Trade Specialist

Primary Responsibilities: The Trade Specialist is primarily responsible for serving as the internal Subject Matter Expert for maintenance-related issues for the organization. They are responsible for reviewing bids for appropriate pricing and scope and relaying feedback to the service providers, as necessary. The role includes managing the data for all maintenance bids and carrying out research activities relevant to the market/work order when required. The Trade Specialist will be expected to   

Skills & Competencies:  

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, related field, or equivalent work experience required.  

• 5+ years of experience and/or training; or equivalent combination of education and experience in the fields of maintenance, construction, and/or property management.  

• Experience managing the bid process  

• Knowledge of fair housing and local real estate laws, where applicable.  

• Intermediate knowledge of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint; advanced preferred   

• Demonstrated strong written and verbal communication skills  

• Demonstrated customer service skills in fast fast-paced environment  

• Detail-oriented, with the ability to produce high-quality work in a deadline-oriented environment and an ability to multi-task  

• Ability to prove critical thinking and problem-solving concepts  

• Ability to thrive in a high volume, data entry, and processing work environment, where applicable  

• Experience working in a work schedule environment, including in-office operations, weekends, and holidays, based on business needs.   

Essential Job Functions:  

• Review all bids and change orders  

• Ensure all bid documentation is clear and concise, and ensure the job is invoiced appropriately.  

• Approves the bid budget and maintains oversight of the spending.  

• Set up, populate, update, and publish a bid tracker.  

• Keep accurate historic bid records (outcomes, wins, losses).  

• Manage and maintain budget and have a full understanding of key financial basics of costs, pricing, and budgets and provide sensible financial analysis.  

• Identify process improvements and participate in the selection of realistic, achievable, profitable opportunities and process improvements.  

• Develop and maintain relationships with the vendors or their representatives to develop a clear understanding of the work needed.  

• Audit and manage work performance of vendors and maintenance team completion of work.  

• Provide quality assurance by reviewing approved bids against submitted invoices.  

• Develop and manage the bid timetable, managing inputs and suppliers as appropriate to ensure all key milestones are met.  

• Maintain professional relationships with service providers, develop and coordinate special projects and internal initiatives, and serve as a key resource for the Maintenance team.  

• Other duties, as assigned by supervisor or leadership team.  

Key Metrics & Responsibilities  

• Bids evaluated in a given amount of time  

• Average dollar value of approved bid amounts over time  

• Spend per home  

• Number of vendor touchpoints in a given amount of time