Central Service Manager

Chilton Auto Body•San Carlos, CA

3d•$130,000 - $145,000

About The Position

The Central Service Manager leads Chilton Auto Body’s centralized operations, connecting customer calls and capacity-based scheduling with shop-floor production and paint operations. The role is responsible for ensuring locations operate at appropriate volume, meet DRP performance targets, and maintain OEM certifications that support repair work. The manager oversees the central call center and scheduling, central estimate review, DRP scorecard performance, paint throughput, and OEM certification programs across locations. The role partners with location managers, production managers, estimators, insurers, technicians, and customers, and builds reports and process improvements across these functions.

Requirements

At least 5 years of collision repair experience, including at least 3 years in a management role in service, production, or operations.
Strong working knowledge of DRP programs, insurer scorecards, and the effects of estimate quality on scorecard performance.
Experience with collision estimating platforms such as CCC ONE, Mitchell, or Audatex, and shop management systems.
Proven ability to schedule and load one or more shops to capacity.
Experience leading a call center, customer service team, or central office staff.
Familiarity with OEM certification programs and I-CAR training requirements.
Strong data skills, including building reports and turning data into action plans.
Clear communication with insurers, managers, technicians, and customers.

Nice To Haves

Multi-location (MSO) collision experience.
I-CAR Gold Class or Platinum background; ASE certifications.
Paint department or refinish production experience.
Lean or process-improvement training.

Responsibilities

Manage the central call center team, including hiring, training, coaching, scheduling, and performance reviews.
Build and maintain a scheduling model that loads each location according to technician hours, paint booth capacity, and repair mix.
Balance drop-offs and repair starts to prevent bottlenecks, idle time, and extended cycle time.
Set call center standards for answer rate, hold time, appointment conversion, and customer communication.
Ensure accurate intake of claim, insurer, and vehicle information.
Help manage the central review team that audits estimates before and during repairs.
Ensure estimates are complete, accurate, and compliant with DRP guidelines and OEM repair procedures.
Use central review findings to improve estimate accuracy, supplement rates, severity, and other DRP scorecard metrics.
Coach estimators and location staff on recurring estimate issues and best practices.
Review insurance partner DRP scorecards weekly and monthly; track performance categories including cycle time, severity, estimate accuracy, supplements, customer satisfaction, and re-inspection results.
Identify DRP performance gaps, establish improvement plans with location managers, and follow up on progress.
Serve as a key contact for DRP and insurance partner performance reviews.
Report DRP scorecard results and trends to leadership.
Monitor paint production across locations, including booth utilization, refinish hours per day, and paint cycle time.
Align scheduling and repair flow to maintain a steady rate of work reaching paint.
Work with production and paint leads to remove delays, rework, and booth downtime.
Manage and organize OEM certifications across locations and maintain a central tracker of certification status, renewal dates, training, equipment, and audit requirements.
Coordinate technician training and I-CAR or OEM-required courses to keep certifications current.
Prepare locations for OEM audits and ensure documentation is complete and organized.
Identify new certification opportunities that support business growth.
Partner with location managers, production managers, and estimators to meet volume, cycle time, and quality targets.
Build dashboards and regular reports covering call center, capacity, scorecard, paint, and certification performance.
Drive process improvements and standard operating procedures across central functions.