If you’re hiring a Chief Growth Officer, the job description is where the search either attracts the right person or filters out the wrong ones before you ever speak. Most Chief Growth Officer job descriptions fail because they read like a renamed CMO role with a few extra bullet points.
This Chief Growth Officer job description template is built differently. It’s structured around what actually makes a CGO hire succeed: clear ownership, a realistic 30-60-90 day ramp, and calibrated expectations based on your company’s size and stage.
What’s inside:
- What a CGO actually owns (and how it differs from a CMO or CRO)
- Three ready-to-use templates by company stage: early-stage, growth-stage, and enterprise
- 30-60-90 day expectations for each
- Core responsibilities and requirements
- Compensation benchmarks by stage
- How to evaluate candidates before you shortlist
What Does a Chief Growth Officer Actually Own?
The CGO role is one of the most misunderstood titles in the C-suite. Companies often treat it as a renamed CMO or a VP of Marketing with a fancier title. It’s neither.
A Chief Growth Officer owns the full revenue-growth engine: demand generation, product-led growth, expansion revenue, and the feedback loop among product, marketing, and sales. The CGO connects what the product does to how it reaches and retains customers at scale. For reporting lines, hiring signals, and how the role differs at scale, read our complete guide to the Chief Growth Officer role.
CGO vs. CMO vs. CRO
| Role | Primary Focus | Owns Revenue? | Owns Retention? |
|---|---|---|---|
| CMO | Brand, demand, and marketing | Indirectly | Rarely |
| CRO | Sales pipeline and close | Yes (new ARR) | Sometimes |
| CGO | Full growth loop | Yes (ARR + NRR) | Yes |
The CGO sits at the intersection of all three. In SaaS and AI companies, they’re typically responsible for:
- Acquisition: new pipeline across inbound, outbound, and product-led channels
- Activation: improving time-to-value for new users and accounts
- Retention and expansion: reducing churn and growing net revenue retention (NRR)
- Revenue strategy: owning ARR growth targets alongside the CEO
- Cross-functional alignment: bridging product, marketing, sales, and customer success
The clearest signal a company needs a CGO: growth has stalled after initial product-market fit and no single function (marketing, sales, or product) owns the full picture.
The role is most common at Series B through pre-IPO SaaS companies. At enterprise scale, the CGO often operates more like a Chief Strategy Officer with a growth mandate.
If the gap you’re really solving is brand and demand, a CMO search is the better fit; if it’s pipeline and close rates, start by hiring a CRO instead.
Chief Growth Officer Job Description Template 1: Early-Stage (Seed to Series A)
Best for: Companies with $1M-$10M ARR, fewer than 50 employees, and no formal growth function yet. The CGO here is a builder, not a manager.
Job Title: Chief Growth Officer
Reports to: CEO
Location: [City / Remote / Hybrid]
Stage: Seed / Series A
About the Role
[Company Name] is building [one-line product description] for [target customer]. We’re at $[X]M ARR and growing fast, but we haven’t built the growth engine that will take us to $[Y]M. That’s what this role is for.
You’ll be our first dedicated growth leader. You won’t inherit a team or a playbook. You’ll build both.
What You’ll Own
- Define our growth strategy across acquisition, activation, and retention
- Build and run our initial marketing and demand gen function from scratch
- Launch and iterate on our first PLG motion (free trial, freemium, or self-serve)
- Own the full funnel from first touch to first dollar and first renewal
- Establish our core growth metrics and reporting cadence
- Hire the first 2-3 growth team members as budget allows
- Work directly with the CEO on GTM strategy and investor narratives
30-60-90 Day Plan
First 30 days: Listen and diagnose
- Meet every customer-facing team member and at least 20 customers
- Audit current acquisition channels, conversion rates, and churn data
- Map the current funnel end-to-end and identify the biggest leaks
- Deliver a written growth diagnosis to the CEO with your initial hypotheses
Days 31-60: Build the foundation
- Define the growth model: which channels, which motions, which metrics
- Launch 2-3 high-priority experiments across acquisition or activation
- Set up or improve core tooling (CRM, analytics, marketing automation)
- Establish a weekly growth review cadence with the leadership team
Days 61-90: Start generating momentum
- Show measurable improvement in at least one key growth metric
- Present a 12-month growth roadmap to the CEO and board
- Make the first growth hire or engage an agency for a specific channel
- Have a clear point of view on whether PLG is the right motion for this stage
What We’re Looking For
Must-haves:
- 6-10 years in B2B SaaS growth, marketing, or GTM roles
- Experience at an early-stage company (Seed or Series A preferred)
- Comfortable being the first and only growth leader for at least 6-12 months
- Strong analytical instincts: you can build a funnel model in a spreadsheet
- Hands-on with at least two of: paid acquisition, SEO/content, PLG, or outbound
Nice-to-haves:
- Prior experience taking a product from $0 to $5M ARR
- Familiarity with AI or developer-led SaaS products
- Experience with product analytics tools (Mixpanel, Amplitude, or equivalent)
Compensation
| Component | Range |
|---|---|
| Base salary | $160K – $220K |
| Equity | 0.5% – 1.5% |
| Bonus | 15-20% tied to ARR milestones |
Chief Growth Officer Job Description Template 2: Growth-Stage (Series B to Series C)
Best for: Companies with $10M-$100M ARR, 50-300 employees, and an existing but fragmented growth function. The CGO here is an architect and a team builder.
