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(Google Doc of Job Description)

TITLE: General Manager

Hours: Average 40 hrs/week, including evenings or weekends about 2 – 5 times per month

Compensation: full-time (40 hrs/wk), starting at $28/hr with health benefits

To apply: Please email a resume and cover letter to hiring@schadavis.org

The General Manager supports the collective decision-making processes of our democratically run organization while ensuring that the nonprofit is financially healthy, in compliance with legal requirements, and working toward our strategic plan goals. The General Manager is an employee of the resident-lead board of directors.  The GM provides leadership in fulfilling the day-to-day operations of the nonprofit, including management of maintenance and assets, record-keeping, as well as coordinating work with other staff.

Solar Community Housing Association (SCHA) is a Davis-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that provides cooperative housing for low-income people. SCHA is governed by residents, who serve as representatives on the board of directors and on committees. SCHA is governed through consensus-based decision making and SCHA staff are empowered to support members throughout the decision making process.

SCHA is committed to providing low-income cooperative housing that works to confront and critique systems of oppression through ecological awareness, inclusive self-governance and alternative economic models. Our co-ops strive to be a safe(r) and accessible space for people with marginalized identities, while simultaneously creating space to unlearn oppressive behaviors.

SCHA houses 88-90 co-op residents between six co-op houses with 7-15 residents each and “The Domes” – a co-housing community of 26 residents housed in 13 two-bedroom dome homes. SCHA leases three of the houses (the Tri Co-ops) and the Domes from UC Davis, and owns the three off-campus houses.

The General Manager will work closely with the Member Services Manager, Project Manager, Land Stewardship Coordinator, and Bookkeeper. All staff in management positions report directly to SCHA’s board of directors. While the General Manager reviews time cards and collaborates on work plans for part-time staff, the GM works with other management staff as peers. Most decisions are made by members with staff attending member, board, and committee meetings largely in an advisory capacity.

Non-Profit Administration

  • Coordinate staff meetings at least twice per month (currently meeting twice per week)
  • Meet with other staff to collaborate on special projects, as needed
  • Attend monthly staff meetings with the SCHA President
  • Support with and/or delegate coordination of fundraising events
  • Write grant proposals 
  • Maintain personnel files
  • Handle paperwork related to hiring, job changes, and termination
  • Collaborate with the President on performance reviews and strengthening performance
  • Report HR matters to the SCHA Board
  • Administer health insurance benefits
  • Suggest, update, distribute, and implement bylaw and policy changes
  • Ensure that staff evaluations are implemented each year with co-op resident input
  • Ensure that the Member Services Manager and General Manager attend annual fair housing trainings 
  • Respond to and maintain records of mail and email correspondence; serve as contact point person for external organizations

Cooperative leadership & education 

  • Communicate effectively in-person and in writing with SCHA members, the SCHA Board, alumni, and community and professional networks of the organization
  • Maintain partnerships with allied organizations, such as NASCO
  • Facilitate the training of board members, interns, and house bookkeepers

Financial and Asset Management 

  • Support the Finance Committee’s process for rent assistance programs
  • Prepare and present financial reports for the board in collaboration with the Bookkeeper and Treasurer
  • Work with SCHA’s Bookkeeper to process payments for employees and independent contractors, and reimbursements for community-related expenses
  • Prepare the Annual Budget for board approval, in collaboration with the Treasurer and Bookkeeper
  • Implement approved budgets
  • Help prepare end-of-year financials in collaboration with the Bookkeeper
  • Send tax forms from the CPA to the IRS and the bank
  • Coordinate the changing of check-signers on the SCHA bank accounts
  • Oversee the reporting requirements and financial administration of grant funding
  • Maintain adequate insurance coverage for property, liability, workers compensation
  • Support residents in maintaining house bookkeeping systems in collaboration with the Bookkeeper
  • Complete annual Affordable Housing Monitoring Packet from the City of Davis for Corner Co-op in collaboration with the Leasing Manager

Maintenance & Grounds Support 

  • Attend Maintenance Committee meetings at least twice per month
  • Support and advise the Maintenance Committee in the prioritization of projects and planning for preventative maintenance, in collaboration with the Project Manager
  • Advise the SCHA Maintenance Officer and Treasurer on annual maintenance budget and reserve funding, in collaboration with the Bookkeeper
  • Address habitability issues as they arise through timely communication with residents and hiring, as needed  
  • Maintain records of major maintenance projects
  • Ensure that contractors hired are licensed and insured, and that certificates of additional insured are obtained, when needed

Nonprofit Board of Directors Support 

  • Attend monthly board meetings
  • Attend Governance, Finance, Maintenance and Basic Operations Plan Committee meetings
  • Give notice of board meetings to all SCHA members, if the Secretary has not done so 48 hours before the meeting
  • Ensure that staff take board meeting minutes and that minutes are properly formatted, filed, and accessible to members
  • Ensure that committee meeting notes are filed and accessible to members
  • Assist in the coordination of committee meetings, if needed
  • Advise the board on funding and new proposals
  • Flag incomplete action items
  • Support the board with updating and implementing SCHA’s strategic plan
  • Collaborate with the SCHA Secretary on the Annual Report
  • Advise the President, Governance Committee, and Board on staffing decisions
  • Maintain board orientation materials and policy manuals

Essential skills/experience

  • Non-profit/business administration
    • Drafting policies, guidelines, and/or procedures
    • Supervision and/or management
    • Familiarity with business financials
    • Excellent organizational skills
    • Record keeping
  • Collaborative
    • Drafting agendas and facilitating meetings
    • Living in, working with/for, or otherwise participating in cooperatives, nonprofits, or democratically run organizations
    • Commitment to professional communication, fair decision making, and an ongoing willingness to learn
    • Conflict management

We encourage you to apply even if you do not have all of the preferred skills or experience listed below. There are opportunities to learn on the job with the support of other staff! 

Preferred skills/experience 

  • Non-profit/business administration
    • Financial management
    • Human resources 
  • Collaborative
    • Community organizing
    • Consensus-based decision-making groups
    • Working with a board of directors
    • Working with students
    • Mediation in a professional context
  • Technological 
    • Google Suites for Nonprofits
    • QuickBooks

SCHA believes that all people are entitled to equal employment opportunity. SCHA does not discriminate against employees or applicants on the basis of age, ancestry, color, disability (mental and physical), exercising the right to family care and medical leave, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, military or veteran status, national origin, political affiliation, race, religious creed, sex (includes pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding and related medical conditions), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.