ABOUT SOTHEBY'S
Established in 1744, Sotheby’s promotes access and ownership of exceptional art and luxury objects through auctions, private sales and retail. Our deep expertise across 70 selling categories is supported by a leading technology platform and a global network of specialists spanning 40 countries. Selling categories include Contemporary Art, Modern and Impressionist Art, Old Masters, Chinese Works of Art, Jewelry, Watches, Wine and Spirits and Design, as well as collectible cars and real estate through RM Sotheby’s and Concierge. Sotheby’s Financial Services is a leading art lender and provides capital solutions for collectors around the world, having originated more than $12 billion in loans since its inception. Sotheby’s new global headquarters is now open at the iconic Breuer building at 945 Madison Avenue in New York City.
THE ROLE
The Associate Vice President, Regional Head of Client Experience – Asia is a senior leader accountable for building client experience into a clear and durable competitive advantage for the business. This role owns how clients are supported, engaged, and retained across the full lifecycle—from initial interaction through post‑sale support—across contact centers, in‑person touchpoints, and digital channels.
With a strong background in contact center operations, hospitality‑driven service models, and digital journey optimization, this leader translates elevated client expectations into scalable, high‑performing service delivery. The AVP drives measurable improvements in responsiveness, issue resolution, client satisfaction, and journey simplicity, ensuring experiences are seamless, intuitive, and aligned with brand standards.
This position leads through influence as much as authority, partnering cross‑functionally to simplify processes, reduce client hand‑offs, and embed consistent service standards across the organization. A core focus of the role is developing strong managers who can effectively lead both operations and people—building a leadership bench capable of sustaining service excellence, continuous improvement, and growth.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Hospitality‑Led Service Excellence
- Own client experience as a strategic differentiator for the region, positioning service excellence as a sustained competitive advantage that drives loyalty, repeat engagement, and brand distinction.
- Lead the design and execution of the end‑to‑end client journey across contact center, in‑person, and digital channels, ensuring experiences are frictionless, responsive, and consistently exceed client expectations.
- Build and embed a client‑first hospitality culture rooted in empathy, ownership, and proactive problem solving across all client‑facing teams.
- Translate hospitality principles into clear, measurable service standards applicable across physical locations, contact centers, and digital interactions.
- Serve as a visible leader and role model for service excellence, reinforcing expectations through behavior, communication, and decision‑making.
Performance Management & Digital Journey Leadership
- Lead and continuously evolve contact center operations, optimizing multi‑channel service delivery (phone, email, and digital) with a focus on speed, quality, and first‑contact resolution.
- Partner cross‑functionally to optimize online checkout and post‑sale experiences, reducing friction and improving clarity throughout the digital client journey.
- Leverage client feedback and behavioral insights to refine workflows, messaging, and support models across assisted and self‑service experiences.
- Define, track, and actively manage key client experience metrics, including response time, issue resolution, escalation trends, and client satisfaction.
- Use data and insights to prioritize initiatives, focus teams on the highest‑impact work, and drive continuous improvement in client outcomes.
- Establish disciplined performance rhythms that translate insight into action and measurable service improvements.
- Identify and eliminate unnecessary client hand‑offs, redundancies, and friction across the client journey to improve accountability and speed to resolution.
- Partner with internal stakeholders to redesign processes that simplify client interactions while improving operational effectiveness.
- Ensure client experience processes are scalable, repeatable, and resilient to support growth and seasonal demand.
People & Change Leadership
- Lead, coach, and develop managers responsible for both service delivery and people leadership.
- Strengthen leadership capability by developing managers who can drive performance, lead teams effectively, and resolve complex client and operational challenges.
- Foster a culture of ownership, accountability, and continuous improvement, empowering leaders to act decisively in service of the client.
- Lead client experience transformation initiatives across diverse stakeholder groups, aligning teams around shared priorities and outcomes.
- Influence senior leaders and partners to adopt new service models, tools, and ways of working that elevate client satisfaction.
- Communicate clearly and consistently to build momentum, alignment, and accountability throughout periods of change.
IDEAL EXPERIENCE & COMPETENCIES
- 8+ years leadership experience building and scaling client experience, customer operations, or service organizations within high‑expectation environments.
- Deep expertise in contact center operations, including multi‑channel service delivery and performance optimization at scale.
- Strong hospitality background with the ability to translate service excellence into structured, measurable operating models.
- Demonstrated success optimizing digital and online client journeys, including checkout and post‑transaction support.
- Proactive and self-directed leader, able to make high level decision with high accountability.
- Data‑driven leadership approach, using metrics and client insight to guide decisions and prioritize improvement efforts.
- Proven ability to lead change through influence, aligning cross‑functional stakeholders around a shared service vision.
- Track record of developing managers who can effectively lead people while delivering strong operational performance.
- Clear, confident communicator with executive presence and the ability to drive accountability at all levels.
- Results‑oriented, resilient, and comfortable operating in fast‑paced, client‑facing environments.
To view our Candidate Privacy Notice for the US, please click here.
To view our Candidate Privacy Notice for the UK, Hong Kong, France and Switzerland, please click here.
The Company is an equal opportunity employer and considers all applicants for employment without regard to race (including, without limitation, traits historically associated with race, such as natural hair, hair texture, and protective and treated or untreated hairstyles), color, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, marital or civil partnership/union status, national origin, age, disability, pregnancy, genetic predisposition, genetic information, reproductive health decision, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, alienage or citizenship status, domestic violence victim status, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state/province or local law. The Company complies with applicable state and local laws prohibiting discrimination in employment in every jurisdiction in which it operates.
