Operational Compliance Manager

The Role

Darwin Homes is seeking an Operational Compliance Manager to lead operational compliance across our property management platform and serve as the primary operational liaison for legal and compliance matters. This is a hands-on role with substantial independent responsibility for assessing risk, establishing practical compliance systems, and ensuring operating practices align with applicable laws, regulations, policies, contractual obligations, and internal standards.

You will work directly across Darwin's operations, reviewing workflows, resident interactions, notices, transactions, system processes, documentation, complaints, disputes, and exceptions to identify areas of potential compliance or legal exposure and ensure appropriate controls and remediation are in place.

This role will partner closely with Pagaya Legal and Compliance, internal legal support, outside counsel, and Darwin leadership. The Manager must exercise sound judgment about when legal review or specialized guidance is necessary, present complete and objective information, and translate counsel's guidance into clear operational actions.

Success means building a consistent, documented operating environment in which material risks are proactively identified and appropriately escalated, controls are implemented and tested, and corrective actions are tracked through verified completion. Teams understand the standards that apply to their work and can demonstrate that learning is reflected in daily practice.

Work Environment and Independent Accountability

Operate in a remote, cross-functional environment with evolving processes, competing priorities, and requirements that vary across markets. Independently organize work, identify gaps without waiting for direction, and build structure where standards or processes are not yet established.

Own the quality and timeliness of assessments, recommendations, documentation, escalation, and remediation tracking. Exercise discretion within delegated authority and established policies, seek legal interpretation from counsel when needed, and obtain leadership decisions or approvals where required. Partner with operational leaders who remain accountable for execution within their teams.

Communicate proactively and professionally across all operational teams. Establish productive working relationships, explain expectations and the reasons behind them, address disagreement constructively, and drive progress through collaboration and influence.

Duties:

• Lead operational compliance across Darwin's property management lifecycle, including leasing, resident management, Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) programs, property operations, maintenance, notices, evictions, registrations, inspections, and HOA and local jurisdiction requirements.
• Develop a deep understanding of Darwin's workflows and assess whether actual operating practices align with applicable laws and regulations, company policies, contractual obligations, and Pagaya compliance standards.
• Develop and maintain compliance standards, operating procedures, review checklists, decision criteria, and escalation guidelines. Translate requirements and counsel’s guidance into usable tools and update them as operations or requirements change.
• Design and maintain a risk-based monitoring and testing program, including assessment criteria, review methods, sampling approaches, documentation standards, and thresholds for findings and escalation.
• Identify compliance gaps and determine whether individual issues represent isolated events or broader systemic risks, including the potential scope of impacted residents, properties, markets, or processes.
• Lead root-cause analysis and partner with operational leaders to develop, implement, and validate corrective actions and preventative controls.
• Monitor complaints, disputes, violations, exceptions, litigation, and other indicators to identify emerging compliance and legal risks, trends, and systemic issues.
• Serve as Darwin’s primary operational liaison to Pagaya Legal and Compliance, internal legal support, and outside counsel. Assess when matters require legal involvement based on complexity, uncertainty, potential exposure, urgency, or established escalation criteria; coordinate fact gathering, focused questions, response deadlines, and implementation of guidance.
• Partner with Operations, Product, and Technology to embed effective compliance controls into workflows, systems, and operating processes and support regulatory inquiries, audits, and investigations.
• Design and implement role-based training and learning methods, including onboarding, scenario-based learning, job aids, refresher training, and targeted coaching. Assess understanding and effectiveness through knowledge checks, observation, operational reviews, and trends in recurring findings; adjust learning approaches accordingly.
• Build and maintain practical systems for compliance intake, risk assessment, issue tracking, documentation, escalation, and resolution. Establish clear ownership and deadlines, maintain supporting evidence, and validate corrective actions before closing findings.
• Provide clear, timely reporting to Executive Leadership on material risks, findings, control effectiveness, overdue actions, and emerging concerns, with practical recommendations and decisions needed.

Requirements

• 5+ years of experience in property management compliance, operational compliance, risk, controls, audit, legal operations, or a related field.
• Strong knowledge of residential property management operations and applicable Fair Housing, landlord-tenant, habitability, accessibility/ADA, privacy, and eviction/notice requirements.
• Experience evaluating operational processes and conducting compliance monitoring, testing, investigations, audits, or similar reviews.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to identify patterns, assess systemic risk, and translate requirements into practical operational controls.
• Demonstrated experience building or improving compliance programs, systems, standards, assessment criteria, and controls in an evolving operational environment.
• Experience designing and delivering practical training, selecting appropriate learning methods, and evaluating whether employees can apply requirements in their work.
• Experience collaborating directly with internal legal teams and outside counsel, assessing when legal support is necessary, preparing organized facts and questions, and implementing legal guidance in operational processes.
• Sound judgment and demonstrated ability to work independently, prioritize competing risks, make recommendations within delegated authority, and recognize when leadership or legal guidance is needed.
• Strong, professional written and verbal communication, with the ability to explain complex requirements clearly, document objective findings, handle sensitive information with discretion, and adapt communication to operational teams, counsel, and executives.
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate across operational teams, Legal, Compliance, Product, Technology, and senior leadership; influence without direct authority; constructively challenge practices; and remain accountable for follow-through.
• Bachelor's degree preferred.

Accommodation: Darwin Homes, Inc & Adoor Property Management Inc is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities and ensuring accessibility in the workplace. If you require accommodation due to a disability to perform the essential functions of the job, please inform us at the time of application. 

Darwin Homes, Inc & Adoor Property Management Inc is an equal opportunity employer and makes employment decisions based on merit. We prohibit discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), national origin, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws. Darwin Homes, Inc complies with all applicable federal, state, and local laws regarding equal employment opportunity and strives to create a diverse and inclusive work environment for all employees.