Auto-Service Operations Manager

Build Your Career with Merchants Auto

Are you a service operations leader who thrives in a fast-paced environment where every day brings new challenges, priorities, and opportunities to improve performance?

At Merchants Auto, we're looking for a Service Operations Manager to lead the daily coordination, dispatch, and execution of service operations while helping drive efficiency, accountability, and exceptional customer experiences.

As the automotive retail and service division of Merchants Fleet, one of North America's leading fleet management companies, Merchants Auto combines the agility of a growing automotive business with the resources and stability of an industry leader. You'll join a team focused on continuous improvement, collaboration, and delivering high-quality results for retail, commercial, and fleet customers alike.

This role serves as the operational hub of our service department, ensuring repair work is prioritized, assigned, tracked, communicated, and completed efficiently while supporting technicians, service teams, and customers throughout the repair process. 

Why Join Merchants Auto?

• Key leadership role within a growing automotive service operation
• Opportunity to make a direct impact on service performance and customer experience
• Collaborative environment that values innovation and continuous improvement
• Competitive compensation and comprehensive benefits package
• Generous PTO and paid holidays
• Professional development and career growth opportunities
• Supportive leadership team and strong company culture
• Backed by the resources and stability of Merchants Fleet while maintaining a close-knit team environment

What You'll Do

Lead Daily Service Operations

• Oversee repair orders from intake through completion, ensuring work is prioritized, assigned, documented, and completed efficiently
• Coordinate workflow across service advisors, dispatch personnel, technicians, team leads, parts operations, and external vendors
• Lead daily workflow meetings and maintain visibility into work-in-progress, repair-order aging, and completion timelines
• Balance priorities across fleet, retail, commercial, inventory, and sublet service work

Drive Service Performance

• Monitor technician utilization, productivity, cycle time, backlog, repair-order volume, and service commitments
• Identify operational bottlenecks and implement solutions to improve workflow efficiency
• Partner with technical leaders to align staffing, scheduling, capacity, and resource needs
• Escalate operational risks and recommend corrective actions when needed

Manage Customer & Vendor Coordination

• Ensure proactive communication regarding repair status, timelines, and service expectations
• Coordinate with internal stakeholders, external customers, vendors, body shops, and service partners
• Lead service recovery efforts and resolve operational issues affecting customer satisfaction
• Oversee sublet repair activity and vendor performance to support timely vehicle completion

Lead & Develop Team Members

• Provide leadership, coaching, performance feedback, and daily direction to service coordination and dispatch team members
• Support training, onboarding, cross-functional development, and process improvement initiatives
• Foster a culture of accountability, teamwork, customer service, and operational excellence
• Partner with department leadership on staffing plans and succession development

Champion Continuous Improvement

• Identify opportunities to reduce delays, streamline processes, and improve service delivery
• Develop and maintain standard operating procedures, workflows, and reporting practices
• Utilize operational data and performance metrics to drive decision-making and results
• Ensure compliance with company controls, policies, and documentation requirements

What You'll Bring

• Strong understanding of automotive service operations, repair-order workflow, dispatch, work prioritization, and customer communication
• Ability to manage multiple priorities within a high-volume, fast-paced environment
• Strong leadership, problem-solving, organizational, and decision-making skills
• Experience interpreting operational metrics and using data to improve performance
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to collaborate across technical and non-technical teams
• Proficiency with Dealer Management Systems (DMS), workflow systems, Microsoft Excel, Word, and Outlook
• Advanced Excel skills, including reporting, pivot tables, and data analysis preferred 

Qualifications

• Three or more years of progressive experience in automotive service operations, fixed operations, fleet maintenance coordination, dispatch, service advising, or related operational leadership roles
• Prior experience supervising employees or leading a service, dispatch, advisor, or operations team preferred
• High school diploma or equivalent required
• Associate's or Bachelor's degree in Business, Operations, Automotive Management, or a related field preferred
• Equivalent combination of education and experience will be considered
• Valid driver's license and ability to meet company driving requirements 

Work Environment

This position is based on-site in Hooksett, NH and regularly works across office, customer service, shop, parts, and vehicle processing environments. The role requires frequent collaboration with team members throughout the operation and active involvement in day-to-day workflow management. Occasional travel to vendor, partner, or training locations may be required. 

Before You Apply

This role is ideal for a leader who thrives in a fast-paced environment, enjoys improving processes, and excels at keeping teams and operations running smoothly. At Merchants Auto, you'll play a key role in driving service performance, supporting a high-performing team, and delivering an exceptional customer experience. As a sister company of Merchants Fleet, you'll have the opportunity to grow your career with a company backed by the resources and stability of an industry leader.

Before applying, please review the following requirements:

• This position is based at our auto headquarters in Hooksett, New Hampshire. No relocation assistance will be provided.
• Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States on a permanent basis.
• Merchants Auto is unable to provide employment visa sponsorship now or in the future for this position.

Join a Team That's Driving Forward

At Merchants Auto, you'll find more than a management position. You'll join a team committed to innovation, growth, and operational excellence while making a meaningful impact within a growing organization that's helping shape the future of automotive and fleet services.

Ready to take the next step in your career? Apply today and join the Merchants team.

The Company 

You're invigorated by team collaboration and a fast-paced work environment. Opportunities for growth motivate you to always bring your A-game. You’re tired of being told “no” when you think of ways to improve, innovate, and do things better.

There’s a place for people like you. Welcome to Merchants Fleet.

We’ve been around for more than 60 years, but we’re the fastest growing fleet management company in North America. The fleet industry is behind every delivered package, the summertime memories kids make on their way to camp, and the heavy-duty trucks and vans that keep the lights on. That’s a lot of responsibility, and why we want our employees to always be at their best.

Everything at Merchants Fleet is fueled by our entrepreneurial spirit, including:

• Leadership who truly lead and engage with employees   
• Real career paths and the tools you need to grow and develop  
• A work environment that’s encouraging and collaborative

We know employees won’t stay if they’re not happy, which is why we provide a great benefits package on top of our award-winning work environment. In fact, we’ve just made the “Great Companies to Work For in NH” list for the 10th year and have a 84% employee satisfaction score (higher than the national average of 57%).

So, what are you waiting for? See why a career with Merchants Fleet is the best decision your future self has ever made.  

Location: Merchants Auto- Hooksett, NH (Onsite)