Manager II, Trust & Safety - Incident Operations

About the Trust and Safety (Incidents) team

We are a high-performing, thoughtful team dedicated to addressing urgent and complex issues with care, while safeguarding the Thumbtack brand. Our mission is to collaborate and coordinate effectively on escalated customer and pro reports, ensuring a safe, seamless, and high-quality experience for all. By partnering closely with cross-functional teams, we continually identify opportunities to elevate the customer journey and strengthen Thumbtack’s vision. On this team, you will be part of a tight-knit, collaborative group that works on solving real and serious problems for our users.

About the Role

As the Manager for the Incidents Team in the Philippines, you are a strategic leader responsible for the establishment and scaling of our TPH-based footprint within the Trust & Safety organization. Your mission is to lead a high-performing team of Incident Ops Specialists who manage the platform’s most complex and sensitive issues, ranging from significant payment disputes and fraud to high-stakes safety threats and property damage.

In this role, you will lead by example, serving as a primary point of contact for high-stakes escalation calls and cases. You will apply advanced mediation skills to de-escalate safety threats and resolve complex user disputes while maintaining platform integrity. You are directly responsible for the performance, engagement, and professional development of our Philippines-based Specialists, ensuring they apply the high-level judgment and discretion necessary to protect the Thumbtack community.

As a cornerstone of our global dual-team structure, you will be responsible for fostering a unified global operating model through close partnership with US-based Incidents leadership. This is a unique opportunity to drive operational excellence and cross-regional alignment, ensuring that our expansion in the Philippines enhances our ability to build a safer and more successful marketplace.

What you’ll do

• Lead & Develop a High-Performing Team: Manage and coach a team of 10-15 Incident Ops Specialists in the Philippines, owning hiring, onboarding, performance management, and career development while strengthening investigative judgment and policy application.

• Own Complex Escalations: Serve as the primary escalation point for high-risk and sensitive cases, including payment disputes and safety-related incidents, ensuring timely, fair, and policy-aligned resolutions.

• Drive Global Operational Consistency: Partner with U.S.-based managers to ensure consistent enforcement of policies and alignment across regions through regular calibration and shared standards.

• Manage Performance & Risk Metrics: Own KPIs (SLA, QA, HT, CSAT), with accountability for reducing preventable incidents and managing risk exposure within the PH scope.

• Surface Trends & Improve Processes: Identify emerging patterns and operational gaps, recommending improvements and partnering cross-functionally to strengthen workflows and policies.

In order to be successful, you must bring

• 5-8+ years of leadership experience in dispute resolution, incident management or case management preferably in marketplace, payments, FinTech, or two-sided platform environments where neutral adjudication between multiple customer types
• Demonstrated experience operating within policy-driven and regulated environments (e.g., compliance, risk, fraud prevention), with accountability for interpreting policy, managing gray-area decisions, and mitigating operational and reputational risk at scale.
• High emotional intelligence. You know how to build trust with peer managers across the ocean and can navigate regional sensitivities with tact.
• Experience managing queues and using data to tell a story. You can identify a trend in TPH and present a solution that benefits the global team.
• You make sound, objective decisions under pressure and can teach your team how to do the same.
• Availability to work U.S. business hours (including evenings, weekends, or holidays as needed) and the flexibility to respond to time-sensitive, high-stakes incidents that impact customers, pros, or the Thumbtack brand.
• Strong preference for those with previous experience in Trust and Safety, Fraud Prevention, or advanced Customer Support Team.