Head of News Operations

Location New York City Employment Type Full time Location Type On-site Department Mission Control Overview Citizen is seeking a Head of Real-Time Safety Operations to lead the systems and teams responsible for monitoring, processing, and distributing 30,000+ real-time public safety incidents daily to millions of users on Citizen. This role oversees Citizen’s largest team, the Real-Time Safety Operations (RTSO), which ingests public safety data, evaluates incidents, and delivers real-time alerts to millions of users. Operating at the intersection of public safety, product development, AI, and operations, this leader ensures Citizen’s safety communications are accurate and scalable, while partnering with Product, Engineering, and Data Science to improve how incidents are surfaced, prioritized, and delivered to users through data-driven and AI-assisted systems that drive platform growth. In addition, this leader collaborates with law enforcement agencies and technology partners to expand Citizen’s network of real-time information through channels like encrypted communications, live video workflows, and CAD system feedback, strengthening Citizen’s ability to deliver trusted safety coverage at scale. Incident Generation & Real-Time Monitoring Oversee a 24/7 operational organization responsible for monitoring public safety signals and generating incidents. Ensure high-throughput processing of 30,000+ daily incidents across Citizen’s safety pipeline. Maintain operational standards governing incident creation, escalation, and coverage during major public safety events. Protect Agent Operations Define the operational framework for Citizen’s 24/7 Protect Agent function, which provides live safety assistance to users during moments of fear, uncertainty, or potential danger. Establish protocols and training standards for agents with emergency response backgrounds (e.g., former 911 dispatchers) to support users during high-stress safety situations. Develop escalation frameworks guiding when situations should be directed to local emergency services or law enforcement. Partner with Product and Engineering to improve tools and workflows supporting real-time user assistance and safety response. Incident Quality & Editorial Standards Define standards governing incident verification, update workflows, and notification messaging. Maintain quality control processes for incident coverage across markets. Provide editorial oversight during sensitive or high-impact incidents. Continuously improve incident clarity, context, and usefulness for users. Incident Source Expansion & Market Growth Lead expansion into new U.S. and international markets while maintaining operational performance metrics. Improve and diversify incident sourcing beyond police radio, including CAD feeds, user reporting systems, and digital signal sources. Partner with infrastructure teams to deploy radio hardware and onboard new data sources. Maintain strong Time to Enter (TTA) metrics as incident volume and geographic coverage grow. AI & Operational Automation Manage the transition to a high-automation incident generation pipeline, targeting 75–80% auto-generated incidents. Oversee AI-assisted workflows supporting radio transcription, incident generation, and notification drafting. Partner with Product, Engineering, and Data Science to deploy LLM-powered operational tools using systems such as GPT-4o and Gemini. Identify operational patterns and translate them into automation and product improvements that increase scale and efficiency. Operational Infrastructure & Data Ingestion Oversee the systems and partnerships that power Citizen’s real-time safety data pipeline, including radio ingestion, CAD integrations, and public safety data acquisition. Establish operational standards ensuring the reliability of public safety data sources across all active markets. Partner with Engineering teams to maintain the scalability and resilience of incident ingestion pipelines. Support expansion of operational infrastructure as Citizen launches new markets and new incident sources. Public Safety & Technology Partnerships Support integrations involving secure video workflows, encrypted communications, and CAD data systems. Partner with technology platforms such as Axon and Fusus to expand Citizen’s public safety integrations. Work directly with public safety agencies to improve incident data access and collaboration. Represent Citizen in engagements with municipal and public safety partners. Customer Experience & Support Automation Define the strategy for Citizen’s customer experience function, ensuring users and partners receive timely support while transitioning the operation toward an AI-assisted support model. Establish workflows and systems for responding to user inquiries, account issues, and enterprise partner support requests. Ensure customer support channels surface product bugs, operational risks, and user feedback to Product and Engineering teams. Drive the adoption of AI-assisted support systems that automate the majority of routine inquiries while maintaining human oversight for complex cases. Organizational Leadership Manage a globally distributed organization of operations managers, analysts, and technical specialists. Oversee teams responsible for incident generation, operational tooling, infrastructure, and support functions. Establish performance metrics governing incident volume, cost per incident, automation, and operational efficiency. Build operational systems capable of supporting high-velocity real-time decision-making. Qualifications 10+ years leading large-scale operational organizations in real-time or mission-critical environments. Experience managing high-throughput operational systems and distributed teams. Strong understanding of public safety communications, emergency response systems, or real-time information platforms. Experience working with product, engineering, and data science teams to build operational technology and AI-enabled systems. Ability to lead organizations operating in high-pressure, real-time environments. Exceptional judgment when communicating sensitive or complex public safety incidents. Salary Range This role offers a base salary of $200,000–$240,000 per year, plus equity. Compensation & Benefits We offer competitive salary, equity, and a full benefits package, including: At least one fully employer-sponsored medical plan option Dental and vision coverage, with a small employee contribution Unlimited PTO Up to 14 weeks paid parental leave (for all parents) Monthly tech stipend Free mental health support Hybrid work environment + catered lunches (NYC HQ) Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at Citizen Citizen is an equal opportunity employer. We’re building a team that reflects the diversity of the communities we serve — across race, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, and background. We know that diverse teams make better decisions and build more effective products. If you don’t meet every listed qualification, we still encourage you to apply. Skills, potential, and lived experience matter. #J-18808-Ljbffr