Assistant Service Manager

Assistant Service Manager

At Harris County Universal Services Fleet Services, your automotive experience can take you beyond the repair bay. If you've spent years diagnosing and repairing vehicles and are ready to use that knowledge to lead technicians, support customers, review repairs, manage workflow, and help keep a busy shop moving, this may be your next step. No sales quotas. No commission pressure. No chasing flag hours. Instead, bring your technical experience into a leadership role where you will help guide repairs, review estimates, support technicians, manage schedules and performance, communicate with County customers, and work with the Service Manager and Team Lead to keep vehicles moving through the shop. You'll still use the automotive knowledge you built in the bay, just in a bigger way. Harris County offers paid time off, paid holidays, sick leave, comprehensive benefits, retirement, training, and opportunities to grow your career. Same automotive knowledge. More leadership. A career built for the long haul. Lead the shop at Harris County.

Under general supervision, the Assistant Service Manager serves as the operational liaison between Service Management and shop floor leadership. This position acts as the primary communication bridge between County departments, the Service Manager, Team Lead, and Service Technicians to ensure efficient workflow, timely repair completion, and high levels of customer satisfaction. The Assistant Service Manager works directly with the Team Lead and Service Manager to review workflow priorities, determine vehicle readiness, address repair bottlenecks, and ensure technicians have approved estimates and required documentation. This role also communicates operational needs, constraints, and resource gaps to the Service Manager and may escalate issues requiring senior leadership support. Strong customer service, organizational skills, and independent judgment are essential in this high-volume fleet maintenance environment.

Operational & Customer Service Management

• Coordinate vehicle service appointments, maintenance activities, repair timelines, and service priorities.
• Serve as a primary point of contact for County departments regarding vehicle service needs, repair status, and maintenance concerns.
• Accurately document customer concerns and repair requests using fleet management software.
• Prepare, review, and communicate repair estimates and expected costs to obtain approval from County departments.
• Track vehicle repairs and proactively communicate repair progress, delays, changes in scope, and expected completion timelines.
• Maintain high levels of customer satisfaction through professional communication, responsiveness, and follow-through.
• Answer incoming calls and provide accurate vehicle status and repair information.
• Translate technical repair information into clear, understandable communication for customers and County stakeholders.
• Address customer concerns and escalate service issues to the Service Manager when appropriate.

Technician Supervision & Performance Management

• Provide direct supervision and day-to-day leadership to assigned Service Technicians.
• Establish and manage technician work schedules to maintain adequate staffing and operational coverage.
• Review and approve technician timesheets, attendance records, leave requests, and related timekeeping documentation in accordance with County policies.
• Monitor technician attendance, productivity, work quality, repair documentation, and adherence to established Fleet Services standards.
• Conduct employee performance evaluations and provide ongoing coaching, feedback, and performance expectations.
• Identify technician training and development needs and coordinate with the Service Manager and Team Lead to support employee development.
• Address performance, attendance, conduct, or quality concerns and escalate formal personnel matters to the Service Manager as appropriate.
• Reinforce workplace expectations, safety requirements, professionalism, teamwork, and accountability.
• Support onboarding, orientation, and development of newly assigned technicians.

Workflow Management & Shop Coordination

• Meet routinely with the Service Manager and Team Lead to review shop workload, repair priorities, technician capacity, vehicle readiness, and pending completions.
• Coordinate repair assignments in alignment with technician capabilities, Team Lead recommendations, customer priorities, and operational needs.
• Monitor vehicles throughout the repair process and identify stalled work, aging repairs, approval delays, parts constraints, or other barriers affecting completion.
• Ensure technicians have approved estimates, required documentation, parts availability information, and administrative support necessary to complete repairs.
• Communicate workflow challenges, staffing constraints, parts delays, approval bottlenecks, and operational risks to the Service Manager.
• Escalate issues requiring Service Manager or senior leadership support.
• Support monitoring of repair cycle times, technician productivity, shop throughput, vehicle downtime, and workflow efficiency.
• Assist in balancing workload across technicians and work areas based on operational demand.

