Assistant Community Manager

The Role and Why It Exists

An Assistant Community Manager sits at the intersection of leasing performance, resident experience, and daily financial operations. At most apartment communities, this role exists because a single manager can't own every moving piece at once. The ACM keeps collections current, delinquency in check, and the leasing pipeline warm while the Community Manager focuses on the bigger picture. At Hawthorne Residential Partners, a top-50 multifamily management company based in the Southeast, that partnership is the engine behind how their communities run.

This opening is in Wake Forest, NC, a fast-growing market north of Raleigh where resident expectations skew high and occupancy pressure is real. You'll need to perform on both sides of the desk: closing leases and managing ledgers.

What the Job Actually Looks Like

On the leasing side, you conduct tours, work incoming leads, and shepherd prospects through to a signed lease. You manage renewals, make sure documents are complete and accurate, and help hit occupancy targets through a combination of new leases and retention. You'll also handle the community's social media presence, which means posting content around resident events and keeping the property visible online.

On the financial and administrative side, you own rent collection: posting payments, scanning checks, and monitoring delinquency on a weekly basis. When accounts go sideways, you make the follow-up calls and coordinate eviction procedures when it comes to that. You review ledgers regularly to catch billing errors and misapplied payments before they compound. You'll also assist with financial reporting up to the Community Manager and regional leadership.

When the Community Manager is out, you step into that seat. That means maintaining team direction, keeping operations steady, and handling whatever comes through the door.

Office hours run Monday through Friday, 9 AM to 6 PM, and Saturdays from 10 AM to 4 PM. You get one weekday off per week to stay at 40 hours. Some evenings and weekends come with the territory depending on resident events or community needs.

• Two years of property management experience preferred
• Six months of prior assistant community manager experience preferred
• High school diploma or GED required
• Valid driver's license required
• CALP certification is a plus

Compensation includes hourly pay plus monthly leasing and renewal commissions and quarterly performance bonuses. Benefits include medical, dental, and vision coverage, 401k with match, paid time off (including your birthday), paid parental and adoption leave, pet insurance, company-paid life insurance, and telehealth access.

Hawthorne also runs a formal Career Path Program. The ACM role is a direct pipeline to Community Manager. If you're putting in the work on ledger accuracy, delinquency management, and leasing performance, that track record is exactly what gets you there. The skills you build here, reading financial reports, managing conflict, running a leasing office solo, carry directly into any CM role in the industry.