Title & Registration Specialist

Summit School Services companies share a strong commitment to provide the highest level of transportation safety, quality transportation, outstanding customer service and positive employee relations. Our corporate headquarters, located in Warrenville, Illinois, houses the administrative and corporate support functions for the organization. Our 250+ local customer service centers (CSCs) are supported by regional operations teams located throughout North America.

Summit operates a large, multi-state (and cross-border Canadian) school bus and coach fleet, which generates a continuous volume of vehicle title, lien, and registration transactions. The Title & Registration Specialist owns this workstream end-to-end: clearing title and lien backlogs, keeping registrations current across every operating jurisdiction, and building the processes and vendor relationships that prevent the same issues from recurring. This role reports to and works in direct partnership with the VP of Asset Management, Parts, and Warranty - and serves as the single point of accountability for titling compliance across the fleet.

Responsibilities:

• Titling & Lien Management: Manage the full title and registration lifecycle for a multi-state, multi-province fleet - new vehicle titling, lien filing and release, title transfers, renewals, and disposals/sales.
• Backlog Resolution: Resolve the existing backlog of open title and lien issues, prioritizing by risk (blocked sales, DMV penalties, audit exposure) and tracking each case to closure.
• Registration Compliance: Maintain current registrations and applicable permits (IRP/IFTA where relevant) for all fleet assets; monitor renewal calendars and prevent lapses that ground vehicles or create fines.
• Agency & Lender Relationships: Build and maintain relationships with JJ Keller, state DMVs, provincial licensing bodies, lienholders, and financing partners to expedite processing and resolve disputes.
• Documentation & Tracking: Track every title, lien, and registration record in a central system (e.g., SharePoint/Excel or fleet system of record), with clear status, ownership, and aging metrics reportable to leadership.
• Process Improvement: Identify recurring root causes (e.g., paperwork gaps at acquisition, inconsistent state requirements, lienholder delays) and design repeatable workflows and checklists to prevent future backlog.
• M&A & Fleet Transition Support: Provide title, lien, and registration status expertise during fleet acquisitions and dispositions (e.g., M&A due diligence), including VIN-level reconciliation of target fleets against title/lien records.
• Cross-Functional Coordination: Coordinate with Procurement, Legal, Finance, and Regional Maintenance leadership to align titling activity with vehicle purchases, sales, and financing terms.
• Vendor Oversight (if applicable): If work is partially outsourced, manage the outsourced partner's SLAs, quality, and cost; recommend the right in-house/outsourced split as volume and complexity evolve.

The salary range is $85,000 - $100,000 annually.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications:

• 3+ years of experience in commercial vehicle title and registration administration, ideally within a multi-state fleet, transportation, dealership, or leasing environment.
• Working knowledge of state DMV titling requirements, lien perfection/release processes, and vehicle registration/IRP compliance.
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage a high volume of concurrent cases and consistently drive them to closure.
• Proficiency in Excel and experience maintaining tracking systems or databases for compliance-related records.
• Excellent written communication for interacting with DMVs, lienholders, and internal stakeholders.
• High attention to detail and comfort working within regulatory/compliance frameworks.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with school bus, coach, or other commercial fleet titling specifically.
• Familiarity with Canadian provincial vehicle registration and licensing requirements.
• Experience supporting fleet-related M&A due diligence or large-scale fleet transitions.
• Exposure to fleet management systems (e.g., RTA Fleet360, Maximo) or Power BI/SharePoint-based tracking tools.
• Prior experience managing or partnering with an outsourced titling/registration vendor.

Work Environment & Travel:

Primarily office-based with standard computer and phone use. Occasional travel may be required to support regional maintenance operations, acquisition due diligence, or vendor meetings.

Summit School Services has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with its policies and values, including sexual exploitation and abuse, harassment, abuse of authority, and discrimination. Summit School Services is committed to promoting the protection and safeguarding of all children and passengers.

We offer medical, dental, vision, basic life insurance coverage, holiday pay, and PTO accrual. Additionally, employees are able to enroll in a retirement savings plan.

At Summit School Services our goal is to be a diverse workforce that is representative of the communities we serve. All employment decisions are based on business needs, job requirements and individual qualifications, without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy (including childbirth, lactation and related medical conditions), national origin, age, physical and mental disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information (including characteristics and testing), military and veteran status, and any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

Summit School Services LLC's independent subsidiaries and affiliates are an equal employment opportunity ( EE O) employer

The pay rate range, along with most all of the other terms and conditions of employment, vary between different sites, geographical markets, customer/ contractual terms and positions.