Vehicle Damage Assessor

Job title: Vehicle Damage Assessor
Department: Activate Accident Repair
Reports to: Bodyshop Manager
Hours: 45 hours per week

We're looking for a Vehicle Damage Assessor to join the friendly, fast‑paced team at our state‑of‑the‑art Bristol body shop. Help deliver outstanding service/high‑quality repairs for our customers, and in return you'll receive competitive pay and bonus, opportunities for progression and great benefits!

As a qualified ATA VDA Vehicle Damage Assessor you will assist the Bodyshop Manager to oversee all aspects of the Bodyshop, ensuring customer service level agreements (SLAs) and site key performance indicators (KPIs) are met while maximising profitability. Provide estimates for the cost of repair for damaged vehicles.

• 33 days holiday (including bank holidays)
• Annual and monthly performance bonus
• Health Shield cash health plan for all
• Annual pay review
• Enhanced Maternity / Paternity / shared parental / adoption pay
• Life assurance: three times basic salary
• Free breakfast cereals and milk daily
• Free fruit – every Monday
• Free breakfasts sent to site every Wednesday

• Assist with planning resource and equipment levels around budgets and financial plans.
• Establish and maintain control of consistent workflow within the Bodyshop through effective capacity planning.
• Adhere to operational workshop loading system in line with company policy/procedures, ensuring all targets and deadlines are met or addressed.
• Manage daily production co‑ordination.
• Regularly and consistently review site KPI performance to identify areas of potential shortfall against plan, delivery of average repair cost target, CSI targets and customer service scores.
• Manage customer complaints from initial contact through to conclusion. To carry out any root cause analysis on each complaint, identifying and implementing any actions required.
• Promote good communication throughout all areas of responsibility, develop and foster a pro‑active attitude through regular, open and honest communication that supports the achievement of Company objectives.
• Carry out a visual inspection to identify any accidental damage caused to avoid uninsured loss damage costs.
• Estimate by considering the most economical repair method.
• Maintain awareness of incoming vehicles and flag any issues.
• Awareness and compliance of Health & Safety requirements.
• Ability to create an estimate both manually and via company systems.
• Verbal explanation of the repair procedure and process to the workshop and customers and variable levels of understanding.
• Ability to value a vehicle at a market value in order to determine the repairable economics of a damaged vehicle.
• Ensure all chargeable materials are recorded on job cards for invoicing purposes.
• Review all open job cards (daily) and report any ongoing and recurrent work in progress problems.
• Assist in the correct evaluation and justification of bodywork warranty claims and provide comprehensive explanations thereof.
• Estimate repairs required together with the time to be allowed, materials and parts required for repairs and explain work required, to customers and to insurance and other assessors in an efficient, pleasant, courteous and professional manner.
• Make efficient use of all modern estimating methods and work in line with approved times set by Thatcham and/or other authorised repair times.
• Bring to customers’ attention any problems, faults and other issues that might impact on the performance and safety of their vehicles.

• ATA VDA Vehicle Damage Assessor.
• Relevant experience as an estimator.
• Ability to qualify and quantify repairs required.
• Ability to negotiate effectively with third parties.
• Audatex Trained.
• Escribe trained and Adherence.
• Ability to discuss and negotiate agreeable solutions to customer problems.
• Ability to maintain personal technical knowledge and skills including SMART repairs.

At Activate Group, looking after team members is a major priority, and we'll make sure you have all the support you need to succeed.

From little perks like free fruit, breakfast cereals, to impressive rewards for our employee of the month, we'll go out of our…