Intelligence Analyst

Position: Intelligence Analyst

Department: Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU)

FLSA Status: Full-Time, Exempt

Reports to: Associate Director- Research and Intelligence

Direct Reports: None

Date Issued: July 2023

Date Revised: July 2023

Location: Washington, DC

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 oppression that make it possible.

About Opportunity

The Polaris Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), a partnership with PayPal, leverages the reach, expertise, and motivation of the global financial sector to identify trafficking operations through their financial footprints, support criminal cases that mitigate the burden placed on victims to participate, and facilitate the financial restitution process - ultimately decreasing the profitability of trafficking while increasing accountability for the traffickers. To do this, the FIU generates new insights through a combination of in-house research and collaborative efforts with the financial services industry, survivors, law enforcement, and others in the anti-trafficking field. This initiative also works to bolster the financial resiliency of vulnerable populations and trafficking survivors through financial inclusion initiatives and advocates for responsible financing practices to incentivize businesses to implement strong worker protections.

The Intelligence Analyst will utilize diverse research and investigation methods to generate actionable insights and intelligence for the financial crimes community. This individual should have experience conducting open source intelligence investigations and be familiar with emerging methods and relevant data sources.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement research projects using a variety of qualitative and quantitative analysis techniques in order to identify patterns and trends associated with the financial footprint of human trafficking and synthesize findings into a variety of written products including fact sheets, in depth reports, trainings, and case studies for the financial crimes community;
• Conduct open-source investigations of specific entities suspected of involvement in human trafficking and document findings in written intelligence packages meeting established standards;
• Assist in managing, developing, and refining data collection and analysis tools and systems;
• Participate in collaborations with a range of internal and external stakeholders including survivor leaders and partners within financial institutions, government agencies, and non-government organizations;
• Commitment to the National Human Trafficking Hotline mission and Polaris values ; and
• 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 of two years of professional experience in human trafficking or related issue, data systems, intelligence analysis, qualitative or quantitative research or related field;
• Demonstrated proficiency in open-source research;
• Creative thinker with proven ability to innovate within resource limitations and excellent problem-solving skills;
• Discretion in handling sensitive and confidential information;
• Ability to effectively communicate with a wide range of audiences including stakeholders within financial institutions, data and technology companies, government agencies, law enforcement, and non-governmental organizations, verbally and in writing;
• Proficiency in and willingness to learn new and diverse technologies such as Salesforce, and blockchain analysis tools; and
• Proven ability to deliver results, a natural self-starter who is comfortable working independently and as part of a team.

Communication

• 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

• Hybrid between remote work in the DMV (Washington DC, Maryland or Virginia) area and a typical office setting in Washington, DC

Physical Requirements

• 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;
• 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.