Chief Marketing Officer

Chief Marketing Officer (CMO)
Category-Defining Brand Builder | Industrial Growth Leader | AI‑Enabled Marketing

Location: South Africa / Birmingham, AL

The Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) is responsible for building a category-defining industrial brand and a scalable commercial growth engine that drives market penetration, customer engagement, pipeline development, and revenue growth.

This is not a traditional corporate marketing role. The company is seeking a builder, not a caretaker— a leader with a proven track record of creating, scaling, and leading brands that define and dominate their categories, not simply managing established brand systems.

The CMO will lead market development across targeted vocational industries through direct engagement with fleets, operators, owners, procurement teams, and broader buying groups, ensuring the brand is grounded in real customer environments and decision dynamics.

This role requires deep expertise across:

Brand creation and category leadership

Industrial and vocational market positioning

Direct-to-customer and field‑driven marketing

Demand generation and revenue growth

Community, influencer, and ecosystem‑led engagement

Digital and social brand development

AI‑enabled marketing strategy and operations

The objective is to build a brand that customers trust, operators identify with, and the industry recognizes as a clear market leader.

What We Offer

Competitive compensation that recognizes your skills, experience, and impact

Performance‑based annual bonuses that reward results and contributions

Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage to support your well‑being

401(k) with a 4% company match to help you invest in your future

8 paid company holidays to rest, recharge, and maintain work‑life balance

Core Responsibilities
1. Brand Building & Category Leadership

Build and scale a differentiated, category‑leading industrial brand

Establish the company as a recognized market leader within targeted vocational industries

Develop positioning that combines emotional relevance with commercial clarity

Create clear, compelling narratives that resonate with fleets, operators, and industrial buying groups

Drive long‑term brand equity, loyalty, and industry influence

Ensure consistent brand expression across all customer and employee touchpoints

2. Marketing & Growth Strategy

Own the company’s end‑to‑end marketing and growth strategy

Define go‑to‑market strategies by industry, segment, and application

Align marketing strategy tightly with commercial growth priorities and revenue objectives

Translate market insight into scalable, measurable growth programs

Ensure integration across brand, demand generation, customer lifecycle, and channel strategy

3. Demand Generation & Commercial Impact

Accountable for marketing’s measurable contribution to qualified pipeline, revenue growth, and demand funnel efficiency

Lead the development of measurable demand generation systems, including:

Account‑Based Marketing (ABM)

Lifecycle marketing

Digital acquisition and optimization

Field and event‑driven demand

Customer advocacy and referral programs

Improve lead quality, conversion rates, CAC efficiency, and lifetime value

Partner closely with Sales, Service, Product, and Commercial leadership to ensure full funnel alignment

4. Vocational Market Engagement & Customer Proximity

Leads market development through direct engagement with core vocational stakeholders, including fleet owners, operators, maintenance leaders, and procurement teams

Ensure the brand is visible, credible, and active within real operating environments

Strengthening customer loyalty, advocacy, and long‑term account penetration

Develop deep connections within vocational and industrial ecosystems

5. Grassroots, Influencer & Community‑Led Growth

Develop high‑impact grassroots and field‑driven marketing programs

Leverage influencers, operators, and customer advocates to amplify brand credibility

Define channel strategy and ensure execution across channel platforms such as LinkedIn, YouTube, trade media, and relevant industry platforms

Build authentic, operator‑focused storytelling that resonates beyond traditional marketing channels

Create marketing that earns attention, trust, and engagement, not just impressions

6. AI‑Enabled Marketing Operating Model

Lead the adoption of AI across marketing strategy, execution, and decision‑making

Embed AI into:

Content development and scaling

Campaign optimization and targeting

Customer insight generation

Marketing automation and workflow efficiency

Demonstrate measurable gains in speed, scalability, and productivity through AI in marketing operations environment

Establish governance ensuring AI enhances, not replaces, human judgment and brand integrity

7. Team Leadership & Capability Development

Executes through a structured high‑performance, modern marketing organization with defined ownership across Brand, Demand Generation, Digital, and Analytics

Build and lead a high‑performance, modern marketing organization

Establish strong leadership across:

Brand strategy

Demand generation

Digital and analytics

Content and field marketing

Define clear roles, ownership, KPIs, and accountability mechanisms

Build a culture focused on execution discipline, creativity, speed, and measurable outcomes

Experience & Qualifications
Required

15+ years of progressive marketing leadership experience

Proven success building and scaling category‑defining brands

Demonstrated ability to drive both brand creation and measurable commercial growth

Experience in industrial, automotive, vocational, OEM, or similarly complex B2B sectors

Track record of driving pipeline and revenue impact, not just awareness

Experience marketing to multi‑stakeholder, long‑cycle buying environments

Strong commercial, operational, and strategic mindset

Proven experience implementing AI within marketing strategy and operations

Preferred

Commercial vehicle, truck, or industrial equipment experience

Experience building brands with strong operator and customer loyalty

Background in grassroots, field‑driven, or community‑led marketing

Experience leveraging influencer or creator ecosystems in industrial markets

Experience modernizing marketing organizations and systems

What Success Looks Like

The company is recognized as a market leader within its vocational categories

Brand awareness, credibility, and influence increase materially

Strong and sustained growth in direct customer engagement

A predictable, scalable demand generation engine is in place

Marketing is fully aligned with Sales, Service, and Commercial leadership

AI materially improves marketing efficiency, cycle time, and output quality

Marketing is viewed as a core commercial growth driver, not a support function

The brand achieves high levels of loyalty, advocacy, and long‑term relevance

Job Duties Disclaimer: The duties and responsibilities outlined here are representative but not exhaustive of the tasks that the employee may be required to perform. Management reserves the right to modify, add, or remove duties and to assign other tasks as necessary to meet business needs.

Equal Employment Opportunity: Autocar is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Reasonable Accommodations (ADA Compliance): Autocar complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and provides reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities. Employees who require assistance or accommodation should contact Human Resources.

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