Description
Large Southern California Ford Dealership
A large, established Ford dealership in Southern California is conducting a confidential search for an exceptional Service Director.
This is a major operation with a large service facility, substantial customer base, significant repair-order volume and tremendous opportunity for continued growth.
We are not looking for someone who manages from behind a desk, protects the status quo or waits for the month to happen.
We want a leader who walks the drive, knows the technicians, listens to customer calls, studies the numbers and attacks problems before they become excuses. Someone who can bring energy, discipline and accountability to a large department while creating a workplace where great employees want to stay.
If you know how to turn opportunity into repair orders, repair orders into hours and first-time customers into lifelong customers, we want to talk to you.
Your Mission
You will have the support and authority to build one of Southern California’s best Ford service operations by delivering:
Outstanding customer retention and owner loyalty
Strong CSI without sacrificing legitimate sales opportunities
Increased technician productivity and efficiency
Higher hours per repair order
Faster appointment availability and vehicle turnaround
Effective warranty, recall and customer-pay penetration
Consistent advisor performance and accountability
Aggressive technician recruiting and development
A clean, organized and professional operation
Sustainable departmental growth and profitability
What You’ll Lead
A large Ford service department, including the main shop and Quick Lane
A substantial team of service advisors, technicians, dispatchers, warranty personnel and support staff
Daily production meetings and performance tracking
Advisor coaching, call monitoring and process improvement
Technician recruiting, retention, training and career development
Capacity planning, scheduling, dispatch and workflow
Customer-pay, warranty, recall and internal repair-order performance
Labor-rate strategy, effective labor rate and gross-profit management
Customer recovery and escalation
Coordination with Parts, Sales, BDC and executive leadership
Ford programs, standards, reporting and compliance
Who We’re Looking For
The successful candidate will have:
Proven leadership experience in a large, high-volume franchised dealership service department
Ford experience strongly preferred
A measurable history of increasing production, gross profit, CSI and customer retention
Strong command of technician efficiency, advisor productivity, effective labor rate, hours per RO, unapplied time and expense control
The ability to recruit, coach and retain top-performing technicians and advisors
Excellent organizational, communication and problem-solving skills
High personal standards, integrity and emotional maturity
The confidence to hold people accountable—and the leadership ability to make them want to improve
A genuine sense of urgency and complete ownership of results
We are looking for a builder, coach and operator—not simply an experienced résumé.
The Opportunity
This position is with a privately owned, well-established Southern California dealership group. The Service Director will work directly with engaged executive leadership that believes in investing in people, technology, facilities and processes.
The right candidate will receive:
Real authority to improve the operation
Direct access to ownership
A large and established Ford customer base
A substantial service facility with considerable production capacity
Modern technology and operational resources
The opportunity to recruit and develop an elite team
Significant performance-based earning potential
A genuine long-term career opportunity
Good ideas do not die in committees here. When something makes sense for our customers, employees and business, we move.
Compensation and Benefits
Competitive base compensation: [$–$]
Aggressive performance-based incentive plan
Medical, dental and vision benefits
Paid vacation
401(k), if applicable
Relocation assistance may be considered for the right candidate
Compensation will reflect experience, leadership ability and proven results. If you can produce at an elite level, we are prepared to compensate you accordingly.
Ready to Lead a Major Operation?
Please submit your résumé along with a brief explanation of the most successful service department you have led.
Include measurable results whenever possible:
Annual repair-order and labor-sales growth
Technician productivity and efficiency
Hours per repair order
Effective labor rate
CSI and customer-retention improvement
Departmental gross and net-profit growth
Technician recruiting, development and turnover results
Size of the department and number of employees supervised
All applications and conversations will be handled with complete confidentiality. Additional information about the dealership will be shared with qualified candidates during the interview process.
If you are ready to stop maintaining someone else’s operation and start building something exceptional, we want to hear from you.
Requirements
Minimum 5 years Ford Service Management
