A basement waterproofing inventory specialist keeps sump pumps, drain pipe, liner rolls, wall anchors and crack repair kits counted and ready for install crews and service vans. They build stock before the wet season, send failed pumps back to the maker under warranty, and count shelves and vans on a rotation.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, building finishing contractors · BLS, May 2025
The Inventory Specialist is a crucial role in our organization, responsible for managing and maintaining all inventory related to our basement waterproofing services. This position plays a critical role in ensuring smooth operations by ensuring we have adequate stock levels and materials for our projects.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Order materials, ensuring there is always an adequate stock available for projects.
Log usage of materials and maintain inventory records.
Coordinate with suppliers and negotiate prices.
Work closely with project managers to understand and forecast material requirements.
Conduct regular inventory audits to ensure accuracy.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Daily inventory checks and updating the inventory management system.
Placing orders for materials and coordinating with suppliers.
Logging material usage for each project.
Working closely with the operations team to ensure material availability.
Conducting regular audits and reporting.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Inventory Accuracy: >95%
Stock Outage Rate: <5%
Supplier Lead Time: <2 days
Cost Savings from Supplier Negotiations: >10%
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
High school diploma or equivalent.
At least 2 years of experience in an inventory management role.
Strong organizational and record-keeping skills.
Proficient in inventory management software.
Excellent negotiation and communication skills.
6. Preferred Experience
Experience in the home services or construction industry.
Knowledge of basement waterproofing materials is a plus.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to lift up to 50 lbs.
Comfortable working in a warehouse environment.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Typical work hours are Monday to Friday, 9 am to 5 pm.
Occasional weekend work may be required during peak periods.
9. Compensation and Benefits
The salary range is $45,000 - $55,000 per year, based on experience.
Health, Dental, and Vision benefits.
401k with company match.
Opportunities for performance-based bonuses.
10. Company Culture and Overview
At [INSERT COMPANY NAME HERE], we value teamwork, integrity, and a strong work ethic. We believe in investing in our employees and offer opportunities for growth and advancement. We strive to provide the best basement waterproofing services, and our Inventory Specialists play a key role in achieving this goal.
11. How to Apply
If you meet the above criteria and want to be part of a growth-oriented company focused on customer satisfaction, please send your resume to [INSERT EMAIL HERE] or apply online at [INSERT WEBSITE LINK HERE].
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What a waterproofing inventory specialist keeps track of
Most of the stock is bulky, heavy or sold by length, and the busiest weeks arrive with the rain. Pumps that fail under warranty come back through the same door.
Pumps before the rain
Sump pumps, battery backup units, check valves and alarms move fastest in wet weeks, and suppliers can run short when a storm hits the whole region at once. Build pump and backup stock in the dry months before your usual wet season, from last year's installs and service swaps, month by month.
Rolls, lengths and sets of steel
Drain pipe comes in lengths, and liner comes in rolls that crews cut to fit each crawl space. Count them in the units jobs use, feet of pipe and square feet of liner, and log the partial roll that comes back on the truck. Wall anchors and braces are counted as sets: plate, rod and anchor, or beam and brackets. One missing bracket strands a whole set, so check sets when they arrive and again when they're staged.
Service vans carry what you installed
Warranty and repair calls usually mean swapping a part on a system your crews put in years ago. Pull the install records from the CRM to see which pump, backup and alarm models are out there in each territory, and stock each service van to match. When the install standard moves to a new pump, keep enough of the old parts to cover the service calls that still come in for it.
Failed pumps go back to the maker
When a pump fails under the manufacturer's warranty, the maker may want the unit back, or proof, before it sends a credit or a replacement. Tag each failed pump with the home's address, the install date, the model and the serial number, and shelve it away from new stock until the supplier closes the claim. Track every open claim by supplier, and pass each credit to the bookkeeper with the service ticket number.
Old batteries come back on the vans
Techs swap worn backup batteries and bring the old ones in. EPA lists batteries among its five federal universal wastes, which in general can be stored for a year and shipped without a hazardous waste manifest, if handled so nothing leaks into the environment. Spent lead-acid batteries sent for reclamation can fall under a separate EPA rule, and states run their own programs. Shelve returned batteries apart from new stock, and ask your recycler which rules it follows. Source: EPA: Universal waste (batteries and the federal universal waste rules).
How much basement waterproofing inventory specialists make
The closest BLS group for basement waterproofing inventory specialists is shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks. Shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks who work for building finishing contractors earned a median of $23.23 an hour ($48,310 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s above the $45,260 median for shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks in all industries. About 1,370 of the 816,870 shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks in that survey work for building finishing contractors.
The template offers a salary with room for performance bonuses. If you add one, weigh count accuracy and stock outs as heavily as supplier savings, so squeezing a price never leaves a crew short of pumps.
