The posting
Vice President, Digital Commerce & Growth
Mission
Build Autocar’s digital commercial engine for vocational trucks, starting with Construction. Make it easier for qualified buyers to discover, compare, configure, price or quote, and move into a sales-assisted purchase — while defining, resourcing, and proving the business case that delivers measurable pipeline and unit growth
About the Role
Autocar products are complex, high-consideration, and often custom-engineered. The first win is not consumer-style checkout for every truck. It is a reliable, omni-channel digital journey that turns buyer intent into a configured, priced, sales-ready opportunity — and, where operationally practical, a reservation or transaction for eligible stock units.
This is a build-and-prove role, not a website-maintenance role. You will define the operating model, prioritize the roadmap, establish the product-data and technology foundations, launch Construction as the lighthouse, and scale what works across Refuse and Terminal Tractor. Critically, this role owns the mandate to develop the investment case, size the resources required, and demonstrate return — the budget, team, and success measures are yours to propose, justify, and prove, not pre-set for you.
What You Will Own
• The vocational digital commerce strategy and investment case. Own the multi-year strategy, the operating model, and the business case for digital commerce across the vocational portfolio (Construction first). Define the funding and resourcing required, secure approval, and be accountable to the executive sponsor for return on that investment - not merely for shipping features.
• A named commercial outcome you will define, then deliver. Establish the baselines (traffic, leads, pipeline, conversion, inventory turns, unit sales), propose the year-one and multi-year targets, and then own the funnel from discovery through sales-assisted purchase - including the qualified-pipeline, online-influenced units, and cost-per-qualified-opportunity you commit to.
• The Construction digital go-to-market and its launch decisions. Own the end-to-end dump and mixer buyer journey — model/spec content, stock-inventory visibility, guided configuration or quote, calculators, lead capture, and sales routing - with authority to set scope, sequence, and launch / no-launch gates for the MVP and each release.
• Demand generation strategy and investment. Own the demand-generation investment and its allocation across technical SEO, paid media, retargeting, account-based campaigns, and structured content useful in search and AI-assisted research. Accountable for qualified-demand volume and quality - not traffic vanity metrics.
• The commerce technology architecture and build-vs-buy authority. Own the business requirements, vendor selection, and build-vs-buy decisions across product catalog / PIM, configurator / CPQ, pricing, inventory feeds, CRM, marketing automation, analytics, and integrations - setting the standards the platform is held to, in partnership with the technology partner.
• The digital-to-sales operating model and SLAs. Own the lead-scoring, routing, response-time standards, nurture, attribution, and feedback loops - jointly governed with the Vocational GMs and Sales leadership - and the operating cadence (e.g., weekly funnel reviews) that enforces them.
• Team, budget, and partner accountability. Own the org design, the approved headcount and hiring, and the agency / technology-partner roster; build the team from its current state to the structure the mandate requires, setting performance standards and holding internal and external teams accountable.
The scale-and-replicate mandate. Own the decision on when and how to extend the proven platform and playbooks to Refuse and Terminal Tractor, and when to advance into deeper configuration, reservation, deposit, or financing for eligible stock units - based on demonstrated unit economics and organizational readiness
What You Will Bring
• A record of building, not only operating. You have created or materially rebuilt a digital commerce or digital sales capability at meaningful scale — the platform, process, team, and measurement system — not just managed an existing one.
• Commercial ownership. You have personally owned a high-consideration funnel and can show the baseline, the targets you set, and the conversion, pipeline or revenue impact, unit economics, and your own contribution to them.
• Complex-product experience. You understand configurable products, product rules, specifications, inventory, pricing or quoting, and long, sales-assisted buying journeys.
• Broad technical fluency (not deep in everything). You can make sound build-vs-buy decisions and challenge specialists across PIM / catalog, CPQ / configurators, CRM, marketing automation, analytics, and integration design. You do not need to be an engineer.
• Demand and conversion judgment. You know how to generate qualified demand, improve the buyer journey, and separate traffic metrics from commercial outcomes.
• Cross-functional influence. You have changed how sales, marketing, product, operations, and IT work together — including where not everyone reported to you.
• Talent and vendor leadership. You have hired strong specialists, set clear standards, and held internal and external teams accountable.
• A build-the-business-case mindset. You are comfortable operating without pre-set budgets or targets — you baseline, model, propose, secure resources, and prove ROI.
• Hands-on operating style. You move from strategy to requirements, funnel reviews, vendor decisions, and launch details without losing the commercial objective.
Preferred, Not Required
• Relevant industry adjacency. Commercial vehicles, heavy or construction equipment, industrial products, powersports, RV, automotive digital retail, or another high-value configurable category.
• Channel complexity. Direct sales, dealers or distributors, field sales, inside sales, or a hybrid route to market.
• Additional useful exposure. Stock inventory, financing or deposits, body or upfit integration, product-data governance, and structured content for technical search and AI discovery.
This Role Is Not
• A conventional retail e-commerce role. The product is not a simple SKU with a short cart-and-checkout path.
• A brand or website-redesign role. Traffic, content volume, and visual polish are not the end measures of success.
• An IT program-management role. Technology matters, but the leader is accountable for commercial adoption and results.
• A strategy-only role. The successful leader defines the plan and personally drives the first launches, operating rhythm, and team build.
• A mature-platform maintenance role. The environment will contain ambiguity, incomplete data, competing priorities, and legacy working habits.
• Why This Role Matters
• Autocar has an opportunity to connect product data, stock visibility, configuration, demand generation, and sales follow-up into one measurable commercial system. This leader will build that capability close to the customer, prove its return, and tie it to real truck pipeline and unit sales - turning our commercial area into a digital growth engine.
What You’ll Get
- We offer an attractive compensation and benefits package, to include base salary, incentive bonus opportunities, and benefits including comprehensive medical, dental, vision, and life and AD&D insurance, and short-term and long-term disability.
- 401(k) with a company match to help you invest in your future.
- Paid time off (PTO) and company holidays to rest, recharge, and maintain work-life balance.
Location: Birmingham, AL
- Birmingham is one of the Southeast’s most dynamic and affordable cities, recognized nationally as a growing business hub and an attractive destination for professionals. The area offers a lower cost of living than many major metropolitan markets, a thriving culinary and entertainment scene, and convenient access to lakes, parks, and weekend destinations throughout the region.
- Enjoy the best of both worlds—our Autocar facility is located just 20 minutes from downtown Birmingham, providing easy access to the city’s amenities while maintaining a convenient commute.
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: GVW 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):
GVW 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.
