Sr. Director, Closings & Short Sale

Auction.com • Irvine, CA

5d • $140,000 - $190,000

About The Position

The Sr. Director, Closings & Short Sale leads SmartSale's specialist short sale team, which supports homeowners referred by the Servicer Program or Retail Market Concierge teams after they are under contract and need help obtaining short sale approval. The team serves as the homeowner's ombudsman to the servicer and investor, guiding sellers and agents through hardship applications, document collection, relocation assistance, leasebacks, and the other steps needed to secure approval. The role owns outcomes through servicer and investor clearance to close, then hands approved files to Auction.com's closing team to coordinate payment and closing with external title companies.

The Sr. Director sets the team's vision, operating model, service standards, and performance targets; leads the Coordination Manager and on-site Facilitators; and builds and scales a specialist team. The position manages complex servicer and investor approvals, seller and agent support, closing readiness, process quality, reporting, and cross-functional partnerships. It also partners with Product and Engineering to develop technology that streamlines document collection, delivery, visibility, and workflow.

The ideal candidate has deep distressed asset disposition and direct short sale experience, either preparing and submitting applications to servicers and investors or reviewing and approving applications on their behalf, including HUD, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac. The position requires leadership experience, strong process and relationship-management capabilities, and empathy and confidentiality when working with homeowners experiencing financial hardship. Availability is needed during standard business hours, with flexibility as required to meet servicer, investor, and closing deadlines.

Requirements

• 10+ years of experience in distressed asset disposition, loss mitigation, or default servicing, with direct short sale experience.
• Demonstrated experience with the short sale approval process from either side: preparing and submitting applications to servicers and investors, or reviewing and approving applications on a servicer's or investor's behalf, including HUD, Fannie Mae, and/or Freddie Mac.
• 5+ years of experience leading teams, including 3+ years leading managers or multi-layer teams.
• Experience coordinating with listing agents, sellers, servicers, title, and escrow on short sale transactions.
• Track record of improving process and performance in a high-volume, deadline-driven environment.
• Availability to support standard business hours with flexibility as needed to meet servicer, investor, and closing deadlines.
• Deep expertise in short sale processing, review, and approval, including servicer and investor requirements, hardship packages, valuation, and approval conditions.
• Working knowledge of GSE and government investor guidelines, including HUD, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac.
• Strong knowledge of loss mitigation, mortgage servicing, title, escrow, and residential real estate closing processes.
• Ability to lead and develop managers and a specialist team, and to build accountability across a transaction-focused organization.
• Excellent negotiation, communication, and escalation skills with servicers, investors, agents, and sellers.
• Empathy and professionalism when working with homeowners experiencing financial hardship, with strict attention to confidentiality.
• Strong process design and problem-solving skills, including the ability to turn complex multi-party workflows into repeatable, measurable processes.
• Ability to partner with Product and Engineering to define requirements for workflow and document collection technology.
• Metric-driven approach to managing pipeline, cycle times, approval outcomes, and quality.
• Proficiency with CRM (Salesforce or equivalent), transaction and document management tools, and Microsoft Office Suite.

Nice To Haves

• BA/BS degree or equivalent experience.
• Experience working inside a servicer's loss mitigation or disposition department, including reviewing and approving short sales, or at an investor or REO disposition firm.
• Experience with relocation assistance programs and leaseback structures in short sale transactions.
• Experience working with Product or Engineering teams to build or adopt workflow and document collection tools.
• Established relationships with servicer and investor loss mitigation teams.
• Experience in a real estate marketplace, proptech, or high-growth operating environment.

Responsibilities

• Own the post-contract short sale approval function for homeowners referred by either Concierge team, from executed contract through servicer and investor approval and clear to close.
• Set the vision, operating model, service standards, and targets for short sale approvals, including approval rate, approval cycle time, and time to clear to close.
• Lead the Coordination Manager, who leads Short Sale Coordinators, and the on-site Facilitators embedded with servicers.
• Build, hire, develop, and retain a specialist team, scale capacity as volume grows, and establish operating rhythms, escalation protocols, quality standards, and performance management.
• Serve as senior ombudsman to servicers and investors, including HUD, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac, on short sale applications, submissions, and approvals.
• Ensure files are complete, accurate, and submitted in accordance with servicer and investor requirements, including review of retention options where required.
• Manage approval conditions, valuation questions, counteroffers, extensions, and re-approvals; drive escalations through appropriate servicer and investor channels.
• Build and maintain senior relationships with servicer loss mitigation and investor teams and provide subject matter authority on complex or contested files.
• Track approval letters, conditions, and expiration dates to prevent avoidable delays and lost approvals.
• Ensure the team guides sellers and listing agents through the short sale process with clear, empathetic, and confidential communication.
• Oversee hardship application support and document collection, and coordinate relocation assistance funds where applicable and leaseback arrangements as part of approval packages.
• Keep sellers informed through servicer review cycles, set realistic expectations, and work with agents to resolve roadblocks and maintain transaction momentum.
• Ensure files are cleared to close by the servicer and investor, with approval terms, conditions, and payoff figures documented.
• Review preliminary settlement statements for alignment with approval terms, including commission adjustments, seller contribution limits, and buyer credits, and escalate discrepancies before closing.
• Hand off cleared files to Auction.com's closing team, which coordinates with external title companies for payment and closing.
• Track closing risks, including approval expirations, title issues, buyer delays, and conditions that may require re-approval.
• Partner with Product and Engineering to develop and use technology for document collection and delivery, status visibility, and short sale workflow; define requirements, test and adopt tools, and measure their impact.
• Build repeatable checklists, standard operating procedures, and quality-control routines to improve submission readiness and reduce rework.
• Establish secure, compliant practices for handling seller documents and personal financial information in partnership with Compliance and Product.
• Ensure the team follows servicer and investor guidelines and applicable federal, state, and local requirements, in partnership with Compliance and Legal.
• Build quality assurance and audit practices to reduce errors, rejections, and compliance risk.
• Report regularly on pipeline, approval outcomes, cycle times, and risks to SmartSale and executive leadership.
• Partner with Servicer Program and Retail Market Concierge managers on seller handoffs and expectations at contract.
• Partner with the VP of Marketplace Growth & Customer Success, Closing, Operations, Product, and Compliance to improve the end-to-end seller and servicer experience.
• Share servicer and investor insights to improve pricing, listing, and sales practices across the organization.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance.
• Auction.com contributes an amount equal to 25% of eligible employee contributions in its 401(k) plan.
• Paid Time Off (PTO), including 12 paid holidays.
• Annual incentive tied to approval and closing outcomes.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed