CMO Operations Manual

Budget workflows, approval processes, reporting cadence & operational excellence

Monthly Budget

AED 150K

7 categories

Approval Levels

3 Tiers

<5K, <25K, >25K

Reports

6 Types

Daily to Quarterly

Escalation Paths

6 Defined

Clear ownership

Monthly Budget: AED 150,000

Digital AdvertisingAED 52,500
35%Approval: CMOThreshold: AED 10,000
Influencer MarketingAED 30,000
20%Approval: CMOThreshold: AED 5,000
Events & ActivationsAED 22,500
15%Approval: CEOThreshold: AED 15,000
Content ProductionAED 18,000
12%Approval: CMOThreshold: AED 5,000
PR & CommunicationsAED 12,000
8%Approval: CMOThreshold: AED 5,000
Tools & SoftwareAED 7,500
5%Approval: CMOThreshold: AED 2,500
ContingencyAED 7,500
5%Approval: CEOThreshold: AED 0

Weekly Spending Pacing

Week 1

20%of monthly
Cumulative: 20%

Campaign launches, initial testing

Week 2

25%of monthly
Cumulative: 45%

Scale winning campaigns, optimize

Week 3

30%of monthly
Cumulative: 75%

Peak performance push

Week 4

25%of monthly
Cumulative: 100%

Sustain, prepare next month

⚠️ Critical Budget Rules

  • • Never exceed 110% of monthly budget without CEO approval
  • • Reallocation between categories requires CMO sign-off if >10%
  • • Contingency fund only for genuine emergencies, not overruns
  • • All vendor payments require PO number and 3 quotes for >AED 10K
  • • Monthly budget review on 1st of each month - mandatory

🎯 CMO Quick Reference

Daily Must-Dos

  • ✓ Check campaign metrics
  • ✓ Review social mentions
  • ✓ Team standup
  • ✓ Approve pending items

Weekly Must-Dos

  • ✓ CEO sync meeting
  • ✓ Budget review
  • ✓ Team 1:1s
  • ✓ Weekly report

Monthly Must-Dos

  • ✓ Executive dashboard
  • ✓ Budget reconciliation
  • ✓ Strategy review
  • ✓ Team all-hands

Key Contacts

  • CEO: [Name]
  • CFO: [Name]
  • Legal: [Name]
  • HR: [Name]