Description
At Agoda, we bridge the world through travel. Our story began in 2005, when two lifelong friends and entrepreneurs, driven by their passion for travel, launched Agoda to make it easier for everyone to explore the world.
Today, we are part of Booking Holdings [NASDAQ: BKNG], with a diverse team of over 7,000 people from 90 countries, working together in offices around the globe. Every day, we connect people to destinations and experiences, with our great deals across our millions of hotels and holiday properties, flights, and experiences worldwide.
The Opportunity
As the Director, or Senior Director for North Asia Customer and Partner Success, you will be the most senior CEG leader on the ground in Japan (JP) and the primary face of Agoda's customer service and partner operations for both Japan and Korea.
In This Role, You'll Get To
- Lead North Asia Operations
- Own the end-to-end operational performance of JP and KR customer service teams driving SLA, DSAT, overall quality, and efficiency outcomes across In House and BPO teams
- Lead and develop a team of Regional Managers and Team Managers across Yokohama, Seoul, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and partner BPO sites
- Set operational priorities and OKRs for North Asia aligned to CEG's broader strategy
- Partner with WFM, Analytics, Automation/ Tools and CX to drive data-led decisions and continuous improvement
- Be the Senior External Face for JP and KR
- Represent Agoda in senior external meetings with government, industry associations, and key Supply and hotel partners in Japan and Korea with the Supply team.
- Build and maintain trusted, senior-level relationships with external stakeholders acting as a credible and confident voice for Agoda's commitments and direction
- Partner with CSI, Legal, Regulatory, and Supply PMO on market-specific compliance, regulatory readiness, and partner satisfaction topics
- Represent the JP and KR operational perspective in CEG-level forums and leadership discussions
- Drive Customer and Partner Experience
- Champion localization excellence by ensuring that the customer and partner experience in JP and KR reflects the cultural, linguistic, and regulatory context of each market
- Partner with CX and SOP teams to translate local customer insights into product and process improvements
- Own escalation handling for high-severity JP and KR cases ensuring the right intervention, the right resolution, and the right external messaging where needed
- Build the Right Team and Leadership Bench
- Attract, develop, and retain strong operational leaders at RM and TM level in both markets
- Build succession depth and raise the bar on leadership capability across JP and KR
- Partner with TD and HRBP on talent development, performance management, and organizational health
What You'll Need to Succeed
- 10+ years of people leadership experience in customer service operations, escalation management, or operational leadership ideally within an OTA, travel platform, or e-commerce environment
- Fluency in Japanese (spoken and written) is essential as this role requires confident, senior-level communication with external Japanese stakeholders
- Proven track record of leading large operational teams managing multi-site, multi-funnel customer service organizations with measurable quality and performance outcomes
- Strong external stakeholder management experience; comfortable representing a company at the level of government bodies, industry associations, and senior partner leadership
- Cultural fluency in the Japanese market (Korean is an added advantage) with deep understanding of local business customs, communication styles, and regulatory environment
- Analytical mindset; ability to use data to diagnose operational gaps, drive decisions, and influence stakeholders with evidence
- Executive presence and communication skills in both Japanese and English and can operate effectively across internal and external audiences at senior levels
- Entrepreneurial and ownership mindset; comfortable operating in fast-moving environments with the ability to make decisions and drive outcomes without constant direction