Marketing Lead

We are a premium and fast-growing Chinese premium automotive and electric vehicle brand preparing our full-scale launch across Europe, which in terms of Marketing is still almost empty: cars are arriving, distributors already sell, and there is no European marketing function except what those distributors do on their own. This role starts in the Benelux and is meant to become the standard for the rest of Europe.

The Marketing Lead – Benelux is not here to polish decks for a finished brand team. You design how Hongqi looks, sounds and sells in NL, BE and LU — campaigns, dealer tools, press, KOLs, budget — then write it down so Germany, France and Italy can copy it. If that system works, this job grows into a pan-European marketing lead within three to four years.

ROLE PURPOSE

One brand in the Benelux, not eleven dealer versions of it. Measurable local demand. A playbook the next markets can use.

What success looks like (first 6–12 months)

• A simple Benelux marketing system exists: brand rules, asset kit, lead path from ad to dealer.
• Dealers can run a launch weekend without inventing their own flyer.
• Always-on digital is live (search, social, basic performance) with a monthly scorecard.
• Press and a short list of serious KOLs know the cars; we are not invisible next to VW, Tesla, Hyundai.
• Budget is tracked. China and Sales get one clear report, not three stories.
• You can show what to copy first when we open the next country.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Build the local engine
  • Plan and run multi-channel campaigns (digital, social, offline, events) from central brand guidelines — and write the missing pieces when China has not sent them yet. Own the Benelux marketing budget. Track what worked. Kill what did not.
• Make dealers look like Hongqi - Recruit their marketing time: toolkits, co-marketing rules, training, promotions, test-drive days, showroom activation. Lead generation and conversion at the desk matter more than vanity reach.
• Earn attention
  • Local media, KOLs and partners. PR and content that create consideration, not noise. One professional face at every touch-point.
• Read the market and feed HQ
  • Competitors, consumer signals, dealer feedback, stock reality. Structured recommendations to the Country Sales Manager and Chinese leadership — in time to change the next month, not the next annual plan.
• Work the matrix
  • Plan with Country Sales. Localize what China sends. Brief agencies. Hold the line when a distributor wants a different logo.

THIS JOB IS NOT

European CMO. Agency account director. Social intern. Country Sales Manager.

REQUIRED

• Bachelor in Marketing, Business, Communications or similar.
• 7+ years B2C marketing, ideally automotive, mobility, premium consumer or retail.
• Proof you have run local campaigns and supported a dealer or retail network.
• Dealer / distributor experience is a VERY strong advantage.
• Chinese or other Asian B2C brand experience is an absolute plus.
• You ship with limited resources. You prioritize. You do not wait for a 20-person brand team.
• Digital, social, local media and events — enough to brief specialists and spot rubbish.
• Calm with dealers, agencies, Sales and a Chinese HQ on another clock.
• Dutch or Flemish C2 — mandatory. English C1/C2 — mandatory. French B2+ — strong preference. Mandarin — a plus.

LOCATION

European HQ, Amsterdam / Hoofddorp area. Hybrid. Regular travel to Benelux dealers and events. Not a fully remote job.

WHAT WE OFFER

• On-Target Earnings – depending on your qualification-level – in the range of €92,000 – €109,250 gross per year, consisting of a competitive fixed base salary and including a 15% On-Target bonus linked to business, marketing and sales targets.
• The rare brief: first marketer for a premium Chinese brand in Europe, with a real path to lead more countries if you set the standard here.
• HQ pension, holiday allowance and mobility in line with our Amsterdam package.
• You will hire help later. Year one you are the function.

HOW TO KNOW YOU ARE THE RIGHT PERSON

You have already made a network execute one campaign the same way in more than one rooftop. You can explain last year’s spend in one page. Time zones do not offend you. You would rather build the house than decorate someone else’s. You can hold your own, when all the corporate safety-nets, tools and processes are not available to you.

ABOUT FAW EUROPE / HONGQI

FAW Europe is a subsidiary of the China FAW Group Corporation, which is one of the oldest and largest automotive manufacturers in China. Originally founded in 1953 as First Automotive Works, the corporation operates internationally to export and manufacture vehicles in over 70 countries. Ranging from heavy-duty and commercial trucks (through FAW Trucks) to municipal transit buses, construction machinery, and passenger cars. Flagship brands include JIEFANG (commercial trucks), BESTUNE (passenger cars) and HONGQI (high-end luxury vehicles; https://www.hongqi.nl).

Through various international subsidiaries, joint ventures and assembly plants, FAW has a massive presence outside of China, particularly across markets in Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Latin America. In addition to our own brands, FAW-Volkswagen and FAW Toyota are partnerships that build and sell vehicles within China and globally.

A reference and background check will be part of the selection process.

WE WILL ONLY BE ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FROM CANDIDATES, WITH AN UNRESTRICTED RIGHT TO WORK IN THE NETHERLANDS.

ACQUISITION AS A RESULT OF THIS VACANCY IS NOT APPRECIATED