Regional Maintenance Director

Regional maintenance leadership at a multi-property operator like Hawthorne Residential Partners sits at the intersection of hands-on technical work and genuine organizational management. You're not just fixing things. You're building and sustaining the systems that keep maintenance teams functional, compliant, and effective across an entire portfolio.

What This Role Actually Covers

The Regional Maintenance Director oversees maintenance operations across a defined region, reporting to the Director of Resident Services and working closely with Regional Managers on day-to-day property needs. The scope is wide. Quarterly property inspections for safety compliance, OSHA and EPA regulatory adherence, due diligence inspections, capex coordination, and disaster response all live under this position. When a property has a staffing gap, you're the one who organizes coverage or assigns floating technicians. When capital projects are underway, you're preparing scopes of work, reviewing bids, monitoring costs against budget, and conducting final inspections.

On the capital side, you'll work directly with project managers and Regional Managers to plan and execute interior rehabs, including sourcing product, shopping costs, and keeping projects within approved budgets. Budget season means attending meetings and helping set realistic maintenance and capex figures for the coming year. That budget consciousness has to carry through all twelve months, not just in October.

Leadership and training are core responsibilities here, not afterthoughts. You'll coordinate hiring, onboard new Maintenance Supervisors through the SAM manual training process, run quarterly maintenance meetings for your teams, and handle disciplinary procedures when necessary. Weekly communication with the Director of Resident Services keeps the broader organization informed of regional progress and concerns.

What You Need Coming In

• Deep, hands-on knowledge of apartment maintenance systems: HVAC, plumbing, electrical, appliances, and building envelope
• Working knowledge of OSHA, EPA, and applicable building codes
• Experience managing and developing maintenance teams across multiple sites
• Ability to read and contribute to capital budgets, write scopes of work, and evaluate contractor bids
• Strong written and verbal communication skills for owner visits, vendor negotiations, and internal reporting
• Computer proficiency sufficient for documentation, reporting, and communication
• A dependable vehicle with proof of liability insurance, and the physical capability this role demands: lifting up to 100 lbs., climbing, operating hand and power tools, and tolerating outdoor conditions year-round
• High school diploma or trade school credential required; a college degree or equivalent field experience is expected

Where Strong Candidates Separate Themselves

The technical knowledge is table stakes. What actually separates strong Regional Maintenance Directors is the ability to diagnose a team problem as quickly as a mechanical one. If a property's make-ready times are slipping or deferred maintenance is stacking up, the answer usually isn't equipment. It's process, training, or staffing. The best candidates in this role walk into a quarterly inspection and already have a read on team morale before they touch a punch list. They know how to run a budget meeting with a Regional Manager without being defensive about maintenance costs, and they know how to explain a capex scope to an owner without losing them in the technical details.

Asheville and the broader western North Carolina region carries a mix of property types and a construction environment where contractor availability can be uneven. Your vendor relationships and your ability to manage project timelines with realistic expectations will matter more here than in a larger metro with deeper contractor pools.

This position is Monday through Friday with standard hours, but genuine on-call availability is part of the job. Disasters and emergencies don't schedule themselves. If you've built your career on technical skill and now want to multiply that skill across a team and a region, this is the role where that transition happens.