Senior Community Manager

As a Senior Community Manager at Emerge Living, you will hold operational and financial ownership of a portfolio of two to three communities while maintaining a physical home base at one of them. This is a step beyond single-site management: you will be measured not on the performance of the community where you sit, but on the combined performance of every asset assigned to you. Your success depends on your ability to lead through others, allocate your own time and attention where the portfolio needs it most, and deliver results at communities you are not standing in every day.
You will be responsible for the full financial performance of your portfolio, including budget development, revenue management, expense control, and collections across all assigned communities. You will build, coach, and hold accountable the on-site teams at each property, establishing consistent standards of service, presentation, and execution regardless of asset size, vintage, or market. Where a single-site manager solves problems personally, you will be expected to build the systems and bench strength that allow each community to run well in your absence.
This role requires a highly motivated, results-driven leader with a proven track record in multifamily property management, financial oversight, and team development. You must be comfortable operating with incomplete information, prioritizing ruthlessly across competing demands, and making decisions that optimize the portfolio rather than any one community in isolation. Your judgment on where to invest capital, marketing spends, and staffing hours will directly shape returns for our investors.
Additionally, you will uphold company policies, implement strategic initiatives, and partner closely with the Regional Manager and corporate departments to ensure every community in your portfolio operates effectively. Your proactive approach to problem-solving, your ability to navigate complex resident and personnel matters, and your commitment to continuous improvement will be essential to the integrity and success of the portfolio you lead.

Scope of the Role

You will be assigned a portfolio of two to three communities. Portfolio composition is determined by the Regional Manager and may be adjusted as business needs change, including the addition, removal, or substitution of assets.
You will be housed at one designated home community, where you maintain your primary office and day-to-day presence. Your home community assignment does not narrow your accountability.
You are financially responsible for every community in your portfolio, including those where another team member handles daily on-site operations.
You are expected to be physically present at each community in your portfolio on a regular, predictable cadence established with your Regional Manager, and to be reachable and responsive to all sites during business hours and for urgent matters outside them.
Depending on portfolio size and staffing model, you may have Community Managers, Assistant Managers, Leasing Professionals, and Maintenance team members reporting to you directly or indirectly across multiple locations.

What You'll Do (Responsibilities)

Portfolio Financial Ownership
Own the financial results of the entire portfolio, not the sum of individual site efforts. You are accountable for combined portfolio performance against budget.
Develop, defend, and manage the annual operating budget for each community in the portfolio, and reforecast as conditions change.
Review financial statements monthly for every asset, explain variances to the Regional Manager, and put corrective action plans in place where results trail budget.
Set and adjust rental rates, concessions, and renewal strategy across the portfolio to maximize combined revenue rather than optimizing any single community in isolation.
Control payroll, contract services, turnover, and other controllable expenses across all assigned communities, and approve site-level spending within your delegated authority.
Oversee collections, delinquency management, and legal proceedings at each community, holding site teams to consistent standards and timelines.
Direct capital and value-add project spending in coordination with the Regional Manager and asset management, sequencing work across the portfolio for the best combined return.
Leverage RealPage and related systems to monitor performance across all assets and use portfolio-level reporting to identify trends before they appear in the financials.
Portfolio Operations
Achieve budgeted occupancy at targeted rental rates at every community in the portfolio.
Establish consistent operating standards, workflows, and service expectations across all assigned communities.
Allocate your time, attention, and available resources across the portfolio based on where the greatest financial risk or opportunity sits, not on convenience or proximity.
Conduct regular property inspections at each community and prepare all assets for corporate, lender, and investor tours.
Ensure timely turns, make-ready quality, and preventative maintenance execution across the portfolio in partnership with maintenance leadership.
Manage vendor relationships and, where advantageous, consolidate vendor scope across the portfolio to improve pricing and service levels.
Ensure compliance with all applicable fair housing, landlord-tenant, safety, and company policy requirements at every assigned community.
Team Leadership & Development
Recruit, onboard, mentor, and inspire high-performing teams at every community in the portfolio.
Lead through your site teams. Build the capability and accountability that allow each community to perform well when you are working elsewhere.
Provide structured, ongoing coaching and feedback, conduct performance reviews, and address performance issues promptly and directly.
Develop bench strength and succession within the portfolio, identifying and preparing team members for advancement.
Manage staffing levels and scheduling across the portfolio to meet service standards while holding payroll to budget.
Foster a collaborative, consistent culture across locations so that team members experience one set of standards, not several.
Customer Service & Resident Experience
Drive resident satisfaction and retention across the portfolio through renewal strategy, retention programming, and service recovery.
Act as an Emerge Living ambassador at every community, professionally addressing and resolving escalated resident concerns.
Monitor online reputation and resident feedback across all assigned communities and drive measurable improvement where scores trail expectations.
Sales & Marketing
Execute marketing initiatives across the portfolio in line with brand and company standards.
Ensure each community is accurately and compellingly represented on all websites, listing services, and social media platforms.
Direct marketing spend across the portfolio toward the assets and channels producing the strongest return.
Monitor traffic, conversion, and lead source performance at each community and adjust strategy accordingly.
Home Community Responsibilities
Maintain a visible, engaged daily presence at your home community, including direct oversight of its on-site team.
Carry the full Community Manager responsibilities at your home community in addition to your portfolio duties.
Ensure your home community does not receive disproportionate attention at the expense of the other assets in your portfolio. Balanced portfolio performance is the expectation.

