Buyer Experience Ombudsman - Irvine, CA

Auction•Irvine, CA

About The Position

The Buyer Experience Ombudsman handles complex buyer support matters, suspension and appeal cases, and policy interpretation related to distressed real estate auction execution. The role owns suspension and appeal intake and case documentation, prepares written recommendations for a Decision Authority, communicates and implements approved outcomes, and serves as the Buyer Experience subject matter expert on suspension policy and procedures. The position has no direct reports and influences the team through policy expertise, training, and calibration. The role does not make final suspension or appeal decisions; those are made by the Decision Authority. The Ombudsman also takes initial escalation of difficult buyer issues involving registration, deposits, bidding eligibility, accounts, and payments. The role works with Legal, Compliance, and Asset Management on contested matters, de-escalates difficult buyer interactions, identifies policy and process improvements, and keeps the Buyer Experience Supervisor informed about escalation volume, aging, and outcomes.

Responsibilities

Own suspension and appeal intake through the suspensions inbox, confirm receipt to requestors, and manage the Salesforce Case from opening through closure.
Review suspension requests against explicit policy rules, gather additional records, and contact buyers by phone first and email second when more information is required.
Document each case, including the request, supporting materials, applicable rules, recommended decision, and recommended suspension scope.
Prepare and escalate case files with written recommendations to the Decision Authority; do not render the final decision.
Document appeals on the same Case, including the original file, appeal and new materials, and what has changed, then return the case to the same Decision Authority for a final decision.
Communicate suspension and appeal outcomes internally and to buyers using applicable notices, update the Case, and close it.
Implement approved suspensions, manage account-wide and property-specific scopes, and submit Tech Tickets to Product for seller-specific suspensions until that process becomes self-service.
Conduct manual reviews when an account reaches the maximum REO bid deposit tier and recommend rehabilitation at tier or suspension.
Serve as the subject matter expert on the Buyer Suspension Policy and Suspension and Appeal SOP, and contribute to each policy review cycle.
Take initial escalation of difficult buyer matters involving registration, deposits, bidding eligibility, accounts, and payments; resolve matters within authority and prepare recommendations for matters outside it.
Act as the primary Buyer Experience contact for Legal, Compliance, and Asset Management on contested buyer matters.
De-escalate difficult buyer interactions and protect the buyer relationship where the facts allow.
Train and calibrate the Buyer Experience team on suspension policy, appeals, and escalation handling using training materials maintained by the Sr. Buyer Experience Specialist.
Review escalation and suspension trends and recommend upstream policy and process improvements to the Senior Director, Call Center.
Apply policy changes quickly and work with the Sr. Buyer Experience Specialist to keep the knowledge base current.
Keep the Buyer Experience Supervisor informed about escalation volume, aging, and outcomes; the Supervisor remains accountable for overall team escalation resolution.