Overview

Job Description: Job Description Horning Management Company is seeking an experienced Collections & Legal Administration Manager to lead our centralized collections and legal administration function across a multifamily portfolio of 26 communities and approximately 4,200 units throughout the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia. Reporting to the Vice President of Property Management, this highly visible role combines collections strategy, multifamily operations, legal administration, negotiation, and portfolio analytics. The Manager will oversee the collections lifecycle, from early-stage delinquency and payment arrangements through legal escalation, court proceedings, settlements, and possession. This position will serve as Horning's primary liaison with outside landlord-tenant counsel and will partner closely with Property Management, Accounting, Compliance, Asset Management, and Executive Leadership. We're looking for someone who can do more than administer a process. The right candidate will bring sound judgment, create accountability, identify opportunities to improve portfolio performance, and build a consistent and effective collections operation across multiple jurisdictions. This is an administrative leadership position. The Manager works at the direction of licensed outside counsel on legal matters and does not provide legal advice.What You'll Do Lead Portfolio Collections StrategyDevelop and manage company-wide strategies to reduce delinquency and bad debt and improve cash flow.Monitor portfolio aging and delinquency trends and identify accounts requiring intervention.Determine when delinquent accounts should escalate to legal action based on payment history, financial impact, program requirements, and other relevant factors.Direct pre-legal collection efforts in partnership with Regional Property Managers and Property Managers.Negotiate and approve payment plans, settlements, and move-out agreements within established authority limits.Recommend write-offs and escalate matters requiring additional approval. Manage Legal Collections AdministrationOversee statutory notice and filing processes across communities in DC, Maryland, and Virginia.Ensure notices, supporting documentation, and filing packages are timely, accurate, and compliant with jurisdictional requirements and Company standards.Maintain litigation-ready documentation, including ledgers, notices, and supporting records.Track court dates, hearings, judgments, continuances, writs, possession actions, and other critical deadlines.Coordinate court appearances, property witnesses, eviction scheduling, and case-related communications with stalled or at-risk matters and work with counsel to determine appropriate next steps. Manage Outside Counsel and VendorsServe as Horning's primary point of contact for outside landlord-tenant counsel.Assign matters among approved law firms based on jurisdiction, case type, and performance.Monitor attorney responsiveness, turnaround times, outcomes, and billing.Review legal invoices and help evaluate outside counsel performance.Manage relationships with collections-related vendors, including process servers, collection agencies, and other service providers. Drive Settlements and RecoveryNegotiate and administer settlement agreements, payment plans, and move-out agreements within established authority.Monitor compliance with settlement terms and determine when additional escalation is necessary.Coordinate dismissals when matters are resolved.Identify judgment recovery opportunities and coordinate post-judgment collection efforts with counsel and outside agencies. Create Visibility Through DataDevelop and maintain centralized dashboards covering collections and active legal matters across the portfolio.Track performance measures such as delinquency, bad debt, filing timeliness, court outcomes, days to possession, settlement compliance, and attorney performance.Prepare recurring reporting and analysis for Executive Leadersh