leave no real doubt. The classification that needs care is the fractional CGO, which is usually an independent contractor: that turns on whether the working relationship genuinely fits contractor rules, not on the contract label, and a fractional executive you direct day to day may be an employee. Classify by the relationship. This is general information, not legal advice.
Requirements and Qualifications
A CGO is a senior executive role, so the baseline is extensive growth, marketing, or revenue leadership with a proven record, plus the specifics that shift by version. Match the requirements to what you are hiring.
Requirement
What to know
Experience
Extensive senior growth, marketing, or revenue leadership
Track record
Proven, measurable growth results
Leadership
Cross-functional across marketing, sales, product
Core skills
Strategy, data, experimentation, influence
Education
Bachelor's expected; MBA or advanced degree common
Classification
Full-time CGO exempt; fractional usually contractor
Keep the posting neutral and inclusive, since the EEOC prohibits job advertisements that show a preference based on protected characteristics, and the SHRM guide covers the standard sections of a job description.
How to Write a Chief Growth Officer Job Description
A strong CGO posting starts by confirming the title is right, picks the version and stage, and handles the executive-specific classification and pay. Here is the process the templates are built around.
1
Confirm CGO is the right title
A CGO integrates growth across functions. If you mean marketing, that is a CMO; if you mean revenue, a CRO; if you mean a hands-on leader, a Head of Growth. Name it correctly first.
2
Pick the version and stage
General, startup, fractional, head of growth, enterprise, or marketing-led. Pick the matching template and describe your company and growth goals plainly.
3
List the real duties
Strategy, growth execution, cross-functional leadership, and reporting, scaled to the stage: hands-on for a startup, organization-leading for enterprise.
4
Classify and structure pay
A full-time CGO is exempt under the executive exemption. A fractional CGO is usually a contractor; confirm the relationship. Document equity and any restrictive covenants with counsel.
5
Set pay and post
Benchmark to size, stage, and location, account for equity separately, and provide a good-faith range where pay transparency applies.
For the classification rules that decide exempt status, the DOL executive exemption fact sheet is the authoritative reference.
Chief Growth Officer Pay
A chief growth officer is a highly paid executive role, and the compensation almost always includes a meaningful equity component.
A C-Suite Pay Band with Equity
There is no federal wage code for chief growth officer; the nearest benchmark, chief executives, had a median wage of about $206,420 a year as of May 2024, with the lowest 10 percent under about $73,710 (BLS). For comparison, general and operations managers sit near $102,950.
Market estimates for chief growth officer specifically range widely, from roughly $145,000 at the low end (often smaller-company, mislabeled, or fractional roles) to over $338,000, with total pay at large companies running considerably higher once equity and bonus are included. The defining feature is the equity component, itself a marker of a venture or enterprise employer. For a posting, benchmark to your company size, stage, and location, account for equity separately, and provide a good-faith range where pay transparency rules apply. National compensation surveys are a useful reference for detail.
Do You Need a Chief Growth Officer?
The CGO hire turns on three questions the generic templates never raise: is CGO even the right title, is your company at the stage that hires one, and would a fractional CGO or a Head of Growth fit better? Here is what actually matters.
First, make sure a Chief Growth Officer is the title you actually mean
Chief Growth Officer is one of the newest and, by the accounts of the executive-search firms that recruit for it, one of the most misunderstood titles in the C-suite, so the first step is making sure it is the role you mean. A CGO is a growth integrator: a senior executive who owns growth across the entire journey and pulls marketing, sales, product, and customer success together around one growth strategy and one set of targets. That is different from a CMO, who owns marketing and brand, and from a CRO, who owns revenue, sales, and conversion, though in practice CGO overlaps with both and is sometimes just another name for one of them. The initials also collide with unrelated roles like Chief Green Officer for sustainability. Before you write or post anything, decide whether you genuinely need a cross-functional growth integrator at the executive level, or whether what you actually need is a CMO, a CRO, or a more hands-on Head of Growth. Naming the role correctly saves you from attracting the wrong candidates for an expensive hire.
A full-time CGO is an enterprise and venture-backed role, not a typical small-business hire
It is worth being honest about who hires a full-time Chief Growth Officer, because it shapes whether the role fits your company. The title concentrates in large consumer brands, private-equity and growth-equity portfolio companies, and venture-backed startups, usually past an early funding stage, where there is enough scale, capital, and investor pressure on growth to justify a dedicated growth executive. The compensation reflects that, commonly running well into the six figures plus a meaningful equity component, which is itself a marker of a venture or enterprise employer rather than a small business. A company of a handful of people does not hire a full-time CGO, because growth at that stage is the founder's own job, supported at most by a first growth or marketing hire. If you are a small business and you find yourself writing a Chief Growth Officer job description for a full-time employee, it is worth pausing to ask whether the role you need is really a Head of Growth, a growth marketer, or your own focused attention on growth, rather than a six-figure C-suite executive.
