COMMUNITY MANAGER

Affordable Housing | 20 Hours per Week | Salem, Oregon

Position Summary

We are seeking an experienced, service-driven Community Manager to lead the day-to-day operations, compliance, lease-up, financial performance, resident experience, and physical stewardship of a 41-unit newly constructed affordable housing community in Salem, Oregon. This position is budgeted at 20 hours per week (50% FTE) and requires a highly organized, hands-on manager who can prioritize effectively across regulatory files, resident relationships, leasing performance, financial administration, maintenance coordination, and owner reporting within a focused part-time schedule.

The community includes Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) affordability requirements and Project-Based Voucher (PBV) assistance administered through the local housing authority. The ideal candidate understands that strong affordable housing management requires both precise compliance execution and exceptional hospitality: households must be treated with dignity, files must be audit-ready, deadlines must be controlled, and the property must perform operationally and financially.

Community & Program Environment

• 41 residential units in a new-construction, four-story community with resident/common spaces, laundry, mail and parcel areas, bicycle storage, outdoor gathering areas, and other shared amenities.

• LIHTC income and rent restrictions, including multiple affordability/set-aside requirements that require accurate household qualification, rent-limit and utility-allowance administration, and ongoing compliance monitoring.

• 14 Project-Based Voucher (PBV) units awarded through the Salem Housing Authority: 2 one-bedroom, 8 two-bedroom, and 4 three-bedroom PBV units.

• PBV/HAP administration requires coordination with the housing authority, accurate subsidy documentation, inspection readiness, vacancy/occupancy controls, and timely communication regarding assisted households.

• The property is designed to serve a diverse resident population. Cultural humility, clear communication, fair housing consistency, and the ability to work effectively with resident-services partners and community stakeholders are essential.

Core Responsibilities

Affordable Housing Compliance & File Integrity

• Own site-level execution of LIHTC and PBV compliance requirements in partnership with regional/compliance leadership; never authorize a move-in until required qualification and approval steps are complete.

• Collect and review application, household, income, asset, student-status, citizenship/eligible-status where applicable, and other verification documentation; identify missing or inconsistent information before files advance for final approval.

• Maintain accurate tenant certifications, program designations, rent limits, utility allowances, HAP/subsidy records, leases, addenda, notices, and required source documentation in Yardi and the property compliance file.

• Track annual/interim recertification requirements and begin outreach early enough to meet all program deadlines; escalate aging or deficient files before they become compliance findings.

• Prepare for owner, investor, OHCS, housing authority, HUD-related, lender, and other regulatory reviews by maintaining audit-ready files and completing pre-audit corrections promptly.

• Monitor published income limits, rent limits, utility allowances, and program guidance and implement approved changes accurately and timely.

Lease-Up, Leasing & Occupancy

• Lead the initial lease-up and stabilization of the community, including prospect follow-up, application conversion, waitlist/interest-list administration, unit offers, move-in scheduling, and resident onboarding.

• Ensure applicant communications are timely, consistent, accessible, and compliant with Fair Housing, screening, reasonable-accommodation, and affordable-housing requirements.

• Coordinate PBV referrals/eligibility steps with the housing authority and internal compliance team; maintain clear tracking of each household from inquiry through approved move-in.

• Monitor traffic, applications, approvals, denials, cancellations, vacant units, upcoming availability, and leasing barriers; recommend operational adjustments using data rather than anecdote.

• Protect occupancy and revenue while never compromising eligibility, documentation, or fair housing requirements.

Resident Experience & Community Operations

• Serve as the primary on-site management leader and create a welcoming, professional, responsive resident experience from move-in through residency.

• Partner closely with resident services and community organizations while maintaining appropriate boundaries between property management, compliance, and supportive/resident services functions.

• Respond to resident concerns, lease violations, reasonable-accommodation requests, grievances, and conflicts consistently, professionally, and with strong documentation.

• Coordinate community notices, resident communications, inspections, access, events, and operational changes with sensitivity to language access and the community served.

• Maintain strong Fair Housing practices and ensure policies are applied consistently without favoritism or disparate treatment.

Financial & Administrative Management

• Own site-level budget performance, rent and subsidy collections, delinquency follow-up, accounts payable coding/approvals, purchase-order discipline, expense control, and variance explanations.

• Review rent rolls, resident ledgers, subsidy/HAP activity, deposits, receivables, vacancy, concessions/credits if applicable, and month-end reports for accuracy.

• Operate with an owner mindset: obtain competitive pricing, protect warranty coverage, control controllable expenses, and distinguish necessary spending from convenience spending.

• Prepare clear, concise operational reporting for regional leadership and ownership, including occupancy, collections, leasing pipeline, compliance status, maintenance, resident issues, and financial risks.

• Use Yardi Voyager, Microsoft Excel, and related property-management/compliance systems accurately and consistently.

Maintenance, Safety & Asset Stewardship

• Partner with the Maintenance Technician and regional maintenance leadership to prioritize work orders, preventive maintenance, inspections, turns, warranty items, vendor work, life-safety issues, and grounds/common-area standards.

• Conduct routine property walks and unit/common-area inspections; identify issues early and assign ownership and deadlines for resolution.