Job Title: Chief Growth Officer
Reports to: CEO
Location: [City / Remote / Hybrid]
Stage: Series B / Series C
About the Role
[Company Name] is a Series [B/C] SaaS company at $[X]M ARR. We have a marketing team, an SDR function, and early PLG traction, but growth is inconsistent, and the functions don’t operate as a unified engine. We need a CGO to build the system.
This role is for an operator who has scaled a B2B SaaS business through the $ 10M–$100 M ARR range and knows how to build the teams, channels, and feedback loops that make growth repeatable.
What You’ll Own
- Own ARR and NRR targets in partnership with the CEO and CRO
- Unify marketing, SDR, and product growth into a single growth org
- Build and scale both PLG and sales-led motions simultaneously
- Drive product-led expansion: in-app upgrade flows, usage-based triggers, and referral mechanics
- Develop a full customer lifecycle strategy from acquisition through advocacy
- Establish growth metrics, dashboards, and a culture of experimentation
- Identify new market segments, verticals, and geographic expansion opportunities
- Partner with Product to ensure the roadmap reflects growth priorities
- Present growth performance to the board on a quarterly basis
30-60-90 Day Plan
First 30 days: Audit and align
- Conduct a full growth audit: channels, conversion rates, CAC by source, NRR by cohort
- Meet all direct reports, cross-functional partners (Product, Sales, CS), and key customers
- Identify the top 3 growth constraints and the fastest levers to pull
- Present findings and an initial point of view to the CEO and leadership team
Days 31-60: Restructure and prioritize
- Consolidate the growth org under a single structure with clear ownership
- Kill or pause underperforming channels and double down on what’s working
- Launch a structured experimentation cadence (weekly growth reviews, experiment backlog)
- Define the 6-month OKRs for the growth org and get leadership alignment
Days 61-90: Execute and report
- Show measurable movement in CAC payback period or NRR within the first quarter
- Deliver the first board-ready growth report with a 12-month ARR model
- Complete the first round of growth team hiring or restructuring
- Have a clear channel mix strategy and budget allocation for the next two quarters
What We’re Looking For
Must-haves:
- 10+ years in B2B SaaS growth, marketing, or revenue leadership
- Proven track record scaling ARR from $10M to $50M+ in a Series B or C environment
- Deep experience running both PLG and sales-led motions in parallel
- Strong command of growth metrics: CAC, LTV, NRR, payback period, activation rate
- Experience building and leading teams of 10+ across marketing, SDR, and product growth
- Hands-on with modern growth tooling: CRM, marketing automation, analytics, and experimentation platforms
Nice-to-haves:
- Experience at an AI-native or developer-led SaaS company
- Prior C-suite or VP-level role at a company that reached $50M+ ARR or achieved a successful exit
- Familiarity with PLG infrastructure (Amplitude, Mixpanel, Pendo, or equivalent)
Compensation
| Component | Range |
|---|---|
| Base salary | $240K – $320K |
| Equity | 0.25% – 0.75% |
| Bonus | 20-30% tied to ARR and NRR targets |
Chief Growth Officer Job Description Template 3: Enterprise (Series D, Pre-IPO, or Public)
Best for: Companies with $100M+ ARR, 300+ employees, and a mature but potentially stagnant growth org. The CGO here is a strategist, a board-level communicator, and a change agent.
Job Title: Chief Growth Officer
Reports to: CEO
Location: [City / Remote / Hybrid]
Stage: Series D / Pre-IPO / Public
About the Role
[Company Name] is a [pre-IPO / publicly traded] SaaS company at $[X]M ARR. We have a large, established revenue org, but growth efficiency is declining, and we need a senior leader to rebuild the growth engine for the next phase of scale.
This is a board-level role. The CGO will own the company’s growth strategy, lead a team of [X] across marketing, product growth, and revenue operations, and be accountable to the CEO and board for ARR trajectory and NRR performance.
