Vendor Operations Specialist

Mainstay is the leading market intelligence platform purpose-built for buying, managing, and selling homes in the single-family rental industry. As an AI-native company, they transform complex data into actionable insights to drive confidence in the industry.

Are you ready to shape the future of real estate with AI? Join Mainstay and help redefine possibilities in the single-family rental space. If you thrive on solving complex problems and want to make a tangible impact in a fast-growing industry, apply now!

Role Purpose

Support Mainstay's Renovation as a Service (RaaS) operations as the primary day-to-day owner of vendor and agent communications. The Vendor Operations Specialist ensures work orders move seamlessly from assignment to completion across platforms like Slack, Helpscout, Airtable, and SiteCapture. Responsibilities include:

• Handling routine vendor and agent inquiries directly, including bid timelines, on-site requests, status updates, estimated completion dates (ECD), scope clarifications, and invoice requests.
• Serving as the first point of contact for vendor escalations, such as access issues, utilities, and security problems.
• Managing the RaaS inbox within SLAs, confirming vendor receipt and acceptance of assignments, and monitoring scope statuses.
• Managing scopes of work, work orders, and change orders, including scope edits, partial approvals, and change order approvals/denials.
• Ensuring data accuracy in Airtable and following up on stalled or incomplete work orders.
• Operating within established SOPs and escalating exceptions or blockers promptly.

Core Responsibilities

• Vendor Communication — Monitor internal and external communication channels, routing routine vendor and agent questions across platforms.
• Escalation Management — Handle vendor escalations and internal issues, alerting the Head of Partnerships & Field Operations for reassignment or intervention.
• Helpscout Inbox Management — Confirm vendor assignments, send scope status check-ins, and address vendor questions/issues within SLAs.
• Scopes of Work, Work Orders, and Change Orders — Manage routine scope edits, handle non-routine vendor revisions, and process partial approvals/change orders.
• Data Hygiene — Maintain accuracy and completeness of work order data, ensuring no critical details are missing.
• Process Adherence — Follow established SOPs and escalate exceptions promptly.

Skills & Competencies

• Phone-Fluent — Comfortable handling inbound/outbound calls with vendors and inspectors.
• Detail-Oriented and Organized — Ability to track multiple concurrent work orders across platforms without losing context.
• Strong Written Communication — Clear, concise, and professional in Slack, email, and Helpscout, with experience customizing templates.
• Technical Proficiency — Comfortable learning and operating across multiple software platforms (Airtable, Slack, Helpscout, SiteCapture, etc.).
• Problem-Solving and Resourcefulness — Ability to triage vendor situations in real time and escalate when needed.
• Adaptability — Thrives in fast-paced, evolving operations environments with refining workflows.
• Service Orientation — Treats internal stakeholders and external vendors as customers, ensuring responsiveness and reliability.

Ideal Background

Experience:

• Ability to multitask and prioritize across high-volume, high-velocity work.
• Balancing company priorities while advocating for vendors when appropriate.
• Comfortable working all day in systems.

Preferred:

• 3+ years managing contractors or vendors in residential renovation, property management, SFR, or real estate operations.
• Ability to read scopes, bids, and before/after photos to ensure consistency and fair pricing.
• Prior experience with Airtable, Slack, SiteCapture, and Helpscout.
• Experience with institutional SFR clients.
• Built or run SOPs, playbooks, or vendor scorecards.
• Uses AI tools and automations daily and can specify rules for them.