Planning and Operations Manager, Ground Control

The Community You Will Join: 

Airbnb is a mission-driven company dedicated to helping create connection and belonging. The company was born with a creative spirit, much like the environment at the Rhode Island School of Design where Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia — two of its co-founders — went to college together. This creative spirit is one of the defining parts of its culture and the reason the Ground Control team was founded in 2011. 

Ground Control builds a strong and enduring culture by connecting all employees to Airbnb’s mission, its community, and its core values through storytelling and shared experiences. Ground Control team members are the ultimate hosts. 

The Difference You Will Make:

The new role will be focused on enhancing coordination and integration with the Ground Control team. You will facilitate clarity, collaboration, and high-quality execution on projects and programs, working  across the team. We’re looking for someone with an appetite to learn, and who’s eager to jump into projects that are complex, often ambiguous, and cross-functional. 

Working closely with the Ground Control leaders you’ll help to set priorities, ensure operational excellence within the team, and build tight collaboration across other teams. You’ll be a trusted advisor and executional partner for Ground Control leadership to accelerate decisions and increase team velocity while maintaining innovation and simplicity.

The ideal candidate would achieve this by partnering with the two Co-Heads of Ground Control to refresh our approach to planning, systems, and processes. You will help prepare the leaders for meetings and maximize their productivity through project monitoring and prioritization. The candidate would also update our reporting mechanisms to effectively measure impact and outcomes. Your work would help us fuel strategic improvements and innovation.

The ideal candidate can drive focus, accountability, and management; is highly organized and able to keep track of many balls in the air; and excels working cross-functionally. The candidate also has a track record of managing team forums, facilitating design and content critiques and reviews, creating high-quality leadership communications, and synthesizing updates for executive leadership.

In the course of your work, you will draw from capabilities and past experience that may include product management, meeting design and facilitation, process development and optimization, data analytics, and organizational design and strategy. 

A Typical Day: 

• Act as a trusted advisor, thought partner and facilitator of incoming information
• Exercising judgment on when topics need to be discussed, information needs to be shared across teams, and decisions need to be made.
• Monitor key operating metrics to anticipate and identify deviations that will impact our results and act to remedy.  
• Help run and refine the team operating system to ensure high velocity of execution, and drive decision making.
• Ensure the right meetings take place at the right time with the appropriate agendas.
• Drive the process for tracking decisions, as well as follow-through on action items that emerge from regular operating forums.
• Help prepare materials for all-hands meetings.
• Provide leverage for the Head of Internal Communications & Engagement by leading special projects and initiatives on their behalf.
• Prepare strategic documents to present new proposals and updates to senior leaders.
• Identify and track progress, issues and risks related to execution and outcomes. Facilitate informed decision-making and issue resolution. Stay abreast of developments and proactively rework project plans as needed.
• Operate with the highest standards of integrity, credibility, and trustworthiness; maintain confidentiality of highly sensitive information and data.      
• Act as an essential and trusted partner to leaders, providing regular feedback and coaching.
• Measure and improve the effectiveness of messaging, channels, and practices.

Your Expertise:

• Strong business acumen with an ability to build relationships with and partner with other executives and build relationships across a complex organization
• Able to quickly react to urgent requests and changes in priorities
• Systems-thinker and able to translate strategy to execution across multiple teams
• Strong analytical, data, and troubleshooting skills. Able to connect dots and proactively develop proposals and solutions
• Creative problem solver. Able to identify real obstacles and viable solutions
• Able to see around corners to anticipate the needs of the Head of Internal Communications & Engagement and their teams and take appropriate action
• Prior experience in Operations, and/or Business Planning roles is preferred though not necessary
• 10+ years of related work experience
• Passion for Airbnb’s mission and community
• Excellent presentation, interpersonal, and communication skills
• Ability to thrive in high-stress, fast-paced situations
• Commitment to confidentiality and business ethics, demonstrating outstanding judgment and discretion
• Outcome-oriented. Not reactionary, articulates the desired outcome and works collaboratively to create a path to achieve it
• Ability to balance competing priorities and drive projects to completion in a fast-paced environment and sometimes under conditions of ambiguity
• Bachelor’s degree and advanced degree desirable

How We'll Take Care of You:

Our job titles may span more than one career level. The starting base pay for this role is between $150,000 and $185,000. The actual base pay is dependent upon many factors, such as: training, transferable skills, work experience, business needs and market demands. The base pay range is subject to change and may be modified in the future. This role may also be eligible for bonus, equity, benefits, and Employee Travel Credits.  

Your Location:

This position is US - Remote Eligible. The role may include occasional work at an Airbnb office or attendance at offsites, as agreed to with your manager. Airbnb,Inc. can employ in  states where we have registered entities. Currently, employees can not be located in: Alaska, Indiana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Alabama, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Delaware and Rhode Island. This list is continuously  evolving and being updated, please check back with us if the state you live in is on the exclusion list. If your position is employed by another Airbnb entity, your recruiter will inform you what states you are eligible to work from. 

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.

If you need assistance, or a reasonable accommodation during the application and recruiting process, please contact us at: reasonableaccommodations@airbnb.com.