Airbnb was born in 2007 when two hosts welcomed three guests to their San Francisco home, and has since grown to over 5 million hosts who have welcomed over 2 billion guest arrivals in almost every country across the globe. Every day, hosts offer unique stays and experiences that make it possible for guests to connect with communities in a more authentic way.Airbnb was born in 2007 when two Hosts welcomed three guests to their San Francisco home, and has since grown to over 4 million Hosts who have welcomed more than 1 billion guest arrivals in almost every country across the globe. Every day, Hosts offer unique stays and experiences that make it possible for guests to connect with communities in a more authentic way.No global movement springs from individuals. It takes an entire team united behind something big. On the Safety Operations team at Airbnb, we’re proud to be at the forefront of the sharing economy. We recognize that we are the leaders of a new, worldwide phenomenon, and that’s why we’re working so hard to build the world’s most loyal travel community.Together, our team provides support to more than 100 million lifetime guests and 3 million listings in over 191 countries. We work hard, we laugh a lot, and we’re committed to creating a world where anyone can belong anywhere. We are looking for an enthusiastic, dedicated leader who knows how to motivate and inspire a team in a cutting-edge and fast-paced risk management environment. The Safety Team Lead is responsible for managing the performance and quality of their team, monitoring team performance as measured by agreed-upon service delivery targets and key performance indicators, and mentoring, coaching, and professionally developing the specialists on their team.
The Community You Will Join
We together take care of all the safety concerns of our users, few things to keep in mind while being part of safetyAt Airbnb, we are committed to keeping our community safe, inclusive, and supported through every experience. This role sits at the heart of that mission, designed for individuals who have perfected the core of safety case handling and are ready to take on complex, high-ambiguity, high-sensitivity cases while partnering with internal and external stakeholders.As a Senior Specialist, you’ll be trusted with our most sensitive, high-risk cases, those that require a combination of trauma-informed support, exceptional judgment, and deep behavioral insight. You’ll also serve as a thought partner to leadership, helping to raise the bar on how we care for our users, and how we collaborate globally to drive consistency and care.
The Difference You Will Make
You will directly support users and internal stakeholders during our most critical, low-frequency but high-severity incidents, including but not limited to:
- Physical or sexual assault, exploitation, or abuse
- Self-harm and mental health-related emergencies
- Human trafficking and child endangerment
- Domestic violence or threats to personal safety
- Culturally sensitive, high-risk cases requiring bespoke handling
Your ability to navigate ambiguity, crisis, and cultural nuance with poise and empathy will help preserve safety and trust at the most difficult times.
A Typical Day
Operational Excellence Competencies
- Provides leadership-level case handling across high-complexity, high-sensitivity cases
- Demonstrates deep subject-matter expertise in personal safety risk assessment and trauma-informed communication
- Collaborates on complex case decisions across cross-functional teams including Legal, Comms & Safety Stakeholders
- Actively identifies patterns, edge cases, and workflow gaps; contributes to the refinement of global safety procedures
- Maintains quality, accuracy, and ownership with minimal supervision
Communication Competencies
- Effectively communicates complex case contexts to senior leadership and cross-functional partners
- Leads or supports debriefs, learning sessions, and stakeholder reviews for severe incidents
- Writes clear, concise narratives on high-risk cases that may be used in internal and executive-level reviews
- Demonstrates tact, professionalism, and credibility across diverse and high-pressure settings
Analytical Competencies
- Assesses behavioral signals and patterns to predict user needs or safety risks
- Escalates cases appropriately, balancing urgency and long-term impact
- Contributes to safety incident root-cause analysis and quality audits
- Uses data and qualitative feedback to advocate for product or policy improvements
Self & Interpersonal Competencies
- Maintains composure and clear judgment during highly stressful or emotional incidents
- Supports and coaches peers in best practices for trauma-informed engagement
- Proactively fosters psychological safety and resilience within the team
- Embraces difficult conversations and navigates ambiguity with confidence
Your Expertise
Your Background & Experience
- 4+ years in customer-facing roles with direct phone/email interaction, including 2+ years in Trust & Safety, emergency response, law enforcement, mental health, or crisis management
- Demonstrated experience handling highly sensitive or traumatic content with care and confidentiality
- Experience engaging with executive stakeholders or leading discussions involving safety, crisis escalation, or reputational risk
- Ability to work weekend days and public holidays required, as well as evening or night shifts. Your schedule can change to meet business needs
- Advanced ability to assess risk levels and act with speed and discretion
- Skilled in trauma-informed communication, both written and verbal
- Comfortable handling ambiguity, adapting workflows, and making judgment calls on the fly
- Effective communicator who can break down complex ideas clearly for varied audiences
- Strong writing skills for crafting case summaries, stakeholder updates, and escalation narratives
- Experience coaching or supporting peers, and contributing to cross-team collaboration
Our Commitment To Inclusion & Belonging
Airbnb is committed to working with the broadest talent pool possible. We believe diverse ideas foster innovation and engagement, and allow us to attract creatively-led people, and to develop the best products, services and solutions. All qualified individuals are encouraged to apply.
