Community Manager | Santa Cruz, CA

Salary: $80,000 - $85,000 annually
Schedule: Full-Time | Exempt | Monday-Friday | 9:00 AM-6:00 PM

Run your own community. See your impact every day.

If you're an experienced Apartment Community Manager, Property Manager, or Assistant Community Manager looking for a leadership opportunity where your work is visible and your impact is yours. We'd love to meet you.

We're looking for a Community Manager who loves being close to the action.

Someone who notices the details, knows their residents by name, enjoys leasing, builds a strong relationship with their maintenance team, understands the business behind the property, and gets real satisfaction from watching their community succeed.

This is a full-scope leadership opportunity at a 100-unit Santa Cruz community - big enough to be a real business, small enough that you can stay close to all of it. You'll be backed by an experienced Regional Manager and a growing RMC team.

What you'll own

• Leasing and occupancy: Touring apartments, following up with leads, closing, and keeping the community full
• Resident experience: Building genuine relationships and handling the hard conversations with professionalism
• Team leadership: Leading and developing your maintenance team side by side, not from behind a desk
• Financial performance: Reviewing property performance, managing delinquency and collections, delivering the business plan
• The physical property: Walking the community, checking curb appeal, inspecting units, tightening up turns, and jumping in on maintenance issues
• Marketing support: Spotting opportunities and partnering with our Marketing team on what the property needs

Who thrives here

The right person:

• Takes genuine pride in their property and their work
• They're curious, proactive, and organized, and they follow through
• Is hospitality-minded and truly cares about residents, their team, and doing excellent work
• Is collaborative and understands they're executing an established business plan as part of a larger RMC team

Requirements:

• Valid driver's license
• Availability for after-hours emergencies
• Willingness to be hands-on and visible on the property
• 2 years of property management experience at an assistant manager level or higher

Why You'll Love Working Here

This is more than a Community Manager position-it's an opportunity to broaden your leadership experience and make a meaningful impact across an entire region.

At Rutherford, you'll enjoy:

• Opportunities for career growth and advancement
• Supportive and collaborative leadership
• The ability to mentor and develop teams
• A culture that values innovation, accountability, and continuous improvement

Compensation & schedule

• Base salary: $80,000
• Bonus: Eligible for annual KPI bonus and leasing bonus
• Schedule: Monday-Friday, 9:00 am-6:00 pm, plus availability for after-hours emergencies
• Location: Santa Cruz, CA (on-site)

Apply Today

Join Rutherford Management Company and help shape the future of our Santa Cruz portfolio while growing your leadership career.

Equal Employment Opportunity:

Rutherford is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We prohibit discrimination and harassment of any kind based on race, color, religion, creed, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, or related medical conditions), gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, age (40 and over), national origin or ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, military and veteran status, cannabis use, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.

Background Check and Drug Screen Required