Operations
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.
The Community You Will Join:
This position is employed by Airbnb Inc., however the role will provide direct support to Airbnb.org, an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit that focuses on emergency response and provides temporary housing for people in times of crisis. Airbnb.org is governed by an independent Board of Directors and its mission is to provide emergency housing in times of crisis. From Australia to France, hosts have offered to open up their homes and helped provide accommodations to over 250,000 people. Our goal is to exponentially increase Airbnb.org’s reach and impact over the next three years. Learn more at Airbnb.org.
The Difference You Will Make:
You will manage Airbnb.org’s emergency responses in the APAC region but will also be expected to support responses globally as required. You will monitor disasters around the world, decide with your manager when an event meets our activation criteria, stand the response up, and manage it through to close-out.
You will do this work with partners on the ground. Local nonprofits and agencies find displaced people, confirm eligibility, and provide case management. Your job is to make sure those partners are ready before an event, and that during one they have the housing supply, the guidance, and the answers they need. Speed matters, and so does the quality of the placement.
You will run several responses at the same time, in different countries and at different stages. You will keep internal teams and external partners informed before they have to ask. You will work across Operations, Strategic Partnerships, Marketing, Communications, Legal, Finance, and Product to deliver one coordinated response.
Reporting to the Senior Lead of Global Emergency Response, this position requires a background in humanitarian and disaster response operations, strong leadership, and expertise in building effective partnerships with nonprofits and government agencies. Experience in Social Impact for tech companies is a big plus. Much of the work is not defined in advance. You will need to set direction yourself, decide with incomplete information, and move things toward clarity and action. You must also be able to deploy to the field on short notice to manage disaster response programs on the ground if needed.
A Typical Day:
• Monitor global disasters via news, partner alerts, government advisories, and internal signals to assess and recommend responses based on Airbnb.org criteria.
• Establish, activate, and oversee emergency housing responses in close collaboration with on-the-ground partners responsible for the intake and case management of individuals displaced by disasters.
• Oversee diverse, simultaneous disaster responses. Set priorities across them, and hold an accurate record of status, spend, and the number of people housed.
• Proactively communicate status, decisions, and next steps to internal and external cross-functional stakeholders and partners.
• Manage each response end-to-end: verify partner readiness, determine response size and stay lengths, launch operations, monitor placements, solve issues, and conclude based on clear exit criteria.
• Manage partnerships (including onboarding new partners and managing existing partners) during active emergencies, and ensuring smooth handoff to the Partnerships team at the conclusion of emergency responses.
• Promptly answer partner questions during live responses, escalating unresolved ones.
• Work closely with the Partnerships team to build and manage partnerships with organizations that vet and support guests, while working with our Operations team to optimize housing supply, reduce costs, and maximize positive impact for those affected.
• Collaborate with the Strategic Partnerships team to unify efforts and amplify our reach in response to major disasters.
• Enhance operational readiness during non-crisis periods. Sharpen activation criteria and playbooks, pre-position partner agreements, expand 24/7 global coverage, increase team capacity, and advocate for the product features the operation needs.
• Integrate best practices from experts and agencies, and cultivate relationships with government bodies and emergency management authorities in key regions before an event happens.
• Deploy to disaster zones on short notice to manage ground operations, and hand over cleanly when you leave.
• Write the after-action review for each response, and make sure the changes it calls for actually happen.
Your Expertise:
• Min 8-16 years of experience in US / APAC or International emergency and disaster response operations, with a focus on managing large-scale programs.
• Direct experience activating and running disaster responses end to end. Experience working in Social Impact at tech companies is a big plus.
• Strong track record of building and maintaining partnerships with nonprofits, government agencies, and key stakeholders.
• Clear, timely, and proactive communication with internal and external cross-functional stakeholders and partners, in writing and in person.
• A proactive self-starter. You take initiative, move work toward clarity and action with limited direction, and you are comfortable with ambiguity.
• Proven ability to manage multiple work streams at the same time in a matrixed organization.
• Strong execution skills for delivering on organizational goals.
• Excellent leadership and communication skills, with the ability to influence across functions and teams you do not manage.
• Adaptability, and the ability to make sound decisions at speed in fast-paced, high-pressure environments.
• Willingness to trav