Contracts Administrator

Gaines Investment Trust is a family-owned real estate company founded in 1966. Today we own about 8,300 apartments in 32 communities across California, Arizona, Nevada, Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas.

We aren’t a third-party management company: we own everything we manage, and we manage only what we own. We buy good locations for the long term, hold them, take care of the buildings, and take care of our residents. Everyone here is expected to think like an owner, because they work for one.

Our Project Managers find the projects, write the scopes and RFPs, evaluate bids, negotiate pricing, and choose the vendor. From there, the Contracts Administrator takes over and makes sure every project is properly contracted, insured, paid, and closed out.

In this role, you will:

• Prepare contracts, get them signed, and give contractors the documents and instructions they need to start work

• Confirm that vendor insurance and other required documentation are in place

• Process and track change orders

• Review invoices and progress payments for accuracy

• Collect lien releases

• Work with Project Management and Accounting through final payment and project closeout

• 3+ years of experience in contract, construction, project, or office administration, or in a related area such as accounts payable, purchasing, procurement, property management, or legal support

• Familiarity with contracts, vendor invoices, change orders, certificates of insurance, or lien releases (you don’t need deep experience with all of them)

• A sharp eye for detail: you catch discrepancies instead of simply processing what you’re handed

• Strong organization and follow-through across many active projects at once

• Clear, professional communication with vendors, Project Managers, and Accounting

• Proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, and Outlook, and comfort using AI tools such as ChatGPT or Claude

• Ability to work full time in our La Jolla office

$80,000 base salary

Bonus up to 15% of base