What You’ll Own
- Set the company’s multi-year growth strategy and present it to the board
- Own ARR growth, NRR, and growth efficiency metrics (CAC payback, LTV:CAC ratio)
- Lead a cross-functional growth org of [X] people spanning marketing, product growth, and RevOps
- Drive enterprise expansion: upsell, cross-sell, and land-and-expand programs
- Identify and pursue new market segments, product lines, and geographic expansion
- Partner with the CFO on growth investment allocation and ROI modeling
- Build the company’s competitive positioning and market differentiation strategy
- Represent growth strategy in investor relations and analyst briefings
- Evaluate and lead strategic growth partnerships, integrations, and M&A opportunities
30-60-90 Day Plan
First 30 days: Understand the machine
- Conduct a comprehensive growth audit across all channels, segments, and cohorts
- Meet the full leadership team, top 20 customers, and key board members
- Review the last 12 months of growth performance and identify the structural causes of any deceleration
- Develop a written assessment of growth strengths, constraints, and priorities for the CEO
Days 31-60: Align and restructure
- Present a 3-year growth strategy to the CEO and board with clear bets and resource requirements
- Restructure the growth org if needed: reporting lines, team charters, and accountability frameworks
- Establish a growth investment framework: how budget is allocated, measured, and reallocated
- Align with the CFO and CRO on shared metrics and joint accountability for revenue outcomes
Days 61-90: Drive early wins and set the cadence
- Identify and execute 2-3 high-impact quick wins to build credibility and momentum
- Launch a growth operating cadence: weekly reviews, monthly board updates, quarterly strategy sessions
- Make or finalize key leadership hires within the growth org
- Deliver the first board-ready growth report with a 12-month ARR forecast and confidence intervals
What We’re Looking For
Must-haves:
- 15+ years in B2B SaaS growth, marketing, or revenue leadership
- Proven track record at $100M+ ARR, ideally through a successful IPO or major liquidity event
- Experience leading large, cross-functional teams of 30+ people
- Deep understanding of enterprise growth mechanics: land-and-expand, multi-product upsell, and strategic partnerships
- Strong board-level communication skills: you can translate growth data into business narrative
- Experience with revenue operations, growth modeling, and investment allocation at scale
Nice-to-haves:
- Prior CGO or C-suite role at a publicly traded SaaS company
- Experience with AI-native products or developer-led growth at scale
- Background in investor relations or corporate strategy
Compensation
| Component | Range |
|---|---|
| Base salary | $350K – $500K |
| Equity | RSUs (value varies by company stage and size) |
| Bonus | 25-35% tied to ARR growth and NRR targets |
| Additional | Long-term incentive plan (LTIP) common at this level |
Core Responsibilities to Include in a Chief Growth Officer Job Description
Regardless of company size, a Chief Growth Officer’s core responsibilities follow the same structure. What changes is the scope, the team size, the compensation model, and the complexity of execution.
Growth Strategy and ARR Ownership
The CGO’s primary accountability is revenue growth: specifically, the ARR trajectory and the efficiency with which the company acquires and retains it. This means owning CAC payback period, NRR, and expansion revenue, not just top-of-funnel pipeline.
A CGO who can’t speak fluently to SaaS unit economics isn’t operating at the right level.
Product-Led Growth (PLG)
In AI and SaaS companies, PLG is increasingly the primary acquisition channel. The CGO builds the loops: free tier, activation sequences, in-product upgrade triggers, and viral referral mechanics. This requires close collaboration with Product and Engineering, which is why the best CGOs are technical enough to partner credibly with both.
Demand Generation and Channel Mix
The CGO owns the full channel portfolio across:
- Inbound: SEO, content, paid search, and brand
- Outbound: SDR/BDR programs, ABM, and sales-led motions
- Product-led: self-serve, freemium, and in-app expansion
- Partnerships: co-sell, integration ecosystems, and channel programs
Strong CGOs know which channels to prioritize at each stage of growth and when to shift investment. That judgment is what separates them from a VP of Marketing.
Retention and Expansion
Acquisition gets the attention, but NRR is what makes a SaaS business durable. Best-in-class SaaS companies run NRR above 120%. That doesn’t happen without a CGO-level owner driving the retention and expansion motion in partnership with Customer Success.
Board-Level Communication
At Series B and beyond, the CGO presents to the board. They need to translate growth metrics into business narrative: why growth is accelerating or decelerating, what’s being done about it, and what the next 12 months look like. Candidates who can’t do this clearly won’t survive in the role.
How to Evaluate CGO Candidates Before You Shortlist
A polished resume and a strong first interview aren’t enough for a C-suite growth hire. Here’s how to pressure-test candidates before you invest in a full process. If you want a scoring framework to run alongside these questions, our CRO interview scorecard template adapts cleanly to a CGO process.
