Marketing Competency Matrix

Marketing titles are noise. Competencies are signal.

"Marketing manager," "growth marketer," "head of marketing" — titles tell you almost nothing about what someone can do. Two people with the same title at similar-stage companies can have completely non-overlapping skill sets. The Reforge marketing competency matrix replaces the title approach with a competency approach: identify the specific skills the role requires, hire (or grow) the person who has them, and stop trying to backsolve from title.

The matrix shape

The Reforge matrix lists marketing competencies (brand strategy, content marketing, paid acquisition, lifecycle marketing, product marketing, marketing analytics, etc.) on one axis and proficiency levels (foundational, working, advanced, expert) on the other. For each role, you specify which competencies are required and at what level. The output is a clear hiring spec and a clear development plan for existing team members.

Using it for hiring

The matrix forces a specific scoping conversation before the role is posted. What does this role actually need to do? Which competencies are essential? Which would be nice-to-have? At what level? The job description that emerges is concrete (we need someone who can do X at advanced level) rather than aspirational (we need a unicorn).

Using it for career development

For existing team members, the matrix becomes a development plan. Where are they expert? Where are they at working level? Where do they want to grow? The matrix gives both the manager and the employee a shared vocabulary for the conversation.