Agency owners
You need people who have already managed a client portfolio, a channel, or a client relationship at another agency. The work has to survive a client call, not only a portfolio.
For agency owners and brand growth leaders
Hire proven marketers with real AI fluency
You do not need another resume with ChatGPT on it. You need a marketer who has owned the work, can show the results, and knows how to use AI without handing away the judgment.
Who this search is for
This is for an agency owner who needs a marketer the clients will trust, and for a brand-side growth leader who needs someone to own a channel or a number.
The fit is a proven operator with a real AI workflow. A generalist with a tool list can miss that standard at any salary.
Brand growth leaders
You need someone who has owned the metric inside a brand or an agency pod. They should be able to show the workflow and the result, then disagree with a polished wrong answer.
What real AI fluency means
Plenty of marketers use a model for one task. That is useful, and it is not the bar. The bar is an integrated workflow with a person still responsible for the check and the result.
Task-level help
A person asks a chat window to draft a hook, a subject line, or a recap, then edits the words. The tool saves time. It does not show how they run the job.
Integrated workflow
Inputs go in. The model does a defined step. A person checks the risky part, ships a deliverable, and ties it to a business metric. They can also name what they will not automate.
That second path is what we mean by a proven marketer with real AI fluency. Calling everyone AI-enabled without the check is how slop gets hired. The marketer is not an implementation engineer.
Why headhunting reaches past the applicant pile
A strong fit is often already doing the job at another agency or brand. They need a reason to move: clearer scope, real decision rights, a customer they want, and pay they can see.
A job post still matters. It reaches people who are looking, and some of them are excellent. Referrals and a respectful direct note also reach operators who are mid-campaign and need a reason to look.
The outreach names the work and the role. Candidates share only proof they are allowed to share. A paid test uses synthetic or redacted material, or authorized information when we run the search.
Start with the role, then look for the workflow
Choose a role to compare pay, review example workflows, and plan a paid hiring test. Each guide covers the work, the proof to check, and the AI workflow to ask about.
Email, retention, and CRM
Paid media
Growth
Creative and copy
Agency leadership and ecommerce
The screening and proof standard
- 01
Workflow
They show a workflow they already use: what triggers it, what goes in, what comes out, and what they check.
- 02
Paid sandbox
A founder can run a paid 60 to 90 minute exercise on synthetic or redacted material. AI is allowed. The trace names inputs, tools, the artifact, the checks, and the corrections.
- 03
Planted error
One plausible data or claim error is planted. Catching it is the point. Repeating it with confidence fails the test.
- 04
Live review
Spend 15 minutes live. Change one assumption and ask them to revise. When we run a search, we build a paid exercise around the role where it answers an important hiring question.
What an evidence card has to hold
With consent, a proof card covers the scope they owned, the outcome and the time window, the workflow and the human check, and the part they personally did. It is specific proof, not a headshot and a tool list.
- What they owned
- The role, the channels, and what they wrote, decided, or fixed, separate from the team's number.
- Outcome
- The result, the baseline, and the time window they are allowed to share.
- Workflow and QA
- What went in, what the model did, and the check a person still owned.
Reviewed November 2026. Sources for this standard: Right Side Up on vetting marketers for AI fluency, the FTC rule banning fake reviews and testimonials, including AI-generated ones, Google Ads Help on how AI Max works, and Meta on Advantage+ creative. Each role guide lists the sources behind its own workflows.
Scope and compensation
Match the role to the work. A creative strategist is not a media buyer, and a Klaviyo specialist is not the email manager, unless you have tested both skills. The role guides spell out the split.
Pay the marketer from the sourced band for that role, the responsibility, and whether the offer is base, total, or contractor pay. AI fluency is not an automatic premium. US salary and your live offer are different numbers.
A standard SuperHired search is $7,500 flat, with a 120-day replacement-search guarantee subject to the conditions in your service agreement. We'll explain those conditions before you commit.
Questions from founders and hiring managers
Who is this page for?
Agency owners and brand-side growth leaders who need a marketer already doing the work. You want domain skill, a real workflow, and a person who knows when not to automate. This is not a directory of AI tools, and it is not a search for a generalist who added a chat window to a resume.
What does real AI fluency mean?
Task-level help is asking a model to draft one email or one hook. Real fluency is a repeatable workflow with inputs, an AI step, a human check, a deliverable, and a business metric. The person can also name a decision they refuse to automate. A list of tool logos does not prove that.
Why headhunt if I can post the job?
Strong marketers are often already employed at another agency or brand. A job post still reaches people who are looking, and some of them are excellent. Headhunting and referrals also reach operators who need a clear reason to move. Use both, and judge each person on the work they owned.
Do I need an AI engineer instead?
A marketer with real AI fluency still owns the channel, the customer, and the result. An AI engineer builds models, APIs, or internal systems. Some companies need that role. It is a different search from the 19 marketing roles on this page. A copywriter or a media buyer does not need that engineering stack.
How do you screen for AI fluency?
Ask for a workflow they already use. A founder can then run a paid 60 to 90 minute exercise on synthetic or redacted material, with AI allowed and one planted error, plus 15 minutes to revise live. When we run a search, we build a paid exercise around the role where it answers an important hiring question.
What does a search cost?
A standard search is $7,500 flat. Specialist or technical searches are $10,000 to $15,000, and executive searches, such as a head of growth, are $15,000 to $25,000. The fee is never a percent of salary. A 120-day replacement-search guarantee is included, subject to the conditions in your service agreement.
What should I pay the marketer?
Pay from the role guide's sourced band, the responsibility, and whether the offer is base, total, or contractor pay. US salary and a live offer are different numbers. AI fluency is not an automatic premium on those bands.
I already do this work. How do I get in the pool?
Join the talent pool and tell us the role, the proof you can share, and how you like to work. We reach out when a search fits. Share a redacted result and a short workflow trace. Keep another employer's confidential files off the form.
Get a shortlist of marketers who can show the work.
Tell us the role. We headhunt people who already do it, check what they owned, and test the workflow before you meet them.