The ARR Scaling Question
Ask every candidate to walk you through a specific growth challenge they inherited and how they solved it. You’re looking for:
- A clear before/after ARR or NRR number
- The specific lever they pulled (channel, pricing, activation, retention)
- What they built vs. what was already there
- What didn’t work and why
Candidates who can’t give you specific numbers are either hiding underperformance or haven’t been close enough to the metrics to own them.
The PLG vs. Sales-Led Question
Ask: “At what ARR threshold would you shift investment from outbound to PLG, and what signals would tell you it’s time?”
There’s no single right answer. You’re testing whether they have a framework, can defend it, and understand the trade-offs. A candidate who says “it depends on the ACV” without elaborating hasn’t thought it through.
Green Flags vs. Red Flags
| Green Flags | Red Flags |
|---|---|
| Quotes specific ARR, NRR, CAC numbers | Speaks only in percentages or vague “growth” |
| Has built a team, not just led one | Has only managed agencies or contractors |
| Understands PLG mechanics at a product level | Treats PLG as a marketing tactic |
| Asks about your current growth model before pitching | Pitches a generic playbook before understanding your business |
| Can explain what didn’t work and why | Only talks about wins |
| Has a point of view on your growth model by the first call | Needs three conversations before forming an opinion |
The best CGO candidates arrive with a hypothesis. They’ve already formed a view on your growth model before the first conversation. If a candidate needs three calls before forming an opinion, they’re not operating at the CGO level.
Need Help Hiring a Chief Growth Officer?
Finding a CGO who can actually scale a SaaS or AI business takes more than posting a Chief Growth Officer job description. The best operators at this level aren’t on job boards. They’re heads-down in their current role, running a growth org, and only move for the right opportunity.
UltraTalent specializes in Chief Growth Officer executive search for SaaS, AI, and technology companies. We run a precision search process built for C-suite hires, with a shortlist of pre-vetted, reference-checked candidates who match your stage, growth model, and culture.
If you’re ready to start the search, get in touch with the UltraTalent team.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a Chief Growth Officer do?
A Chief Growth Officer owns revenue growth across functions: marketing, sales, product-led growth, and customer retention. The role exists to break the silos between those functions and align them to a single growth number. A CGO who only owns marketing is a CMO with a better title.
What should a Chief Growth Officer job description include?
A strong CGO job description must specify three things: what functions report into the role, the single growth metric the CGO owns (ARR, NRR, or blended CAC payback), and the reporting line to the CEO. If the draft says “drive growth across the organization” but leaves sales and product reporting elsewhere, it’s a marketing JD with a growth title.
Who does a Chief Growth Officer report to?
The CEO, without exception. The CGO role only works with CEO-level authority because its purpose is to direct functions (marketing, sales, product) that would otherwise report separately. A CGO reporting to the CMO or CRO is a sub-function with an inflated title, and serious candidates will recognise that immediately.
What is the difference between a Chief Growth Officer and a CMO?
The CMO owns marketing: brand, demand generation, and the marketing budget. The CGO owns growth across functions, including marketing, sales, product-led growth, and retention. The clearest test is the reporting lines beneath the role. If only marketing reports in, it’s a CMO. If sales and product growth also report in, it’s a genuine CGO.
What is the difference between a Chief Growth Officer and a CRO?
A Chief Revenue Officer owns the sales pipeline and new ARR. A CGO owns the full growth loop: acquisition, activation, retention, and expansion. In practice, some companies have both and draw the line at new revenue (CRO) vs. growth efficiency and NRR (CGO). If you have a strong CRO already, clarify those boundaries before hiring a CGO or the roles will collide. Read our blog on CGO vs CRO to know more.
When should a company hire a Chief Growth Officer?
The clearest signal is when growth has stalled after product-market fit, and no single function owns the full picture. If marketing, sales, and product are each hitting their individual targets but overall ARR growth is inconsistent, the problem is the handoffs between functions, and that’s what a CGO is built to fix. Most commonly, this happens at Series B through the pre-IPO stage.
Is a Chief Growth Officer the same as a Head of Growth?
No. A Head of Growth is typically a senior individual contributor or team lead focused on a specific growth motion, usually acquisition or PLG. A CGO is a C-suite executive with cross-functional authority, board-level accountability, and ownership of the company’s full revenue growth strategy. Early-stage companies often hire a Head of Growth first and bring in a CGO at Series B or later.
How much does a Chief Growth Officer earn in the US?
Base salary ranges vary significantly by company stage. Early-stage CGOs (Seed to Series A) typically earn $160K to $220K base with meaningful equity. Growth-stage CGOs (Series B to C) earn $200K to $320K base plus bonus. At Series D and beyond, total compensation, including base, bonus, and equity, commonly runs $400K to $600K or higher. Variable comp tied to ARR or NRR targets is standard at all stages. See the full CGO salary breakdown by stage, sector, and equity split.