If you are small and want senior growth help, a fractional CGO or a Head of Growth usually fits better
There is a real way for a smaller company to get senior growth leadership, and it is not a full-time CGO: it is either a fractional CGO or a Head of Growth. A fractional CGO provides executive-level growth strategy part-time, often a few days a month, usually as an independent contractor working across several clients, which gives a small company senior judgment without a full-time C-suite salary and equity commitment. If you go this route, classify the engagement correctly: a genuine part-time advisory arrangement is typically a contractor, but a fractional CGO you direct day to day and who depends economically on your business may be an employee under the law, so confirm the relationship fits the label. The other option is a Head of Growth, a hands-on, full-time growth leader a level below the C-suite who owns channels and experiments directly; this is often the right first growth hire for a company that is scaling but not yet at the size that needs a CGO. Both are more realistic than a full-time Chief Growth Officer for most smaller companies, and both are easier to onboard and manage when the time comes.
Key Takeaways
A chief growth officer is a growth integrator, pulling marketing, sales, product, and customer success around one growth strategy, distinct from a CMO (marketing) or a CRO (revenue).
CGO is one of the most misunderstood C-suite titles; confirm you do not actually mean a CMO, CRO, or Head of Growth before posting, and note the initials also collide with unrelated roles.
A full-time CGO concentrates in large consumer brands, PE portfolios, and venture-backed companies, with six-figure-plus pay and a meaningful equity component; it is not a typical small-business hire.
A smaller company that wants senior growth leadership usually wants a fractional CGO (part-time, usually a contractor) or a Head of Growth (hands-on, full-time, below C-level) instead.
A full-time CGO is exempt under the FLSA executive exemption; the classification to watch is the fractional CGO, which must genuinely fit contractor rules.
C-level pay includes equity (options or RSUs) and often restrictive covenants; document the grant, vesting, and any non-compete or severance with counsel.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a chief growth officer do?
A chief growth officer (CGO) is a senior executive responsible for driving sustainable growth, and the defining feature of the role is integration: rather than owning one function, a CGO pulls marketing, sales, product, and customer success together around a single growth strategy and a single set of growth targets. The duties cluster into four areas: strategy (owning the growth strategy, prioritizing opportunities, setting targets), growth execution (running experiments across channels, owning acquisition, activation, and retention, driving efficient measurable growth), cross-functional leadership (aligning marketing, sales, and product, building and leading the growth team), and reporting and stakeholders (owning growth metrics, partnering with the CEO, reporting to the board and investors). The CGO typically reports to the CEO and is accountable for the company's top-line growth across the whole customer journey. This page includes general, startup, fractional, head of growth, enterprise, and marketing-led templates. This is general information, not legal advice.
What is the difference between a CGO, a CMO, and a CRO?
The three roles overlap, which is exactly why the chief growth officer title is so often confused, but they have different centers of gravity. A CGO owns growth across the entire journey and acts as an integrator, pulling marketing, sales, product, and customer success together around long-term growth. A CMO owns marketing and brand: demand generation, brand building, and the marketing function. A CRO owns revenue: sales, conversion, and revenue operations, usually on a one-to-three-year horizon. In practice a CGO often overlaps heavily with one or both, and some companies use chief growth officer as another name for what is essentially a CRO or an expanded CMO. The practical guidance: if marketing and brand are the priority, you likely want a CMO; if revenue and sales execution are the priority, a CRO; and if growth genuinely needs a cross-functional integrator above the individual functions, a CGO. Naming it correctly matters because it determines the kind of candidate you attract for an expensive hire. This is general information, not legal advice.
Do small businesses hire chief growth officers?
Rarely as full-time employees. A full-time CGO concentrates in large consumer brands, private-equity and growth-equity portfolio companies, and venture-backed startups past an early funding stage, where there is enough scale, capital, and investor pressure on growth to justify a dedicated growth executive, and the compensation, well into the six figures plus equity, reflects that. A company of a handful of people does not hire a full-time CGO, because growth at that stage is the founder's own responsibility, supported at most by a first growth or marketing hire. There is a real path for a smaller company that wants senior growth leadership, but it is not a full-time CGO: it is either a fractional CGO, who provides executive-level growth strategy part-time, usually as a contractor across several clients, or a Head of Growth, a hands-on full-time leader a level below the C-suite. For most smaller companies, one of those two is the right answer, and a full-time chief growth officer is a role for a larger or venture-backed stage. This is general information, not legal advice.
