Director of Customer Service - Behlen Building Services

Socket.dev; Columbus (NE); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Behlen Building Systems seeks a Director of Customer Service to lead Estimating and Project Management, ensuring accurate estimates, proactive communication, and on-time project execution. You will partner with Sales, Engineering, Manufacturing, and the Manager of Business Processes & Tools to drive operational excellence and develop high-performing teams.

The role requires senior leadership across multiple customer-facing departments, with travel to facilities and customer sites to maintain

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or higher in a related field.
• 10+ years of progressive leadership in customer service, project management, estimating, operations, or commercial leadership.
• Experience leading multiple customer-facing departments.
• Experience in manufacturing, construction, engineered-to-order products, or industrial B2B businesses preferred.
• Proven ability to improve operational performance through leadership, accountability, and execution.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Estimating and Project Management teams with a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Provide coaching and technical leadership to the estimating team and ensure on-time, accurate estimates.
• Oversee project management to ensure seamless handoff from Sales/Estimating to execution and strong customer communications.
• Monitor departmental performance metrics and drive improvements in quote turnaround, estimate accuracy, and customer satisfaction.
• Travel regularly to Behlen Building Systems facilities, customer locations, and industry events to support leadership and relationship-building.

Skills

Leadership

Team development

Operational excellence

Customer communication

Project management

Estimating/quoting

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business/Engineering/Construction Management/Operations

Job description

The Director of Customer Service oversees the Estimating and Project Management functions, ensuring customers receive accurate estimates, proactive communication, timely project execution, and an exceptional overall experience. Working closely with Sales, Engineering, Manufacturing, and the Manager of Business Processes & Tools, the Director of Customer Service drives operational excellence, develops high-performing teams, and creates accountability for delivering an industry-leading customer experience.

The Director is responsible for the day-to-day execution of the customer journey while partnering with the Manager of Business Processes & Tools to continuously improve the systems, processes, and tools that support the business.

Responsibilities:

Leadership

• Lead the Estimating and Project Management teams.
• Establish a culture of accountability, responsiveness, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Recruit, develop, coach, and retain high-performing team members.
• Establish clear performance expectations and regularly evaluate individual and team performance.
• Build leadership capability within each department.

Estimating Leadership

• Ensure estimates are accurate, competitive, and delivered on time.
• Improve quote turnaround time while maintaining estimate quality.
• Partner with Sales to improve quote conversion and project win rates.
• Develop estimating standards and ensure consistency across the department.
• Provide coaching and technical leadership to the estimating team.

Project Management Leadership

• Ensure projects transition seamlessly from Sales and Estimating into execution.
• Drive consistent customer communication throughout the project lifecycle.
• Lead resolution of project issues while maintaining customer confidence.
• Improve schedule adherence and execution consistency.
• Ensure project managers effectively manage scope changes and customer expectations.

Business Performance

• Establish and monitor departmental performance metrics.
• Improve quote turnaround time.
• Improve estimate accuracy.
• Improve quote hit rate.
• Improve customer satisfaction.
• Reduce customer escalations.
• Improve project execution performance.

Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Engineering, Construction Management, Operations, or a related field.
• Minimum of 10 years of progressive leadership experience in customer service, project management, estimating, operations, or commercial leadership.
• Experience leading multiple customer-facing departments.
• Experience in manufacturing, construction, engineered-to-order products, or industrial B2B businesses strongly preferred.
• Experience improving operational performance through leadership, accountability, and execution.

Travel Requirements

• This position requires regular travel to Behlen Building Systems facilities, customer locations, and industry events.
• Travel is expected at a minimum of one week per month to build relationships with team members, support customer meetings, develop employees, and ensure consistent execution across all locations.
• Additional travel may be required based on business needs, customer visits, strategic initiatives, or leadership meetings.