Building finishing contractors
$48,310$48,310 median Middle half $41,450–$57,520 10th–90th $34,510–$65,780
All industries
$45,260$45,260 median Middle half $38,200–$51,570 10th–90th $34,650–$62,190
$20k$30k$40k$50k$60k$70k$80k
10th–90th percentileMiddle halfMedianAnnual pay, May 2025. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
Annual pay by percentile
Group
10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
Building finishing contractors
$34,510
$41,450
$48,310
$57,520
$65,780
All industries
$34,650
$38,200
$45,260
$51,570
$62,190
BLS doesn’t publish pay for waterproofing contractors on their own. These figures cover building finishing contractors, which include them. Post a real range for your market in the ad.
The pay line in the template above is an example from our Role Blueprint. Set yours from these figures and what local companies pay.
Skills to hire for, and what you can teach
Hire for these
Has run a stockroom where crews or techs pull material every day
Counts pipe by the foot and liner by the square foot without losing partial rolls
Keeps warranty returns tagged and tracked until the credit arrives
Turns last year's install and service records into a pre-season order
Negotiates price, freight and lead time with pump and pipe suppliers
Teach these on the job
Your approved pump, backup and alarm models
Your drain, bracing and crawl space systems and the parts each one uses
Each maker's warranty return steps
Your inventory software and van stock lists
Your battery recycler's storage and pickup rules
Stock lives in the CRM's inventory screens or its own app. The specialist scans parts in and out, orders through each supplier's site, prints tags for warranty returns, and moves pumps, pipe bundles and steel with carts and a pallet jack.
Two of the 6 questions we'd ask, and what a strong answer sounds like. Ask every candidate the same questions, and rate each answer on your own before you compare notes.
Situational · Negotiating with suppliers
Your drain pipe supplier raises prices for the second time this year. How do you respond?
A strong answer: Gets competing quotes for the same spec, discusses volume or terms with the supplier, and brings options to the manager without switching to off-spec material.
Behavioral · Planning for storm season
Tell me about a time you kept crews stocked with pumps and battery backups through a stretch of heavy storms.
A strong answer: Built stock of pumps, battery backups and pipe ahead of the season from usage and lead times, staged emergency pump kits, warned managers early about shortages, and can show that few jobs waited on parts.
Measure a full year before you lock targets, since wet months empty the pump shelf and dry months fill it back up.
Inventory Accuracy
Check shelves and vans against the system: pumps and batteries by the unit, pipe by the foot, liner by the square foot, steel by the complete set.
Stock Outage Rate
Jobs or service calls that waited on a part, divided by all jobs and calls that month. Crew leads and techs flag each wait the day it happens, while the cause is clear.
Supplier Lead Time
Count the days between placing an order and unloading it, supplier by supplier. Give pumps, pipe and steel their own lines, and watch how the pump line stretches in wet weeks.
Cost Savings from Supplier Negotiations
This year's price for the same items against last year's, weighted by how many you bought. Add warranty credits recovered and freight saved by ordering ahead of the season.
Career path
Apprentice / helperLearns the parts by carrying them into basements and crawl spaces.
Inventory specialistKeeps pumps, pipe, liner and steel counted, ordered and ready.
Warehouse managerRuns the warehouse and its staff, and has the yard ready for storm weeks.
Operations managerPlans crews, trucks and job materials across the company.
Which waterproofing materials should be ordered per job instead of stocked?
Stock what nearly every job uses: drain pipe, pits, your standard pumps, check valves, crack repair kits and liner in your usual thickness. Order per job what only some jobs need, such as wall beams cut to one basement's height, an extra-large dehumidifier or a pump outside your usual models. Check each special order against the signed proposal when it arrives, before the crew's start date is confirmed.
How much does a basement waterproofing inventory specialist make?
Shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks who work for building finishing contractors earned a median of $23.23 an hour ($48,310 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $41,450 and $57,520 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and overtime.
What does the template's lifting line mean for this job?
Up to 50 pounds and a warehouse setting, the template says. Here that means unloading boxed pumps, carrying bundles of pipe, stacking bags of concrete mix and gravel, and moving steel braces with a cart or a second person. If something you stock weighs more, say how it's moved. Change those lines if your stockroom works differently, and offer reasonable accommodation.
The template mentions project managers. Who is that at a waterproofing company?
This company's lineup has no project manager, so read it as whoever plans each job's materials: usually the operations manager, or the production manager where you have one. They decide what each job type takes and own the truck load lists. The specialist orders against the install calendar and warns them when a big job, such as a full perimeter drain with bracing, will empty a bin.
How much pump stock should a waterproofing company carry?
Enough for the installs on the calendar plus your busiest storm week of service swaps last year, by model, with the supplier's lead time added. Spare backup batteries need the most care: follow the maker's storage and recharge instructions, and use the oldest stock first so nothing sits on the shelf until it's weak.
