Maintenance Lead (Sunset Creek, Sunset Pines, Fair Haven Commons)

A maintenance lead role at a nonprofit affordable housing organization carries responsibilities that go beyond typical apartment maintenance work. You're managing operations across multiple communities simultaneously, which means your coordination and leadership skills get tested every single day, not just when something breaks.

What This Role Actually Covers

This position oversees maintenance operations for three Fairfield communities: Sunset Creek, Sunset Pines, and Fair Haven Commons. The scope runs from hands-on trades work in electrical, plumbing, carpentry, painting, and appliance repair to team scheduling, vendor selection, bid review, and contractor oversight. You'll manage unit turns for move-ins and move-outs, coordinate annual inspections, run preventive maintenance programs, and keep common areas clean and safe. On-call emergency rotation is part of the job. So is accurate recordkeeping and managing inventory and supply procurement across all three sites.

MidPen's portfolio includes affordable communities serving working families, seniors, and residents with special needs. That means inspections here follow REAC, TCAC, and MOR standards, not just standard market-rate property protocols. If you've worked in affordable housing before, you already know the difference. If you haven't, this role will build that knowledge quickly.

Skills Required vs. Skills You'll Build

Coming in, you need at least five years of hands-on maintenance experience across the core trades plus three years supervising a crew. Multi-trade proficiency, working knowledge of affordable housing inspection standards, and the ability to manage vendors from bid to completion are baseline requirements. Strong communication matters too. You'll be working with residents, contractors, community partners, and internal teams, and the ability to write clearly and speak directly shapes how well that all goes.

What this role builds is different. Managing three properties at once sharpens your ability to triage competing priorities under real pressure. Leading a team through inspections with regulatory consequences develops the kind of compliance discipline that transfers across the affordable housing sector. Coordinating with MidPen's onsite Resident Services team also gives you a clearer picture of how maintenance quality connects directly to resident stability, which is a perspective that makes better maintenance professionals.

Who Does Well in This Role

The candidates who thrive here bring a few things that aren't always spelled out in job postings. First, genuine interest in coaching their team rather than just completing work orders themselves. Second, comfort with documentation, because TCAC and REAC inspections reward organized recordkeeping and penalize gaps. Third, a calm, consistent approach to resident interactions. Affordable housing communities often serve residents navigating real hardship, and the maintenance team is frequently the most visible face of management in a resident's daily experience.

• High school diploma plus five years of broad maintenance experience (or equivalent combination)
• Three years of supervisory experience with apartment turns and crew oversight
• Working knowledge of REAC, TCAC, or MOR inspection standards
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office and basic computer applications
• Ability to perform physically demanding work across varying outdoor conditions
• Valid driver's license (implied by multi-site responsibilities)

The pay range is $30.00 to $33.75 per hour, based on experience. MidPen offers a full benefits package including health, dental, vision, life and disability insurance, a 403(b) retirement plan, paid parental leave, education reimbursement, FSA options, and an EAP program.