Automotive Technical Support & Subject Matter Expertise

• Serve as an automotive subject matter resource for technicians, customers, and Service Management.
• Review technician findings, repair recommendations, and estimates for completeness, technical reasonableness, and alignment with Fleet Services and OEM standards.
• Assist with difficult diagnoses, repeat repair concerns, unusual failures, and repairs requiring additional technical review.
• Help determine when additional diagnostic testing, technical assistance, vendor support, or escalation is appropriate.
• Support technicians in identifying appropriate repair procedures, service information, diagnostic resources, and next steps.
• Help prevent unnecessary parts replacement, excessive diagnostic time, and repeat repairs by encouraging sound diagnostic practices.
• Communicate recurring repair trends, technical concerns, tooling needs, or training opportunities to the Service Manager.

Quality Assurance & Vehicle Oversight

• Conduct or assist with quality assurance inspections on vehicles repaired in-house or by outside vendors to ensure work meets Fleet Services standards and specifications.
• Verify that completed repairs align with approved work orders and documented repair concerns prior to vehicle release.
• Confirm that safety-critical repairs involving systems such as brakes, steering, suspension, tires, electrical, and related components meet applicable standards.
• Identify incomplete work, repair discrepancies, repeat concerns, or quality issues and coordinate corrective action before vehicle release.
• Support investigation of comebacks, rechecks, and repeat repairs to help identify root causes and prevent recurrence.
• Ensure repairs are appropriately verified before vehicles are returned to County departments.

Administrative & Compliance Responsibilities

• Maintain accurate, timely, and complete documentation within fleet management and timekeeping systems.
• Review work orders and repair documentation for completeness, accuracy, and appropriate supporting information.
• Ensure compliance with County policies, Fleet Services procedures, safety requirements, and operational standards.
• Support coordination between Service staff, Parts personnel, vendors, and other Fleet functions to maintain workflow efficiency.
• Assist the Service Manager with operational reporting, performance monitoring, staffing needs, and service-related administrative activities.
• Perform additional duties as assigned by management to support Fleet Services operations.

Harris County is an Equal Opportunity Employer. If you need special services or accommodations, please call View phone number on click.appcast.io or email View email address on click.appcast.io. This position is subject to a criminal history check. Only relevant convictions will be considered and, even when considered, may not automatically disqualify the candidate.

Requirements

Education: High school diploma or equivalent. Experience: 3 years of Customer Service experience with a Positive and Flexible Attitude and 5 years of Automotive Repair. Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities: Ability to maintain excellent customer satisfaction in a high-volume environment. Strong verbal and written communication skills. Strong organizational and time management skills. Strong computer skills and intermediate in Microsoft applications. Ability to work independently while collaborating with Service Managers and Team Leads. Ability to identify operational constraints and escalate appropriately. Maintain a professional appearance and demeanor. Adhere to all County policies, procedures, and safety standards. Licensure: Valid driver's license with a clean driving record. NOTE: Qualifying education, experience, knowledge and skills must be documented in your job application. You may attach a resume to the application as supporting documentation but ONLY information stated on the application will be used for consideration. "See Resume" will not be accepted for qualifications.

Preferences

Education: An associate degree in automotive technology or a related field is preferred. Certifications: ASE certifications. Experience: Experience in a fleet, dealership, or high-volume automotive service environment preferred. Prior leadership experience or demonstrated ability to lead others strongly preferred.

General Information

Location: 1 of 2 locations: 17423 Katy Frwy. Houston, TX 77060 and 2505 Texas Ave. Houston, TX 77003. Work Arrangement: Onsite 5 days/week. Work Environment and Physical Demands: May be exposed to dust, dirt, fumes, etc. May be asked to work outdoors in elements such as hot, cold, and rain. May be asked to work at different shop locations based on Fleet Workload. Must be able to lift at