The Amherst Group of companies comprise of leading real estate investment and advisory firms with a mission to transform the way real estate is owned, financed and managed. Amherst leverages its proprietary data, analytics, technology, and decades of experience to seek solutions for a fragmented, slow-to-evolve real estate ecosystem and to materially improve the experience for residents, buyers, sellers, communities, and investors. Today Amherst has over 1000 employees and $14.1 billion in assets under management.

Over the past decade, Amherst has scaled its platform to become one of the largest operators of single-family assets and has acquired, renovated, and leased more than 46,000 homes across 32 markets in the U.S. The firm delivers customized, stabilized cash-flowing portfolios of assets to its investors, wrapped in all the ongoing services required to manage, own, and finance the asset including property management, portfolio management, and a full capital markets team. In addition to its single-family rental platform, Amherst’s debt business pursues two distinct credit strategies in mortgage-backed securities and commercial real estate lending. Over its 25-year history, Amherst has developed a deep bench of research and technology talent, and leverages data and analytics at every stage in the asset lifecycle to improve operations and preserve long-term value for our investors and the more than 188,000 residents the firm has served.

Position: Full-Time

Reports to: Managing Director, External Affairs and Impact Strategies

Location: Austin, TX

Position Overview:

Main Street Renewal (MSR) is the property manager with The Amherst Group. The Client Assessment, Resources, Empowerment, and Support (CARES) supports MSR residents by promoting financial and housing stability through evidenced-based practices, creating more sustainable communities by empowering residents to achieve greater housing stability. Founded in the summer of 2017, CARES is the realization of a groundbreaking partnership with the University of Texas, Steve Hicks School of Social Work to create an industry first program and initiative, designed to implement social work skills and theories into the day-to-day operations of residential property management. The mission of CARES, a team within the Amherst External Affairs and Impact Strategies team, is to empower and educate residents to achieve greater housing stability through resource sharing, advocacy, and social emotional support.

MSR CARES is currently seeking a Vice President who will be the day to day manager of the MSR CARES team. Reporting to the Managing Director of External Affairs and Impact Strategies. The CARES Program VP will be responsible for leading day to day management and oversight of delivery of services to Main Street Renewal (MSR) clients through the CARES team of program supervisors, social workers, social work interns, program specialists, and housing counselors. This role will also inform MSR policies including those related to resident performance and other aspects of resident experience. A key facet of this role will also be the continuous improvement and refinement of operational and developmental aspects of the CARES team with a lens towards enhancement and growth of the impact of the team on operations of The Amherst Group as well as personal and professional growth of individual team members, deepening their knowledge of The Amherst Group residential housing development and operations arms.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Manage and supervise a team of social work supervisors and direct client management specialists including social workers, social work interns, service coordinators, housing counselors and support personnel.
• Maintain alignment of resident support and advocacy with needs and responsibilities of the company
• Collaborate with divisions across Amherst including MSR Resident Performance and Leasing, Asset Management, Portfolio Management, Investor Relations, Marketing and Legal to advance CARES objectives
• Ownership and oversight of CARES systems, processes and data including using Salesforce, UJet, Yardi, development of process flows and policy documents
• Review and refine systems and processes to ensure efficacy and efficiency to ensure clear and consistent service delivery and communication both internally and externally
• Be the brand ambassador for the CARES program both internally and externally including coordination of communications and training
• Maintain awareness of best practices in social work and housing counseling and availability of resources including from and through governmental entities.
• Lead budget planning, unit administration, data gathering, maintenance and analytics and program development for CARES
• Oversee program evaluation and operational data needs to optimize program operations and delivery
• Responsible for maintaining compliance with any social work requirements including licensure (where applicable) and mandatory reporting
• Play a key role in hiring and retention of the team members
• Develop, refine and implement a strategic plan to scale the CARES program

What you’ll need to have:

• A degree from an accredited college or university with major course work in Sociology, Psychology, Human Ecology, Economics, Social Work, Law or related fields
• Six to ten years’ experience managing teams within complex organizations
• Compassion, empathy and demonstrated experience working independently with a collaborative and team-oriented spirit
• Effective oral and/or written communication skills
• High social and emotional intelligence
• Skill in developing and maintaining working relationships with colleagues, social service programs and counseling organizations
• Ability to interact with all stakeholders in a strength-based, solution-focused manner
• Experience working in and within large, complex, diversified organizations with a strong preference for experience working within or with financial services organizations including loan servicers strongly preferred
• Strong presentation and analytical skills using Microsoft Office suite
• Experience in housing, real estate, credit counseling, collections, property management, negotiated settlement, foreclosure or eviction avoidance and/or law

Preferred but not required:

• Licensed Master Social Worker
• Bilingual proficiency

​Amherst is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer and committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, physical or mental disability, genetic information or veteran status, and encourage all applicants to apply.