Area Technical & Warranty Manager

Job description / Role

The purpose of this role is to serve as the primary contact for dealer technical and warranty inquiries, provide expert remote and on-site technical as well as warranty support and assistance to the MEO’s dealer body and identify areas to improve service technical quality in the areas of workshop and reception processes to achieve the highest level of customer satisfaction by optimizing vehicle repairs and reduce warranty costs.

Key Responsibilities:
- Drive dealer’s compliance to GM Service Policies and Procedures.
- Provide technical support and solutions to dealers on technical issues including on-site Technical assistance & coach dealers on usage of proper strategy based diagnosis (SBD) to achieve high Fix- It –Right-First-Time.
- Drive MEO product Quality improvements through submission of Product quality reports (PIR) through dealers and support any engineering activities/Investigations for problem resolution.
- Improve quality of repair to the highest level possible, support dealer management in identifying relevant action plans with specific technical inputs for development and execution of business plans.
- Ensure dealer’s warranty administration processes and performance indicators meet/exceed the set regional standards including conducting monthly warranty review of dealerships and eliminate warranty waste thereby achieving Warranty KPI’s.
- Drive MEO Field action completion rate with special focus on Safety recalls and ensure robust dealer processes to support recall related communication with customers.
- Ensure workshop and reception have trained staff to perform quality service through dealer’s compliance to minimum training standards and service certification.
- Manage customer support initiatives including Tire assistance programs, courtesy vehicles, Trade- in Assists/buybacks, loyalty certificates etc., as well as assist dealers to resolve escalated & high- profile customer complaints related to service including working with dealers on action plan to avoid reoccurrence.
- Act as first point of contact for product liability issues and legal cases related to service including filing, escalation of claims, and support by providing technical findings to platform engineering / Attorney as required.
- Act as first point of contact for Technical and warranty related queries raised by Local Consumer Protection Departments or Ministries and work with dealers to maintain cordial relationships with the various authorities especially on critical customer cases registered with them.
- Drive dealers to ensure optimal level of technical and warranty service is available to large fleet customers to enhance Fleet ownership experience.

Requirements

- College degree in engineering or equivalent – preference in automotive specialization.
- MBA is an added value

Knowledge and Experience:
- Min 5-8 years professional experience in automotive technical service area preferably in management role
- In depth knowledge of automotive technology, engineering principles as well as expertise in vehicle servicing practices/methods & standards preferably with hands on experience on shop-floor in trouble shooting and diagnostics
- Good insights to dealer operations, warranty administration including applicable policies & procedures, claim management and consultative experience on reception and workshop processes
- Experience in handling customers including managing complaints

Skills:
- Good trouble shooting abilities on technical issues
- Excellent computer skills in MS Office, particularly in MS Excel and PowerPoint
- Excellent written and oral skills in English and also preferably in Arabic
- Excellent analytical skills to be able to interpret data
- Good presentation skills
- Ability to travel extensively throughout region

Competencies:
- Functional/Technical Skills
- Dealing with ambiguity
- Managerial Courage
- Problem Solving
- Interpersonal Savvy

About the Company

General Motors Company (NYSE:GM, TSX: GMM), one of the worlds largest automakers, traces its roots back to 1908. GM and its strategic partners produce cars and trucks in 31 countries, and sell and service these vehicles through the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Holden, Isuzu, Jiefang, Opel, Vauxhall and Wuling. GMs largest national market is China, followed by the United States, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada and Russia. GMs OnStar subsidiary is the industry leader in vehicle safety, security and information services.

With its global headquarters in Detroit, GM employs 209,000 people in every major region of the world and does business in more than 120 countries. GM is headquartered in four major locations: GM Europe; North America (GMNA); South America; and GM International Operations (GMIO) is located in Shanghai, China. GMIO covers Asia Pacific and Middle East.

GM Middle East started in 1920s and the brands that are sold in the region are Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC supported by a unique set of customer-focused services. GM parts and accessories are sold under the GM Parts and ACDelco brands. The regional office in Dubai covers the companys operations in Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Yemen in 20 dealerships.

GM has 2 facilities here in Middle East one is in Dubai World Trade Centre and the other, Middle East Distribution Corporation, which is located in Jebel Ali.