A commercial developer chief operating officer owns the system that carries every project from land deal to tenant move-in. They set how design, permits, subcontracts, site work and closeout pass from team to team, so several buildings can be in design, permits and construction at once without tripping over each other.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, commercial building contractors · BLS, May 2025
Annual pay: 10th percentile $124,070, middle half $168,640 to $347,300, 90th percentile $499,640. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
Reports to
Chief Executive Officer
Department
Operations
Schedule
Weekdays, with site days each week · Office project reviews, site walks most weeks, and on call for an accident, a failed inspection or a sub who walks off
Also called
Executive vice president of construction · Vice president of operations · Head of construction · COO
The Chief Operating Officer (COO) drives operational excellence within our commercial construction projects, ensuring streamlined processes, robust cross-department collaboration, and high-quality project delivery. This leadership role is instrumental in supporting strategic growth and efficiency, directly impacting the overall success and profitability of the company.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Oversee daily operations and ensure optimal efficiency across all departments.
Coordinate cross-functional efforts to support project delivery, budget adherence, and timeline achievement.
Develop and implement operational strategies to improve processes and reduce costs.
Ensure compliance with industry standards, safety regulations, and quality assurance protocols.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Monitor daily project operations to ensure milestones and quality standards are consistently met.
Facilitate regular meetings with department heads to align on priorities and resolve operational issues.
Review performance data and reports to identify areas for improvement and implement corrective actions.
Interface with clients, vendors, and internal teams to maintain robust communication channels and foster strong partnerships.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Operational Efficiency Rate: Achieve >90% day-to-day process efficiency.
Safety Compliance Rate: Ensure zero incidents with a target of 100% compliance.
Profit Margin Increase: Drive a minimum of 10% year-over-year improvement in gross margins.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Construction Management, or a related field.
Minimum of 8-10 years of progressive leadership experience in operational roles.
Strong analytical, organizational, and decision-making skills.
Excellent communication, negotiation, and conflict resolution skills.
6. Preferred Experience
Prior experience in commercial construction, building services, or property development.
Proven track record in managing multi-million dollar projects and diverse teams.
Familiarity with industry-specific software and project management tools.
Experience working in fast-paced, high-growth environments with a focus on efficiency and quality.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to regularly communicate effectively both verbally and in writing.
Must be able to occasionally visit job sites and inspect operational processes.
Standard office environment with intermittent visits to active construction locations.
Mobility to move between office and field environments as needed.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Standard workweek of 40+ hours with occasional extended hours during high-demand periods.
Office-based role with required site visits on project locations.
Some travel expected for project oversight, client meetings, and vendor engagements.
On-call responsibilities may be required during critical project phases.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Competitive salary range: $150,000 - $200,000 per year, based on experience.
Performance-based bonus structure with quarterly incentives tied to operational KPIs.
Comprehensive benefits including Health, Dental, and Vision insurance.
401(k) plan with company match and additional fringe benefits such as paid time off and professional development opportunities.
10. Company Culture and Overview
We are a growth-oriented organization that values accountability, innovation, and collaboration.
Our culture is built on teamwork and open communication, fostering personal and professional development.
We are committed to excellence, diversity, and creating a work environment where every employee can thrive.
Join us to make a significant impact in the commercial construction industry while advancing your career in a dynamic setting.
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].
Need help filling this role? HireBus posts the ad, Iris interviews every applicant by phone before you do, and you decide who to hire. Start hiring now
At most contractors, operations start when a contract is signed. Here they start years earlier, at the land deal, and end when a leased building passes to whoever manages it.
Gates between land, design and the field
Every project passes the same checkpoints: site under contract, design approved, permits issued, loan closed, building turned over. The COO writes down what must be true before a project moves past each gate and who signs off. Without gates, a site can break ground before the loan closes or before the drawings are finished, and the company pays for the rework and the waiting.
A stormwater permit before the first grading
Under EPA's rules, stormwater from a construction site needs Clean Water Act permit coverage once the work disturbs at least an acre of land. A smaller site still counts when it belongs to a larger common plan, such as one pad in a retail center you are splitting into lots, if the whole plan will disturb an acre or more. Every permit must require stabilizing bare ground right away when work stops and won't resume for more than 14 days. Get coverage before any clearing starts. Source: EPA: Stormwater discharges from construction activities.
Planning for the sub who fails
When a steel or framing sub goes broke halfway through, the building stops. The COO sets how subs get approved, with financial checks, safety records and insurance, and caps how much work one sub can hold across your projects. For trades that could stall a job, decide up front whether to require bonds, and keep a second sub in each trade who already knows your sites.
One pool of people for every building
A builder-developer may have one building in permits, two going up and one in tenant build-out at once. The COO plans project managers, superintendents and the in-house crew across all of them, so a slip on one site doesn't idle a crew or pull a super off a job that is on track.
