Founding Community Association Manager

Alder; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental, and vision coverage

401(k)

Pre-tax commuter benefits

Flexible PTO

Job summary

Alder is seeking its first community association manager to own a Bay Area HOA portfolio end to end. You’ll advise boards, run meetings, and keep projects moving, using Alder’s software to streamline packets, bids, and reports. This role includes revenue sharing and an equity stake as you win and grow associations.

As an early team member, you’ll shape playbooks, service standards, and the software you rely on daily, while collaborating with engineers and a growing team across the region.

Qualifications

• Experience managing California associations for 3+ years.
• Ownership mindset with a focus on results and equity.
• Ability to engage boards and explain actions clearly.
• Knowledge of the Davis-Stirling Act, association finance and reserves.
• Calm, clear communication with boards and homeowners.
• Willing to adopt and shape new software used daily.
• Must have a car and be able to attend evening meetings across the Bay Area.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary manager for a portfolio of associations, from small condos to large communities.
• Prepare for and attend board and annual meetings with clear agendas and minutes.
• Lead the annual budget, reserve study coordination, and required disclosures with the board.
• Run elections, rule enforcement, hearings, and assessment collections by the book.
• Obtain competitive bids, present recommendations, and track work through completion.
• Coordinate maintenance, insurance claims, inspections, and capital projects.
• Grow the portfolio by meeting boards and securing new project work.
• Help shape Alder's service standards, playbooks, and onboarding of future managers.
• Provide feedback to engineers and test AI workflows on your portfolio.

Skills

Experience managing CA associations

Ambition

Ownership mindset

Good judgment

Clear communication

Willingness to learn new tools

Car and evening meetings

Education

CACM certification (CCAM) preferred

California real estate license

CMCA/AMS/PCAM designations a plus

Job description

About Alder Property Management

Alder is an AI-native property management company in the San Francisco Bay Area. We manage rentals and homeowner associations directly, and we built our own software for leasing, maintenance, accounting, and governance so our managers can give owners, boards, and residents better service with far less busywork.

About Alder Property Management

Alder is an AI-native property management company in the San Francisco Bay Area. We manage rentals and homeowner associations directly, and we built our own software for leasing, maintenance, accounting, and governance so our managers can give owners, boards, and residents better service with far less busywork.

Property management is a fragmented $140B market and AI now makes it possible to rebuild how the industry operates. Our investors include early backers of OpenAI, ElevenLabs, and Cognition. Spencer Rascoff, Zillow's co-founder and former CEO, is also an investor and close advisor.

About The Role

You’ll be Alder's first community association manager. You’ll own a portfolio of Bay Area HOAs end to end and help build the business around it. Boards set the direction; you make sure the work gets done and that directors always know where things stand.

Our software takes on the work that usually buries a community manager: meeting packets, bid comparisons, work order tracking, homeowner communication, and books tied to bank records. That leaves you free to do what the best managers do: advise boards well, run good meetings, and keep projects moving.

This role is for someone who wants to eat what they kill. You’ll share in the revenue from every association you manage, so the more boards you win and keep, the more you earn. And because you’re joining early, you’ll shape how Alder serves associations: our playbooks, our service standards, the software you use every day, and the team that comes after you.

What you’ll do

• Serve as the primary manager for a portfolio of associations, from small condo buildings to larger communities.
• Prepare for and attend board and annual meetings, with clear agendas, decision packets, and minutes.
• Lead the annual budget, reserve study coordination, and required Davis-Stirling disclosures with the board.
• Run elections, rule enforcement, hearings, and assessment collections by the book.
• Get competitive bids, bring the board a recommendation, and track approved work through completion.
• Coordinate maintenance, insurance claims, inspections, and capital projects, including resident access.
• Grow your portfolio: meet boards, win project work like budgets and elections, and turn it into full management.
• Shape the business: write the playbooks, set the service standards, and help hire and train the managers who join after you.
• Tell our engineers where the system falls short, and test new AI workflows on your own portfolio before they roll out more widely.

What we’re looking for

• Experience. You've managed California associations, typically for 3+ years, and boards would vouch for you.
• Ambition. You want your income tied to your results, and you'd rather build your own book than carry someone else's.
• A builder's mindset. You've seen how association management should work, and you want to help build a company that does it right.
• Good judgment. You can tell a board what you'd do and why, and you know when an issue needs their attorney, insurer, or engineer.
• Ownership. Follow-through is your reputation. Nothing sits in your inbox waiting for a director to chase it.
• Working knowledge of the Davis-Stirling Act, association finance and reserves, and governing documents.
• CACM certification (CCAM) preferred.
• Calm, clear communication with boards and homeowners, especially in contentious meetings.
• Comfort with new tools and a willingness to push them. You'll help shape the software you use every day.
• A car and the ability to attend evening meetings and visit communities across the Bay Area.

CAI designations such as CMCA, AMS, or PCAM, or a California real estate license, are a plus. So are existing board relationships and experience with Bay Area condo buildings.

Compensation & Benefits

There's no ceiling on what you can earn here. Every founding property manager shares in the revenue from the doors they manage, so as your portfolio grows, your income grows with it.

You’ll also receive meaningful early-stage equity, so you own a piece of the company you're helping build.

Benefits Include

• Health, dental, and vision coverage
• 401(k)
• Pre-tax commuter benefits
• Flexible PTO