How Performance Is Measured: Portfolio Bonus Structure

This role is compensated on portfolio performance. Unlike the Community Manager role, where incentive compensation is earned against the results of a single community, your bonus is calculated on your portfolio as a single combined operating unit. There is no separate site-level bonus, and your bonus is not the sum of individually calculated community bonuses.
Unit-Weighted Portfolio Calculation
Each performance metric is calculated once, at the portfolio level, with every community contributing in proportion to its unit count. A larger community therefore carries proportionally more weight in your result than a smaller one, reflecting its relative contribution to portfolio revenue and to investor returns.
In practical terms, portfolio metrics are computed on combined portfolio totals rather than as a simple average of community percentages. Occupancy, for example, is measured as total occupied units across the portfolio against total units across the portfolio. Financial metrics are measured on combined portfolio dollars against combined portfolio budget. Metrics that are not naturally dollar- or unit-denominated are weighted by each communitys unit count before being combined.
Metric Categories
Your bonus plan will be issued separately and will specify the metrics in effect, their respective weightings, threshold and target levels, and payout mechanics. Metric categories typically include:
Net operating income performance against combined portfolio budget
Economic and physical occupancy across the portfolio
Revenue and effective rent growth against budget
Controllable expense performance against budget
Delinquency and bad debt as a share of portfolio billed revenue
Resident retention and renewal conversion
Resident satisfaction and online reputation
Team retention and staffing stability
What This Means in Practice
Strong results at your home community will not, on their own, produce a full payout. If another asset in your portfolio underperforms, the combined result reflects it.
A single community facing a temporary market or operational challenge does not automatically eliminate your bonus, provided the portfolio delivers.
Larger communities move your number more than smaller ones. Prioritizing your time accordingly is part of the job.
Decisions that improve one community at the expense of another are unlikely to improve your result. You are incentivized to optimize the whole.
When your portfolio composition changes mid-period, targets and weightings will be adjusted on a pro-rated basis for the portion of the period each community was assigned to you.
Bonus eligibility, measurement periods, payout timing, proration rules, and the treatment of assets in lease-up, renovation, or disposition are governed by your individual bonus plan document and by company policy. Incentive compensation is discretionary and subject to change.

What You Bring (Requirements)

Education & Experience
Bachelors degree preferred.
Demonstrated success as a Community Manager or Property Manager, with a track record of meeting or exceeding budgeted financial results.
Experience managing multiple assets, managing through subordinate managers, or otherwise operating beyond a single site is strongly preferred.
Proficiency with RealPage or equivalent property management and reporting systems.
Experience developing and defending operating budgets, and reading and explaining monthly financial statements.
Industry designations such as CAM, CAPS, ARM, or CPM are strongly preferred.
Skills & Competencies
Strong financial acumen, including the ability to diagnose variance, model the impact of operating decisions, and speak credibly to results.
Proven ability to lead and hold accountable teams you do not supervise in person every day.
Excellent organizational and time-management skills, with the judgment to prioritize across competing sites and demands.
Excellent interpersonal skills, with the ability to communicate effectively across all levels of the organization, from maintenance technicians to ownership.
Intermediate to advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, with particular strength in Excel.
Ability to work independently, maintain a sense of urgency, and operate effectively in a fast-paced environment.
Exceptional attention to detail and clarity in written and verbal communication.
Conflict resolution skills to manage challenging resident, personnel, and vendor situations with tact and empathy.
Outstanding customer service and interpersonal abilities.
Proficiency in reading, writing, and conversing in English.
Familiarity with standard office equipment, including phone systems, printers, copiers, and key-tracking systems.
Flexibility to work weekends, evenings, and some holidays as needed.

Requirements
A valid drivers license, reliable personal transportation, and the ability to travel routinely
between assigned communities.
Ability to satisfy company background and screening requirements.

Work Environment & Physical Requirements

This position requires consistent on-site presence across the portfolio. You will maintain a primary office at your home community and will travel regularly between all assigned communities, which may be in different submarkets. Travel between properties during the workday is a routine and expected part of the role.
The Senior Community Manager must remain accessible and responsive to residents, staff, and vendors at every assigned community, ensuring a high level of service and operational consistency across the portfolio.
The role may require working outside standard business hours, including evenings, weekends, and holidays, as necessary to address urgent matters at any assigned community, oversee community events, or meet operational and business objectives.
The physical demands of this position include the ability to traverse each property regularly, which may involve walking extended distances, climbing stairs, and inspecting units and common areas. The role also requires the ability to lift and carry up to 25 pounds on an occasional basis, such as when handling office supplies, signage, or event materials. Reasonable accommodation may be provided to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential job functions.