Data & Operations Manager

Position: Data and Operations Manager

Department: National Human Trafficking Hotline

FLSA Status: Full-time, exempt

Direct Reports: Quality Assurance Coordinator

Date Issued: February 1, 2020

Date Revised: November 14, 2023

Location: Washington, DC (Hybird)

The Mission

Polaris is leading a data-driven social justice movement to fight sex and labor trafficking at the massive scale of the problem - 25 million people worldwide deprived of the freedom to choose how they live and work.

For more than a decade, Polaris has assisted thousands of victims and survivors through the U.S. National Human Trafficking Hotline, helped ensure countless traffickers were held accountable and built the largest known U.S. data set on actual trafficking experiences. With the guidance of survivors, we use that data to improve the way trafficking is identified, how victims and survivors are assisted, and how communities, businesses and governments can prevent human trafficking by transforming the underlying inequities and oppressions that make it possible.

About Opportunity

The Data and Operations Manager is responsible for the data, scheduling and quality improvement needs of the Hotline team. In collaboration with the Training Manager and Associate Director, the Data and Operations Manager will contribute to the creation of tools and resources that improve the quality of case response and data collection. The position reports directly to the Associate Director, Data and Operations.

Responsibilities

Data

• Regularly review and update Hotline data report guides to ensure accurate data collection, analysis, and reporting;
• In collaboration with the Associate Director, Data and Operations, proactively identify data trends that add to our understanding of how trafficking evolves;
• Compile Hotline operational data for federal/state grant applications and reports, corporate and private donors, and ad hoc requests;
• Manage the process for annual updates to the Hotline website, including the creation of national and state reports, and ensuring information on the website is up-to-date

Operations

• Develop and continuously update a regular shift schedule that meets the Hotline's operational needs and follow scheduling guidelines; with consideration of the various contact methods, ebbs and flows of incoming volume, required performance indicators and staff-wellbeing;
• Coordinate time off requests and shift coverage for full and part-time Hotline Advocates;
• Implement and lead a cohesive process for Hotline Advocate recruitment;
• Collaborate with the Training Manager and Hotline Supervisor Managers to build out appropriate schedules and logistics for training and continuing education for Hotline Advocates;
• Liaise with Polaris central operations team to on/off-board staff;
• In collaboration with the Hotline Supervisor Managers, track attendance, absenteeism and tardiness issues, in accordance with relevant Standard Operating Procedures.
• Provide on-call shift coverage coordination support to the Hotline.

Quality Improvement

• In collaboration with the Training Manager, the Hotline Supervisor Managers and the Case Response Specialist Manager improve and maintain a standardized system that promotes objective assessments, and collects meaningful data of Hotline Advocates', Case Response Specialists', and Hotline Supervisors' quality performance;
• Manage the implementation of a revised process for quality assurance and improvement monitoring and evaluation;
• Review a daily selection of signal notes and reporting notes for the purpose of analyzing case response and notes accuracy, as well as data standards;

Supervision

• Provide direct supervision to the Quality Assurance Coordinator, ensuring they have the tools and resources necessary to successfully perform their role;

Other

• Commitment to the National Human Trafficking Hotline mission and Polaris values ;
• Other duties as assigned by the supervisor.

Requirements

This job description provides a summary of the major duties and responsibilities performed by individuals in this position. Incumbents may be asked to perform other tasks not specifically written in this job.

Required Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years relevant professional work experience; with a focus on data, operations, and/or quality improvement practices
• Demonstrated strength in developing, managing, and training on procedures/processes and/or solving problems;
• Emotional maturity and demonstrated discretion in handling sensitive and confidential information;
• Proven ability to deliver results, a natural self-starter who is comfortable working independently;
• Detail-oriented with strong analytical and organizational skills;
• Flexibility and ability to multitask, easily moving between multiple projects and priorities;
• Ability to quickly learn and proficiently utilize diverse technologies and systems and;
• Excellent interpersonal skills with a strong focus on direct and open communication and provision of regular feedback;

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior experience working on the issue of human trafficking and/or directly with survivors of severe forms of exploitation; and
• Experience working on a victim-centered or resource-oriented hotline.

Communication ("External" Changes based upon position)

• Internal: Ability to communicate with supervisors and peers;
• External: Ability to respond quickly and calmly in alarming situations. Frequent contact with law enforcement, service providers, and government agencies.

Working Conditions

• Typical office setting

Physical Requirements (can change with position)

• Prolonged sitting, chiefly at a computer terminal;
• Occasional bending, stooping and stretching;
• Requires eye-hand coordination and manual dexterity sufficient to operate a computer, telephone, calculator, and other office equipment; and
• Requires normal range of hearing and eyesight to record, prepare, and communicate in writing, in person and by phone.

Organization Background

VALUES: Polaris is grounded in a set of values and organizational beliefs and strives to model and embody these values in all that it does.

We work with humility and a spirit of service. We serve a mission that is bigger than ourselves, and we recognize that we cannot do this work alone. We foster a caring community of mutual support, and we actively pursue collaborations and partnerships to expand our reach.

Victims' and survivors' experiences ground our efforts. We honor the dignity, agency, and resilience of victims and survivors of slavery, both past and present. We serve, work alongside, and stand in solidarity with those who have been most affected by modern slavery.

We strive for inclusion and equity. We engage different perspectives to inform our decisions, actions, and positions. We create opportunities that empower individuals of diverse backgrounds and circumstances. We acknowledge the structural inequities that lead to human trafficking and modern slavery, which drives us to create just and equitable solutions.

We approach our work with courage. We promote a culture of inquiry, innovation, risk-taking, and continuous learning. We are resilient and evolve when faced with obstacles or failure. We recognize that what is typical or traditional is not always optimal.

We create positive impact and achieve results. We leverage and cultivate the strengths of our staff, and we work with discipline, integrity, and a commitment to excellence. We embrace a measurement culture to track our progress. We view impact holistically, considering multiple sectors and the effects on individuals' lives, as we pursue systemic and social change to eradicate modern slavery

DIVERSITY STATEMENT:

Polaris designs and implements data-driven strategies to prevent and disrupt human trafficking, and restore freedom to survivors. Achieving this ambitious goal requires both trafficking-specific systemic interventions and broader cultural and structural shifts that reduce the inequities that lead to human trafficking. While Polaris alone cannot build a more diverse, just, equitable, and inclusive society, both the success of our work and our organizational values require modeling in the workplace the change we want to see in the world.

This means cultivating a workforce, organizational culture, and priorities that respect and celebrate a dynamic, multi-disciplinary team made up of individuals with different identities, lived experiences, and backgrounds. Within both our team and across every part of our work, we strive to integrate and elevate the full range of survivor voices.

This is a living commitment. Diversity, equity, and inclusion are values to be manifested daily, in the work we do, the decisions we make, and the way that we treat each other and the people we seek to serve. This means creating space where staff can be included, heard, valued, and set up for success, and where everyone feels empowered to bring their full, best selves to work. We will not check boxes and consider it done. We will push new innovations and different ways of thinking, and treasure the community built and strengthened by each of our contributions.