A basement waterproofing operations manager runs the daily crew schedule: which crew takes which drain, wall or crawl space job, what goes on each truck, and who heads out when pumps fail in a storm. They check finished work and keep jobs inside the crew days that were sold.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, building finishing contractors · BLS, May 2025
The Operations Manager plays a vital role in our basement waterproofing services, ensuring optimal performance and customer satisfaction. By effectively scheduling crews, organizing materials, and allocating resources, the Operations Manager contributes to the overall growth and success of the company.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Oversee daily operations and ensure work is completed on time and within budget.
Schedule crews and allocate resources for jobs.
Manage inventory and ensure materials are readily available for work crews.
Ensure quality control and customer satisfaction.
Handle operational issues and resolve them in a timely manner.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Scheduling and overseeing crews.
Organizing materials and resources.
Inspecting and approving completed work.
Handling customer complaints and resolving them promptly.
Ensuring safety standards are adhered to at all times.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Crew Utilization Rate: >80%
Customer Satisfaction Rating: >4.8 stars
Project Completion Rate: 100%
Cost Efficiency: Reduce operational costs by 10%
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
High School Diploma or equivalent.
Minimum 5 years of experience in a similar role.
Excellent leadership and organization skills.
Strong understanding of basement waterproofing techniques.
Excellent communication and customer service skills.
6. Preferred Experience
Previous experience in the basement waterproofing industry.
Experience with inventory management and resource allocation.
Knowledge of safety standards in the construction industry.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to lift up to 50 pounds.
Comfortable working in confined spaces.
Ability to stand or walk for long periods.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Typical work hours are Monday through Friday, 8 am to 5 pm.
Some weekend or evening work may be required during busy periods.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Salary range: $60,000 - $80,000 per year.
Performance-based bonuses.
Health, Dental, and Vision Insurance.
401k retirement plan.
10. Company Culture and Overview
We believe in fostering a growth-oriented culture where each individual has the opportunity to excel and contribute to our mission. We value our employees, encouraging their professional development and rewarding their achievements. Our commitment to customer satisfaction is at the heart of everything we do.
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 operations manager handles each day
Every job is a few days of heavy, dusty work in someone's home, and the plan can change overnight when it rains.
Storm nights set the morning
Heavy rain brings calls from customers whose pump stopped or whose power went out. In wet weeks the operations manager keeps a service tech or crew free for those calls, sorts them by how much water is on the floor, and decides which installs slide a day. A flooded finished basement goes ahead of a new drain that can start tomorrow.
The truck has to leave complete
A drain job needs pipe, gravel, a pit, the pump, a check valve, discharge pipe and bags of concrete. A crawl space job needs rolls of liner, tape and often a dehumidifier. One missing part can idle a crew for hours. The operations manager owns the load list for each job type, and plans where broken concrete and dirt go: a dump trailer, a dumpster or a recycler.
Sold feet become crew days
Whether reps price drains by the foot of wall, bracing by the beam or encapsulation by the square foot, the operations manager turns each contract into crew days and books it. A thick slab, a finished wall to remove or a long carry from the driveway adds time, and the schedule should show it before the crew falls behind.
Crews built for the work
A perimeter drain, a wall brace and a crawl space liner call for different skills. Who does which work is the operations manager's call, and slow weeks are for cross-training, so one sick call doesn't stall every crawl space job. In cold months, plan outside digging, such as wall anchors, around frozen ground.
How much basement waterproofing operations managers make
The closest BLS group for basement waterproofing operations managers is general and operations managers. General and operations managers who work for building finishing contractors earned a median of $99,290 a year ($47.73 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s below the $105,770 median for general and operations managers in all industries. About 27,890 of the 3,503,020 general and operations managers in that survey work for building finishing contractors.
Salary with performance bonuses, as the template says. BLS reports general and operations managers together, here at building finishing contractors, the group BLS files waterproofing under, so the median runs above the template's range for this job.