Is a chief growth officer exempt or non-exempt from overtime?
A full-time chief growth officer is exempt, meaning salaried and not entitled to overtime, under the FLSA executive exemption: the primary duty is management of the company or a major function, the role regularly directs the work of others, and it carries authority over hiring and strategy. Because C-level pay runs well into the six figures, the role also clears the highly compensated employee threshold, which makes the analysis straightforward, and the salary basis is met with a wide margin. A Head of Growth a level below the C-suite is also typically exempt, under the administrative or executive exemption depending on whether it manages a team. The classification that needs real care is the fractional CGO, which is usually engaged as an independent contractor rather than an employee; that is a separate question from exempt status and turns on whether the working relationship genuinely fits contractor rules. As always, the actual duties and relationship decide classification, not the title. This is general information, not legal advice.
What is a fractional chief growth officer?
A fractional chief growth officer provides senior, executive-level growth leadership on a part-time basis, typically a few days a month or week, rather than as a full-time hire. The arrangement gives a smaller or growing company access to the strategic judgment of an experienced growth executive, setting the growth strategy, prioritizing channels, guiding the existing team, and establishing metrics, without committing to a full-time C-suite salary and equity package. Fractional CGOs usually work across several clients at once and are engaged as independent contractors. This is the version of the role a smaller company is most likely to use, and it is a legitimate way to get senior growth help early. The one thing to get right is classification: a genuine part-time advisory engagement across multiple clients is typically a contractor, but if a fractional CGO effectively runs your growth full time under your direction and depends economically on your business, the law may treat the person as an employee regardless of the contract. Confirm the relationship fits the contractor label. This is general information, not legal advice.
What skills and qualifications should a chief growth officer have?
A chief growth officer is a senior executive role, so the baseline is extensive leadership experience in growth, marketing, or revenue, with a proven track record of driving measurable growth, plus the cross-functional leadership to align marketing, sales, product, and customer success. The core skills are strategic thinking, strong data and analytical ability, experimentation and a test-and-learn mindset, and the influence to lead across functions that do not all report to the CGO. A bachelor's degree is expected and an advanced degree such as an MBA is common, though demonstrated results weigh heavily at this level. The specifics shift by version: a startup CGO needs to be hands-on as well as strategic and comfortable with unit economics, an enterprise CGO needs experience integrating large organizations, and a marketing-led CGO needs deep brand and demand-generation expertise. Match the qualifications to the specific version and stage you are hiring for rather than using a generic executive list. This is general information, not legal advice.
How much does a chief growth officer make?
A chief growth officer is a highly paid executive role, and estimates vary widely by source, company size, and how much of the package is equity. Reported averages range from roughly $145,000 at the low end to over $338,000, with total-pay figures at large companies running considerably higher once equity and bonus are included; the lower figures tend to reflect smaller-company, mislabeled, or fractional roles, while the higher figures reflect enterprise and venture-backed employers. The defining feature is that compensation almost always includes a meaningful equity component, which is itself a marker of a venture or enterprise employer rather than a small business. There is no dedicated federal wage code for chief growth officer; the nearest official benchmark is chief executives, which had a median wage of about $206,420 a year as of May 2024. For a posting, benchmark to your company size, stage, and location, account for the equity component separately, and provide a good-faith range where pay transparency rules apply. National compensation surveys are a useful reference. This is general information, not legal advice.
Should a small company hire a CGO or a head of growth?
For most small and early-stage companies, a Head of Growth is the more fitting hire than a full-time chief growth officer. A Head of Growth (or VP of Growth) is a hands-on, full-time leader who owns growth channels, runs experiments, and drives acquisition and retention directly, often as the first dedicated growth hire, and it comes without the C-suite salary, equity expectations, and organizational scale that a CGO implies. A CGO makes sense once a company is large enough or well-funded enough to need a cross-functional growth integrator at the executive level coordinating multiple functions and reporting to the board, which is typically a later, venture-backed or enterprise stage. A third option, for a company that wants senior strategic input without a full-time hire, is a fractional CGO engaged part-time as a contractor. The practical sequence for many companies is founder-led growth first, then a Head of Growth or a fractional CGO, and only later a full-time CGO if scale justifies it. Match the role to your stage. This is general information, not legal advice.
