Head of Marketing | Al-Futtaim Automotive | Electric Mobility
Location: AE
Job Requisition ID: [[163953]]
Established in the 1930s as a trading business, Al-Futtaim Group today is one of the most diversified and progressive, privately held regional businesses headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Structured into five operating divisions; automotive, financial services, real estate, retail and healthcare; employing more than 35,000 employees across more than 20 countries in the Middle East, Asia and Africa, Al-Futtaim Group partners with over 200 of the world's most admired and innovative brands. Al-Futtaim Group’s entrepreneurship and relentless customer focus enables the organization to continue to grow and expand; responding to the changing needs of our customers within the societies in which we operate.
By upholding our values of respect, excellence, collaboration and integrity; Al-Futtaim Group continues to enrich the lives and aspirations of our customers each and every day
Overview of the role:
We are seeking a dynamic professional to spearhead the development of brand equity for emerging electric vehicle automotive brands managed by Al-Futtaim in the UAE and KSA. This role involves overseeing brand building efforts for Polestar in the UAE and BYD in both the UAE and KSA, with a particular focus on steering and supporting BYD's presence in the KSA market. The role aims to elevate brand awareness and consumer consideration for these new EV brands from their current low or non-existent levels. The primary focus is on driving rapid growth through digital-first strategies, PR & Media relations, Social Media engagement, customer-centric marketing campaigns, and both online and offline activations and events. The overarching performance target is to strengthen the top-of-funnel engagement, ensuring an exemplary customer experience across all brand touchpoints leading up to the point of sale, encompassing new, used, fleet, and aftersales vehicles.
What you will do:
Marketing Strategy
Establish and grow all new EV brands in UAE / KSA and driving brand awareness, consideration, and relevance amongst the target audiences. Drive market share growth through development of brand equity and improved customer loyalty Develop the marketing strategy and execute the marketing plans in UAE / KSA in consistent with the overall global marketing strategy and implementation roadmap. This includes product launches and driving awareness for existing product lines & brand communication The main liaison with the EV principals, collaborating with their global marketing teams to understand the global and regional strategic initiatives. Managing OEM relationships that result in long-term success for both the OEMs and Al Futtaim, through close collaboration and communication. Drive digital-first, consumer centric approach across all aspects of the business together with global team
Activation, Campaigns & Social Media
Create data driven campaign planning processes for all brands in UAE / KSA Manage and coordinate external agency partners Lead, activate & execute consumer communications across all channels Oversee social media, and community management channels Develop and execute comprehensive social media strategies to enhance brand visibility and engagement across platforms. Sustain a performance measurement framework across key platforms to drive sustainable growth and continuous improvement Responsible for financial planning and reporting (paired with KPI framework to deliver campaign attribution/ROI measurement) Explore and implement best in class practices from our partner OEM in other markets, as well as across the industry
Customer Experience
Deliver exemplary Customer Experience (CX) across all brand touchpoints by leveraging key brand propositions and assets Improving Customer Experience in sales spaces and workshops by supporting Sales and After Sales Front line teams with Merchandizing, Training, & POS materials.
PR & Media Relations
Develop and implement comprehensive PR strategies that align with the Al Futtaim overall marketing objectives. Oversee all PR and media relations activities, including media outreach, press releases and media interviews. Lead the creation of compelling PR campaigns and initiatives to promote product launches, corporate announcements, and key messages.
Team Management
Create a high growth mindset team Drive a talent development system that creates marketing talents who are recruited correctly, developed, coached, and engaged through performance management, learning, development & succession planning. Lead a lean and effective Marketing structure & team Drive performance of Marketing team through measurable KPIs Ensure 100% compliance with Standard Operating Procedures Drive Al-Futtaim Values in workplace.
Required Skills to be successful:
Minimum of 15 years' experience in the automotive industry, with a preference for experience in electric vehicles (EVs). Extensive experience in branding, CRM, digital marketing, public relations (PR), social media, and events management. Strong experience and established relationships with marketing agencies. Previous experience in high-growth businesses and start-ups is highly preferable.
About the Team:
You will be reporting to the Managing Director - Elctric Mobility
What equips you for the role:
A university degree is preferred in Business, Marketing. MBA from a globally recognized business school is highly preferable 15 years+ experience in brand, marketing, and product - ideally within the Automotive/ Mobility industry Brand expert with experience in building brand equity particularly in new markets with new high value products Previous experience in high-growth businesses and start-ups is highly preferable Experience delivering strategies with high Customer Centric approach that are customer relationship driven and has developed effective customer relationship and community management program. Extensive experience of digital-first marketing strategies Strategic and structured business, sales & marketing understanding - long term and short term Clear strategic thinking, and ability to create buy-in and influence at a senior level through formalized proposals and business cases. Strong generalist marketing and CRM capability Product Planning, Pricing, B2C and B2B sales, Advertising offline and online Strong communication skills with customers, internal stakeholders, and members of the retail team. Ability to lead and motivate others through strong leadership skills, whether through direct line management or via a matrix setup. Excellent analytical and agile project management skills Oriented, totally customer centric, ability to manage multiple stakeholders.
About Al-Futtaim Automotive
A major division of the UAE-based Al-Futtaim Group of companies,
Al-Futtaim Automotive is an industry leader with presence in 10 countries across the Middle East, Asia and Africa.
Our core business activities at Al-Futtaim Automotive include distribution, manufacturing, leasing and aftersales, and we are firmly established as the regional representative of some of the world’s most iconic automotive brands: Toyota, Lexus, Honda, Jeep, Chrysler, Dodge, Volvo and RAM.
We are driven by a customer-centric approach, constantly pushing the boundaries on innovation, quality standards, and value-added service across our vast universe of customers - right from motoring enthusiasts to fleet operators to contractors. Our mission is to become the leader in custom-made mobility solutions by delivering nothing less than world-class omni-channel experiences.
We channel our local expertise and global trust to deliver one of the most comprehensive portfolios of mobility products and solutions, from passenger cars to SUVs, electric vehicles to hi