Leasing makes promises construction keeps
Expect each lease to spell out the landlord's work, the tenant's own build-out and the dates each side must hit, often in a work letter. A late handoff can push back rent and trigger penalties written into the lease. Set up one shared tracker where leasing and construction see every tenant's dates and every change a tenant asks for.
How much commercial developer chief operating officers make
The closest BLS group for commercial developer chief operating officers is chief executives. Chief executives who work for commercial and industrial builders earned a median of $225,550 a year ($108.44 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s above the $213,990 median for chief executives in all industries. About 840 of the 204,350 chief executives in that survey work for commercial building contractors.
Quarterly bonuses on operating goals sit on top of the template's salary range. Choose goals the COO controls across every project, such as schedule and safety results, rather than one building's profit.
Commercial building contractors
$225,550$225,550 median Middle half $168,640–$347,300 10th–90th $124,070–$499,640
All industries
$213,990$213,990 median Middle half $129,540–$356,200 10th–90th $75,700–$507,730
10th–90th percentileMiddle halfMedianAnnual pay, May 2025. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
Annual pay by percentile
Group
10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
Commercial building contractors
$124,070
$168,640
$225,550
$347,300
$499,640
All industries
$75,700
$129,540
$213,990
$356,200
$507,730
BLS doesn’t publish pay for commercial developers on their own. These figures cover nonresidential building construction, 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 construction for an owner or developer with several projects going at once
Builds schedules that tie permits, loan closings and lease dates together
Sets up subcontractor approval and default plans that project managers actually follow
Reads a construction budget next to a lease work letter and spots the conflicts
Holds project managers and superintendents to one way of working
Teach these on the job
Your project gates and sign-off forms
How your project teams feed the monthly loan draw
The cities you build in and how their inspectors work
Your preferred subcontractors and their history with you
Your construction software and reports
Expect projects to run in Procore or a similar construction app, with schedules in Microsoft Project or Primavera P6. The COO also needs a subcontractor prequalification tool and a lease date tracker that construction can read.
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 · Aligning construction and leasing
Construction keeps missing dates that the leasing team promised tenants. What do you do?
A strong answer: Puts both teams on one schedule, sets rules for promising dates, reviews weekly, and works with legal on delivery terms in leases.
Behavioral · Cutting costs without delays
Tell me about a time you cut overhead, such as insurance, equipment or general conditions, without slowing projects.
A strong answer: Names the cost, the change (rebidding insurance, returning idle rentals, sharing staff across projects) and the savings, with evidence projects weren't hurt.
Set targets from buildings your teams have already delivered; the template's figures only show the shape of each goal.
Operational Efficiency Rate
Hard to count directly, so track a few process checks: projects that cleared each gate with every sign-off, RFIs answered within your standard, and change orders approved before the work started.
Project Timeline Adherence
Buildings turned over to tenants or buyers by the date in the approved schedule. Give each slip a cause: approvals, weather, design changes, a subcontractor or the lender.
Safety Compliance Rate
Recordable injuries among your own employees and on the subs' crews, next to site safety audit findings closed by their due date. Track reported near misses as well, and ask questions when a busy site reports none.
Profit Margin Increase
Each finished building's final cost against its approved budget, rolled up by year. Keep savings the field found apart from gains that came from stronger rents or a better sale price.
Career path
SuperintendentRuns one building's site and its subcontractors.
Project managerOwns one building's budget, contracts and schedule.
Operations managerLeads all project managers and supers across the company.
Chief operating officerOwns how every project moves from land deal to tenant.
Should a builder-developer hire a general contractor or build with its own team?
You can do both. Building with your own project managers and subs keeps the fee and gives you control of quality and timing. Hiring a third-party general contractor makes sense for a building type you haven't built, a city you don't know, or a year when your team is full. The COO should make that call project by project, before the budget is set.
How much does a commercial developer chief operating officer make?
Chief executives who work for commercial and industrial builders earned a median of $225,550 a year ($108.44 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $168,640 and $347,300 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and bonus terms.
How should a COO handle a subcontractor default?
Follow the subcontract's default steps to the letter: written notice, the time it gives the sub to fix the problem, then termination. Photograph and count the work in place and stored material that day. Bring in the backup sub, and have the CFO check who the failed sub still owes, since unpaid suppliers can turn into liens on your building.
Should a COO's bonus ride on zero injuries?
Be careful. OSHA's rule bars any retaliation against workers for reporting an injury. A 2018 OSHA memo says rate-based incentives, including judging managers on their unit's lack of injuries, are allowed as long as they aren't run in a way that discourages reporting. Pair the injury goal with rewards for reporting hazards and near misses, and with training on the right to report.
Should the COO also run property management?
At this size it depends on how many buildings you keep. If you hold most of what you build, putting property management under the COO keeps warranty calls and tenant complaints close to the people who built the space. If you sell most buildings, a small asset team under the CEO or CFO may fit better.
