Vendor Manager, Operational Vendor Support

About the role

Vendor Manager, Operational Vendor Support

Airbnb was founded in 2007 when two hosts welcomed three guests to their San Francisco home. Since that beginning, the platform has grown to include over 5 million hosts who have welcomed more than 2 billion guest arrivals across nearly every country. Hosts provide unique stays and experiences that allow guests to connect with communities in an authentic manner.

This role belongs to the AirCover team, which manages and grows the AirCover business within Airbnb. The team holds responsibility for hosts and guests when reservations do not proceed exactly as planned. Significant work lies ahead in the coming years to support this community.

The Difference You Will Make

You will manage the end-to-end performance of a portfolio of third-party partners delivering critical operational services. Examples include third-party claims adjusting. You will apply deep expertise in vendor management, SLA frameworks, and operational risk. You will exercise independent judgment using multiple sources of data to structure trade-off decisions. You will resolve complex and ambiguous problems while holding vendors accountable for service, delivery, and cost outcomes. These outcomes directly affect guests and hosts. You will act with minimal oversight. You will advise and resource less experienced colleagues and internal stakeholders. You may lead vendor management projects or programs that shape the broader function.

A Typical Day

You will own the day-to-day oversight of an assigned portfolio of vendors within established team strategy and governance. You will lead daily or weekly performance forums, synthesizing operational and financial data to diagnose root causes. You will structure trade-off decisions and drive action planning with vendors.

You will serve as the escalation point for complex, sensitive, or high-risk vendor issues on behalf of guests and hosts. You will negotiate resolution and build consensus across cross-functional stakeholders, including at more senior levels. You will assist in designing and prioritizing metrics and trigger/appetite frameworks used to monitor vendor performance. You will independently determine when performance issues warrant action plans, deeper investigation, or escalation.

You will use judgment to resolve complex operational issues and recommend trade-offs using established frameworks and data inputs. You will own the vendor invoice management and financial governance process end-to-end. You will ensure alignment with contractual terms and drive process improvements that reduce recurring discrepancies in credits, incentives, and reconciliation. You will lead quality and calibration programs across the vendor portfolio. You will structure action plans to remediate opportunities and coach vendors and less experienced colleagues on quality standards and remediation approaches.

You will act as a resource and informal mentor for less experienced vendor managers. You will share best practices and subject-matter expertise. You may lead discrete vendor management projects or process initiatives with manageable risk and resource requirements. You will partner with Legal, Sourcing, and Finance to shape contractual obligations. You will apply knowledge of industry best practices and the competitive landscape to identify what differentiates Airbnb's vendor program.

You will contribute to team culture, onboarding, and change-management efforts on a recurring basis. You may lead these efforts in a team-lead capacity at times.

Your Expertise

You bring 6+ years of experience in e-commerce or marketplace vendor operations. You use data to guide trade-offs between service levels and operational cost. You manage high-stakes vendor issues while coordinating stakeholders at multiple levels. You translate contractual terms into practical workflows for finance and operations teams. You communicate clearly with hosts, guests, and internal stakeholders under pressure.

Compensation

The compensation for this role is $134,800.00 as base pay. The target bonus is $86,240.00. The target equity is $18,600.00.

Nice to Have

Experience with claims adjusting or similar operational vendor services is valued.

Skills & Tools

AirCover, Airbnb, ServiceNow, Salesforce, Workday

Practical Notes

Please What you'll do