Mission: To serve as an external strategic resource provided by the Ford Academy, responsible for the professional training, upskilling, and coaching of the dealership leadership team as and when required.

The Dealership Performance Coach provides the expertise needed to develop the Guest Experience Manager (GEM), mature the business and leadership abilities of Dealer Principals and Departmental Managers, and align staff behaviour with a premium volume culture that drives measurable business growth.

The Strategic Value Proposition: Managed and deployed by the Ford Academy, the Dealership Performance Coach is a conduit for performance development, maintenance, and acceleration.

By providing an objective expert perspective, the Coach helps management staff transition from "transactional supervisors" into "strategic business leaders." They ensure the dealership extracts the full value of Ford’s resources to improve CX scores, operational efficiency, and bottom-line profit.

1. The Five Pillars of Support

Pillar 1: GEM Enablement and Role Actualization

• Instructional Mentorship: Train the GEM in the mechanics of CX behavioural architecture, teaching them how to define, document, and apply "Volume Premium" standards, and enable volume premium behaviour to be actualized and applied by dealership staff.
• Capability Coaching: Provide direct support in role actualization, building the GEM’s skills in leadership, influence, and the "Strategic Filtering" and application of Ford resources

Pillar 2: Management Mentorship and Business Maturity

• Leadership Development: Provide dedicated mentorship to Dealer Principals and Departmental Managers to refine their business abilities, leadership styles, and enable the proper development and management of high-performance teams.
• Operational Optimization: Identify departmental "blind spots" and teach managers how to use CX as a tactical lever to drive better sales and service results.
• Strategic Goal Setting: Assist managers in aligning departmental KPIs with the dealership’s broader growth and guest experience and retention targets.

Pillar 3: Strategic CX Diagnostic and Recovery

• Root Cause Analysis: Review internal and external data to identify specific friction points and operational issues causing CX challenges.
• Bespoke Action Planning: Partner with the GEM and Management to create dealership-specific action plans designed to rapidly improve CX scores and performance.
• Behavioural Correction: Pinpoint exactly where staff behaviours are failing and define the "Premium" corrections required to restore performance and guest trust.

Pillar 4: Staff Performance and Cultural Alignment

• Front-Line Mentorship: Lead high-impact coaching sessions for Sales, Service, and Dealership staff to help them overcome performance plateaus and improve guest interactions.
• The "Premium Closer" Method: Coach staff on how to maintain premium guest experience while effectively driving towards a "close" or a service upsell.
• Behavioural Identification: Define and instil the specific high-value behaviours that turn one-time buyers into lifelong brand advocates.
• Coach: The cultivation of leads and transition of leads into sales/results.

Pillar 5: Ford Academy Strategic Advisory

• Resource Deployment: Ensure the dealership leadership understands and effectively applies Ford business resources and tools to daily operations.
• Advisory to the Dealer Principal: Provide the Dealer Principal with an objective "Performance Health Check" on the GEM, the management team, and the overall dealership culture.

1.  Value Creation (The External ROI)

• Zero Headcount Cost: Access elite business consulting and coaching expertise without additional dealership salary or benefit expenses.
• Management Maturation: Transforms Dealership Managers into more effective, data-driven, and strategic leaders.
• CX and Performance Recovery: Provides direct, expert intervention to fix the issues that lower CX scores and have an impact on dealership profitability.
• Network Best Practices: Injects "Best-in-Class" insights from across the Ford network to solve local dealership problems.

1. Role Competencies (Ford Academy Standard)

Competency

Demonstrated Action / Dealership Benefit

Business Mentorship

Ability to coach and/or mentor senior managers in business acumen, leadership, and driving results.

Diagnostic Problem Solving

Ability to analyse data and identify the exact operational cause of CX or performance issues.

Expert Facilitation

Ability to lead high-impact workshops that re-energize the GEM, Managers, and Staff.

Strategic Influence

The ability to drive change and accountability in a dealership as a trusted external partner and performance coach

Commercial Acumen

Deep understanding of the Dealership profit and loss; knows how CX and Culture drive the bottom line.

1. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

• Management Capability Growth: Improvement in managers' ability to drive results and lead their teams effectively.
• CX Score Improvement: Measurable upward trend in dealership CX metrics following Coach-led interventions.
• GEM Maturity Score: Improvement in the GEM’s ability to independently manage and monitor behavioural standards.
• Departmental KPI Uplift: Growth in Sales conversion rates, Service ARO, and staff retention.
• Action Plan Execution: Successful implementation of dealership-specific plans to resolve CX and performance challenges.

1. Strategic Partner Conclusion for the Dealer Performance Coach

The Dealership Performance Coach is the Dealership’s external business partner provided by the Ford Academy. These specialist mentors/coaches upskill, GEMs, professionalise management team, and help dealership staff achieve better results. They ensure the dealership remains a high-performance Guest Experience Hub

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Management, or Marketing
• MBA or postgraduate qualification (advantageous)
• Coaching/leadership certification (e.g., ICF-accredited)
• Automotive dealership experience preferred

Key Skills

• Business mentorship & leadership development
• Customer Experience (CX) analysis & recovery planning
• Strategic influence & workshop facilitation
• Commercial acumen (profit & loss, dealership operations)
• Strong communication & interpersonal coaching ability

Experience

• 5–10 years in leadership coaching, consulting, or dealership management
• Proven track record of transforming managers into strategic leaders
• Familiarity with South African automotive regulations and consumer standards

MSX is an equal opportunities employer and encourages applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates regardless of sex, race, disability, neurodiversity or other personal characteristics and backgrounds, age, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, religion or belief, or marital and parental status. As users of the Disability Confident scheme, we interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the vacancy.