What does a Community Association Manager do?

A community association manager has the job of managing the common grounds of a condominium community, planned neighborhood, or similar community. A person with this job works on behalf of a community association, helping to ensure the community remains a safe, pleasant place to live for its members. His duties typically range from caring for the grounds of the community and common buildings to seeing that community rules and regulations are enforced. He usually handles financial aspects of managing a community association as well, ensuring that member dues are collected and used appropriately.

Community association managers work for community associations, which are entities that exist to represent their members. Often, community association members are residents or owners of condominium properties, but they can consist of other types of residents too. For example, a community association may represent those living or owning property in planned neighborhoods and other groups of residences that use common grounds. People in this field may also manage common property held by cooperatives.

A large part of the job a community association manager has is seeing to the maintenance of the common grounds. This often involves managing the landscaping and the upkeep and cleaning of pools, playgrounds, parks, and parking lots or garages the community members are allowed to use. He may also manage the maintenance of such things as club houses, recreational rooms, fitness facilities, and even golf courses.

An individual who works as a community association manager typically handles financial matters for a community as well. For example, a person with this job is often responsible for preparing budgets for the community and creating and providing financial statements. He may also negotiate with contractors who provide services for the community. He typically collects or manages the collection of the fees members of the community are required to pay to the association. A person in this field also typically handle complaints the community members may have, responding to them and working to create satisfactory solutions.

The requirements a person must meet to land a job as a community association manager may vary from place to place and employer to employer. In general, a person interested in this field will need at least a high school diploma or its equivalent. Many community associations prefer to hire those who’ve earned bachelor’s or master’s degrees in a related field such as business management, however. Additionally, many community associations are more likely to hire individuals who have management experience, especially if that experience is in property management.