When should job titles be capitalised?

The general rule: capitalise a job title when it comes immediately before a person's name as part of that name, and lowercase it when it stands alone or follows the name.

We met Chief Executive Amara Okafor. (before the name — capitalised) We met Amara Okafor, the chief executive. (after the name — lowercase) The chief executive will decide. (standing alone — lowercase)

The logic is that in the first case the title functions as part of the name, like Doctor or Professor. In the others it is simply a description of a role, and roles are common nouns.

This catches out a lot of business writing, where there is a strong pull toward capitalising any title that feels important. She was promoted to Senior Marketing Manager should normally be lowercase. So should our Head of Product in running prose.

Several legitimate exceptions exist.

Organisational style guides often override this, and many companies capitalise their own job titles as a matter of policy. Following your employer's house style is the right call internally.

Direct address takes a capital: Thank you, Minister.

Some very senior titles are conventionally capitalised even standing alone in formal contexts — the President referring to a specific head of state, for instance — though usage varies between style guides and this is genuinely contested.

Signature blocks, business cards, CVs and job adverts conventionally capitalise, because there the title is being presented as a label rather than used in a sentence.

The practical advice: pick a rule, write it down, and apply it consistently. Inconsistency within one document is far more visible than either choice.