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 safety
At 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 ap