Building finishing contractors
$99,290$99,290 median Middle half $69,950–$143,010 10th–90th $47,800–$203,160
All industries
$105,770$105,770 median Middle half $72,320–$167,280 10th–90th $50,090–$253,390
$0k$50k$100k$150k$200k$250k$300k
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
$47,800
$69,950
$99,290
$143,010
$203,160
All industries
$50,090
$72,320
$105,770
$167,280
$253,390
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 or scheduled install crews in waterproofing, foundation repair or concrete work
Turns a signed contract into crew days and a load list without help
Reworks a full schedule after a storm and tells customers early
Spots what's wrong with a finished drain, brace or liner
Holds crews to the company's dust and safety rules every day
Teach these on the job
Your systems, brands and install specs
Your scheduling and service ticket screens
Disposal and recycling options near you
Your rules for warranty visits
Upkeep schedules for your trucks, trailers and saws
The schedule and service tickets usually sit in the CRM or a field service app, with a calendar for each crew. Add a material count for the warehouse, truck GPS, and the crew photos that show where each job stands.
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 · Pump failure emergencies
A customer whose system you installed last year calls during a storm: the pump stopped and water is rising. What do you do?
A strong answer: Walks them through checking power and the float without stepping into water near outlets, dispatches the nearest tech with a spare pump, and starts the warranty process.
Behavioral · Turning complaints into standards
Tell me about a customer complaint that made you change how every crew starts or finishes a basement job.
A strong answer: Names the complaint, such as dust through the house or no final walk-through, made it right with that customer, set a standard like a containment checklist or walk-through, and checked it on later jobs.
Go over these weekly with crew leads, and choose targets once a full year of job records is in.
Crew Utilization Rate
Crew hours on jobs against paid crew hours, each week, from time cards. Put loading, driving and dump runs on their own lines, since that's where a schedule loses time.
Customer Satisfaction Rating
Each crew's review and survey scores each month, with comments on dust, cleanup and timing. Phone each unhappy customer by the next working day and note the cause.
Project Completion Rate
The share of the week's jobs finished in the crew days booked. Note whether each slip came from the schedule, a missing part, the homeowner or a storm.
Cost Efficiency
Labor, materials, disposal and fuel per job, by job type, against last year. Look for patterns, such as one crew using more gravel and concrete or overtime climbing after storms.
Career path
Lead installerLeads a crew on the job and sees how installs go wrong.
Field supervisorChecks several crews' work and settles problems on site.
Operations managerRuns the daily schedule, trucks, materials and service calls.
General managerTakes on a market's sales and profit, not only its crews.
What physical work does a waterproofing operations manager do?
The template's physical lines cover lifting up to 50 pounds, confined spaces and standing or walking for long periods. In practice that means checking a finished crawl space liner, following your confined space rules, carrying a pump or a bag of mix to a short-handed crew, and walking several job sites a day. Edit the lines if the job differs, and offer reasonable accommodation.
How much does a basement waterproofing operations manager make?
General and operations managers who work for building finishing contractors earned a median of $99,290 a year ($47.73 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $69,950 and $143,010 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and bonus terms.
What should a waterproofing operations manager check before trucks leave?
The load list for each job, the saw's water feed and the vacuum filters, respirators for everyone cutting, floor protection and dust walls, and a job sheet that shows any change since the sale. Five minutes in the yard saves a crew a two-hour round trip.
How many crews can one operations manager run?
Watch for warning signs instead of picking a number: finished jobs nobody checks, trucks leaving short of parts, and storm calls waiting until the next day. Adding a field supervisor between the manager and the crews is one fix, and it gives a strong lead installer a step up.
What should you ask a waterproofing operations manager in an interview?
Hand them a signed contract and ask how many crew days it needs and what goes on the truck. Then ask about a job type that kept running past its booked days and what they changed. A good answer names a cause, such as thick slabs or long carries, and a new rule for booking that work.
