Escalations Specialist - Snr Associate

Sutherland is seeking a motivated and passionate person to join us as an Escalations Specialist . We are a group of driven and hard-working individuals. If you are looking to build a fulfilling career and are confident you have the skills and experience to help us succeed, we want to work with you! 

Role Overview

As a Customer Escalation Specialist, you serve as the highest level of direct customer support and the final line of resolution for complex, high-friction, and escalated interactions, including high-value transactions and B2B large-scale orders. You will act as the ultimate brand ambassador, stepping in when standard procedures have been exhausted or when interactions become highly volatile. This role requires an elite combination of critical thinking, emotional intelligence, autonomous decision-making, and advanced technical troubleshooting to achieve single-contact ("one and done") resolutions, transforming dissatisfied customers into loyal brand advocates.

Key Responsibilities

• Complex Problem Solving & Ownership: Take full end-to-end ownership of highly complex, unresolved, and multi-contact customer issues passed down or escalated across multiple agents, particularly for high-value transactions and enterprise B2B bulk orders. Apply sharp critical thinking to thoroughly investigate long interaction histories, resolve operational bottlenecks, and achieve "one and done" complete resolutions without defaulting to further escalation or follow-up steps.
• Customer Communication & Call Control: Strike an effective balance between deep empathy, active listening, strategic probing, and firm boundary setting. Maintain complete command of call flow and duration while steering volatile conversations toward productive resolution without overpromising or making unauthorized commitments.
• Research & Resourcefulness: Conduct rigorous, independent research across internal knowledge bases, policy documentations, and tracking tools to ensure absolute accuracy before delivering definitive customer resolutions.
• Judgment & Decision-Making: Exercise high-level business acumen and structured decision-making to balance immediate customer satisfaction, company policy guidelines, and long-term business impact. Issue refunds, credits, fee waivers, or complex policy exceptions autonomously within high authorized financial thresholds to safeguard high-value account relationships.
• De-escalation & Retention: Apply structured de-escalation frameworks to manage high-friction, emotionally charged interactions, effectively neutralizing customer frustration while upholding brand integrity and professionalism.
• Performance & Quality Metrics: Maintain high operational efficiency and composure during consecutive difficult calls, driving down Dissatisfaction (DSAT) metrics, maximizing Customer Satisfaction (CSAT), and minimizing post-call wrap-up times.
Candidates should possess the following qualifications and experience:

1.  Specialized Role Experience: Background as an Escalation Representative, Retention Specialist, Customer Care Tier 2/3, or SME.

2.  Financial Authority: Demonstrated experience issuing refunds, credits, waivers, or complex policy exceptions up to authorized thresholds without real-time supervisor sign-off.

3.  Language & Accent: High level of English proficiency (B2 equivalent) with neutral accent adaptability for North American clients.

4.  Emotional Resilience: Ability to modulate tone under pressure, maintaining composure and professionalism during high-conflict or abusive calls. High intrinsic motivation and emotional stamina for resolving persistent, high-conflict customer friction daily. Ability to remain completely calm, empathetic, and objective under intense pressure.

5.  De-escalation Frameworks: Expertise in using structured communication frameworks during aggressive customer interactions.

6.  Problem-Solving & System Navigation: Capability to look beyond emotional language to identify root causes, navigate multiple backend systems simultaneously, and deliver definitive resolutions.

7.  Boundary Setting: Ability to set firm, polite boundaries, control call duration, maintain high CSAT, and effectively handle demands for management escalations.

8.  Stamina & Efficiency: Proven ability to manage back-to-back difficult calls while maintaining low DSAT scores and minimal post-call processing delays.

9. Analytical & Root-Cause Thinking: Leverage strong diagnostic aptitude and analytical critical thinking to cut through emotional static, synthesize facts from disparate backend systems, pinpoint systemic or operational root causes, and systematically solve complex friction entirely on the first contact.

10. Sound Decision-Making & Resourcefulness: Exceptional balance of independent research skills and critical decision-making, ensuring accurate, equitable resolutions that protect both the customer relationship and corporate interests.

Function: Customer Service
Experience Level: Not Applicable