Branch President

Job Description

Job Description

Branch President
RowCal Property Management
Location: Chicagoland, Illinois

Direct professional experience in HOA or community association management is required.

Position Summary

RowCal is seeking an experienced community association management leader to serve as its senior community-facing executive in the Chicagoland market. This position requires direct professional experience within the HOA or community association management industry, including working with volunteer boards, Community Managers, and association service partners.

Unlike a traditional branch leadership role, this position does not oversee the daily administrative operations of an office or routine community escalations. Instead, the Branch President spends significant time in the communities RowCal serves, working directly with boards, Community Managers, vendors, and internal experts. Compensation, Benefits and Support

Base Salary: $150,000 to $180,000

Commission Opportunity: Commission potential is available. Additional details will be provided during the interview process.

Benefits: Health, dental and vision insurance, paid time off, paid holidays and a 401(k) plan.

Time Allocation

50% | Community and Vendor Engagement
Property walks, board and special meetings, project reviews, vendor relationships, and direct client engagement.

30% | Advancing Opportunities
Coordinating capital project reporting, engaging internal experts, scheduling meetings and site visits, and moving projects toward their next decision point.

20% | Growth and Retention
Strengthening high-value client relationships, addressing retention risks, expanding RowCal’s services within existing communities, and supporting new business opportunities.

This role requires daily travel throughout the Chicagoland area and regular participation in board meetings, town halls, property walks, project presentations, and other community meetings. Many board and special meetings begin around 6:00 p.m.

Key Responsibilities

Community and Board Leadership

• Build trusted, long-term relationships with board members, community leaders, and RowCal’s highest-value clients.
• Participate in board meetings, special meetings, town halls, property walks, and project reviews.
• Help volunteer boards understand community needs, evaluate available options, and confidently make informed decisions.
• Present recommendations persuasively while keeping boards, Community Managers, vendors, and internal teams aligned around next steps.
• Educate communities on capital improvements as responsible stewardship and partner with association attorneys and internal leaders to identify lawful, defensible paths forward.

Capital Project Development

• Identify deferred maintenance, capital needs, and community improvement opportunities through reserve studies, professional site inspections, and known board and community priorities.
• Advance opportunities through RowCal’s established reporting process while maintaining an accurate pipeline in the company’s CRM.
• Engage internal and external experts to develop project scopes, preliminary pricing, funding options, and implementation plans.
• Present board-ready recommendations explaining current conditions, available solutions, anticipated costs, funding strategies, and required decisions.
• Maintain momentum between inspections, meetings, presentations, and decision points so viable projects progress toward approval, funding, and execution.

RowCal Services and Vendor Partnerships

• Help boards understand and evaluate RowCal’s Project Management, Construction and Maintenance, Association Insurance, banking, lending, and vendor-partner solutions.
• Connect communities with the services, experts, and partners best suited to their needs through a consultative, community-first approach.
• Help communities evaluate funding strategies, including loans, dues increases, reserve funding, and special assessments.
• Build relationships with qualified local and regional vendors and partner with them during site reviews, planning, pricing, presentations, and project execution.
• Promote competitive bidding, transparency, service quality, and accountability while addressing vendor issues that could affect the client experience or project outcome.

Client Retention and Market Growth

• Identify client concerns and retention risks before they become formal escalations or termination threats.
• Partner with Community Management leadership on strategies that strengthen and retain high-value client relationships.
• Expand existing relationships by identifying additional services that can meaningfully benefit each community.
• Support organic growth and qualified new-business opportunities through prospect property walks, board presentations, and other sales activities.
• Represent RowCal at industry events, community meetings, and local relationship-building opportunities that support the company’s market strategy.

Financial and Business Performance

• Understand the Chicagoland market’s financial performance and the factors influencing revenue, profitability, client retention, and service adoption.
• Use the local performance scorecard to prioritize time, resources, and high-value opportunities.
• Maintain visibility into capital projects, service opportunities, retention risks, vendor engagement, and market-growth activity.
• Partner with RowCal’s financial and operational leaders to understand the local P&L and improve business results.
• Protect and grow the local book of business through visible leadership and strong follow-through.

Cross-Functional Leadership

The Branch President works closely with Office Management Directors, Community Managers, national Community Management leadership, Project Management and Construction teams, Insurance and Banking experts, Vendor Partnership leadership, Finance and Operations leaders, community association attorneys, and RowCal’s National Council of experts.

What This Role Does Not Own

The Branch President is not the daily administrator of the local office or the primary owner of routine community management issues, minor customer escalations, or administrative reporting. Those responsibilities remain with the appropriate Office Management Director, Community Manager, national support leader, or subject-matter expert, allowing the Branch President to focus on community relationships, capital opportunities, retention, and growth.

What You’ll Bring

• Direct professional leadership experience working within an HOA or community association management company, or directly managing community associations, is required.
• Experience working directly with volunteer HOA or condominium boards.
• Experience leading, supporting, or partnering closely with Community Association Managers.
• Demonstrated understanding of association budgets, reserve studies, capital planning, assessments, vendor management, governing documents, and board decision-making.
• Experience helping boards evaluate and approve significant financial, operational, or capital recommendations.
• Established credibility within the community association management industry.
• Strong presentation, meeting facilitation, and public-speaking skills, with the ability to explain complex projects, financial considerations, and available options clearly.
• Comfort reviewing performance scorecards, business metrics, budgets, and P&L information and using that information to guide decisions.
• Experience using CRM software, such as Salesforce, to document activity, progress, and outcomes.
• Strong organization and self-direction, with the ability to coordinate internal experts and maintain momentum across multiple long-term opportunities.

Preferred Qualifications

• CMCA, AMS, or PCAM credential.
• Participation in CAI or another community association industry organization.
• Experience with capital-project development, association loans, reserve funding, dues increases, or special assessments.
• Experience expanding services and strengthening client retention within an HOA management company.

Please Note: Candidates whose experience is limited to commercial real estate, multifamily property management, construction, facilities, hospitality, general operations, or corporate sales without direct professional HOA or community association management experience will not meet the minimum requirements for this position.

What Success Looks Like

During the first 12 to 18 months, the successful Branch President will have:

• Built strong relationships with RowCal’s highest-value Chicagoland communities, vendor partners, and internal teams.
• Established a healthy pipeline of capital opportunities advancing through RowCal’s reporting and decision-making process.
• Increased adoption of RowCal’s Project Management, Construction, Insurance, Banking, lending, and preferred-vendor solutions.
• Strengthened client retention, community satisfaction, vendor engagement, and relationship health across the local market.
• Contributed measurable growth in projects identified, advanced, approved, sold, funded, and completed through RowCal’s services.
• Supported improvement in new business, revenue, profitability, and the overall strength of the Chicagoland market.

How You Lead 

You are an experienced community association leader who understands the realities of supporting Community Managers, earning the confidence of volunteer boards, and moving complex community decisions forward. You are comfortable making thoughtful risk decisions, setting direction when every detail is not yet defined, and responding quickly as priorities change. Your communication is factual, direct, and persuasive, allowing you to establish credibility and help others make informed decisions.

You focus on meaningful goals and visible progress. You delegate effectively, bring structure to complex opportunities, and monitor the processes needed to keep work moving without becoming consumed by administrative detail. You are energized by community engagement, relationship development, new projects, and measurable business results.

Why RowCal

RowCal is building a modern, scalable approach to community association management grounded in trust, innovation, fun, and growth. The Branch President will have the opportunity to challenge traditional industry expectations, work directly with the communities RowCal serves, and help boards turn important needs into meaningful improvements.