• Maintain inspection readiness for housing authority and regulatory inspections and ensure deficiencies are documented, corrected, and closed out timely.

• Follow emergency-response procedures and maintain accurate incident documentation; promptly escalate life-safety, legal, insurance, or material property risks.

• Protect a new asset by enforcing strong housekeeping, vendor, key/access, security, and preventive-maintenance controls from day one.

Leadership & Accountability

• Set clear expectations for the on-site team, coordinate daily priorities, and create a culture of accountability, service, compliance, and follow-through.

• Communicate proactively with regional leadership; surface risks early with facts, proposed solutions, and clear next steps.

• Build productive relationships with ownership, housing agencies, compliance partners, resident services, vendors, prospects, residents, and community stakeholders.

• Maintain confidentiality and exercise sound judgment with sensitive applicant, resident, financial, and regulatory information.

Required Skills & Experience 

• 3+ years of multifamily property management experience, including direct responsibility for leasing, resident relations, collections, maintenance coordination, and financial/administrative operations.

• Demonstrated hands-on experience managing affordable housing compliance, with working knowledge of LIHTC tenant qualification, certifications/recertifications, income and asset verification, student rules, rent limits, utility allowances, and file documentation.

• Experience working with HUD rental assistance, Project-Based Vouchers, Housing Choice Voucher processes, HAP/subsidy administration, or comparable housing-authority programs.

• Ability to read and apply regulatory requirements, management policies, leases, compliance procedures, and agency guidance accurately and consistently.

• Strong Fair Housing knowledge, including reasonable accommodations/modifications, assistance animals, accessibility, and consistent application of resident and applicant policies.

• Proven ability to manage a lease-up, stabilization, or high-volume application pipeline while maintaining file quality and deadline control.

• Financial acumen sufficient to manage a property budget, collections, AP, expense controls, variance explanations, rent rolls, and operating reports.

• Strong technology proficiency, including property-management software and Microsoft Excel/Outlook/Teams; ability to learn Yardi Voyager and related systems quickly if not already experienced.

• Excellent written and verbal communication, documentation, organization, and follow-through.

• Ability to handle conflict, sensitive resident matters, competing priorities, and urgent operational issues calmly and professionally.

• Valid driver license and ability to travel locally as needed for property operations, training, agency meetings, or business needs.

• Ability to meet any Oregon licensing requirements applicable to the duties of the position, either upon hire or within the timeframe established by the employer.

• Successful completion of a pre-employment background check and drug screening is required as a condition of employment, consistent with applicable law.

Preferred Skills & Experience

• 5+ years of multifamily property management experience with 2+ years directly managing LIHTC and/or layered affordable housing.

• Prior responsibility for a property with both LIHTC and PBV/HAP-assisted units, including housing-authority inspections, subsidy documentation, and assisted-household move-ins.

• Affordable housing certification such as HCCP, SHCM, C3P, COS, TCS, or equivalent recognized LIHTC/HUD credential.

• Experience with Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS) compliance requirements and Oregon affordable housing regulatory reviews.

• Yardi Voyager affordable-housing experience, including resident records, certifications, reporting, receivables, and compliance workflows.

• New-construction lease-up, initial occupancy, or placed-in-service experience, including coordination of punch/warranty issues and resident move-in sequencing.

• Experience preparing for investor, state agency, housing authority, MOR/management review, file audit, or physical inspection processes.

• Experience serving culturally and linguistically diverse communities; familiarity with culturally responsive communication and language-access practices.

• Experience partnering with resident-services providers or nonprofit/community organizations in affordable housing.

• Bilingual or multilingual communication skills are valued, particularly languages represented within Salem-area Pacific Islander communities, but are not required.

What Success Looks Like

• Lease-up is organized, transparent, and compliant; qualified households move in on schedule with complete, approved files.

• Compliance files are audit-ready, recertifications are controlled well ahead of deadlines, and corrections are addressed before they become findings.

• Occupancy, collections, subsidy receipts, resident balances, and controllable expenses are actively managed and clearly reported.

• Residents receive responsive, respectful service and consistent enforcement of community policies.

• Maintenance, warranty, safety, and property-condition issues are identified early, documented, assigned, and closed out.

• Ownership and regional leadership receive timely information, no surprises, and solutions-oriented communication.

Compensation & Employment

This position is budgeted at 20 hours per week (50% FTE) at $32.00 per hour, equivalent to $33,280 in annual base compensation at the scheduled hours, with bonus potential of up to $5,000 annually. The role is primarily on-site and is structured to provide consistent operational coverage while partnering closely with regional, compliance, accounting, resident-services, and maintenance resources.

Employment is contingent upon successful completion of the company’s required pre-employment background check and drug screening.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Meritus Property Group is committed to equal employment opportunity. Employment decisions are made without unlawful discrimination or harassment based on any status protected by applicable federal, state, or local law. Reasonable accommodations are available for qualified applicants and employees with disabilities as required by law.

About Meritus Property Group

Meritus is comprised of a committed team of commercial and multi-family management professionals that take great pride in being stewards of the built environment, operating assets efficiently, and providing an outstanding tenant experience.