Director Automotive Variable Operations Jobs in California

Location: Cerritos, CA | Type: Full-Time | Travel: 70-80% Field Travel

Norm Reeves Dealerships is one of the largest privately owned dealership groups in the country, with 17 dealerships across California, Texas, and Florida representing Honda, Toyota, Volkswagen, Ford, Lincoln, Genesis, Hyundai, and Subaru. We're looking for an experienced, hands-on Regional Variable Operations Performance Manager who has moved the numbers at a high-performing store and wants to do it across an entire platform.

For immediate consideration, please email brittany.chavez@normreeves.com and provide a copy of your updated resume. 

About the Role

This is not a desk job. You'll spend 70-80% of your time in our stores working directly with GSMs, Sales Managers, and Internet Managers — coaching, observing, and driving performance across the full variable cycle: the selling process, Internet and CRM operations, and used vehicle execution. You are the connection between our enterprise Playbook and what actually happens on the floor.

Performance data decides where you go. You'll maintain a monthly rotation across all stores, support new variable ops hires through structured Week 2 / 30 / 60 / 90-day milestone visits, and step in when a KPI is trending the wrong way to partner with store leadership on root cause — not just symptoms. Every visit ends with a documented action plan and clear accountability for what happens next.

You'll report directly to the Regional Vice President, and what you see in the field will directly shape how we operate across the enterprise.

What You'll Do

• Coach GSMs, Sales Managers, and Internet Managers on the selling process, floor management, and leadership — and coach managers on how to coach their own teams, so performance holds without you in the building
• Evaluate the full sales process in the field, from first customer contact through the T.O. handoff
• Validate CRM utilization against enterprise standards — lead logging, follow-up discipline, pipeline management, and appointment documentation
• Monitor Internet execution across all stores: lead response time, appointment set rate, show rate, and communication quality
• Validate appraisal standards, trade-in discipline, and used vehicle acquisition — and partner with stores where aging, pricing, or recon coordination is dragging used vehicle turn
• Monitor store-level KPIs to prioritize field activity, lead structured root cause analysis, and build action plans tied to measurable outcomes
• Support new variable operations hires through their first 90 days, reducing time-to-productivity and early turnover
• Complete and distribute a store visit report after every visit — what you observed, what was done, and what's committed
• Capture best practices from across the platform and share them enterprise-wide

What You Bring

• 8+ years of progressive automotive variable operations experience, ideally including sales management or GSM responsibility at a high-performing store
• NADA Academy graduate, preferred
• A proven, measurable track record — close rates, front-end gross, Internet performance, or used vehicle turn you can point to and explain, across multiple locations
• Command of the full variable process — Internet, CRM, used vehicle acquisition, and the selling floor. Not just the showroom
• Strong CRM proficiency required; CDK preferred
• The ability to hold experienced GSMs and Sales Managers accountable with candor and respect — you're comfortable with pushback and don't need positional authority to drive results
• High mobility: 70-80% travel in and out of market, primarily regional with cross-region travel for special projects

Compensation & Perks

• Up to $250,000k + Bonus Incentive DOE 
• $60 Monthly Phone Stipend
• 401k Matching and FSA
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Paid Time Off (accrues)
• Supplemental Insurance (Hospital, Accident, Critical Illness)
• Discounts on Vehicles, Services, and Parts

Why Norm Reeves

We're a company built on The Norm Reeves Way — consistency, integrity, and pride in the work we do together. This role exists because we believe great operations come from great coaching, and we're investing in the people who make our stores better. If you've built high-performing variable operations and want a bigger canvas, we want to talk.