Commercial developer general manager job description
A commercial developer general manager runs one region or product division and is accountable for its profit, from the land deals it finds to the leased buildings it delivers. They lead the project, construction and leasing people in it, keep local partners and tenants on side, and report the division's results to the COO.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, commercial building contractors · BLS, May 2025
Annual pay: 10th percentile $64,930, middle half $99,830 to $207,480, 90th percentile $300,370. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
Reports to
Chief Operating Officer
Department
Operations
Schedule
Weekdays, with travel across markets · Site visits, partner meetings and home office trips, some out of state, with long weeks near closings and turnovers
Also called
Division president · Regional manager · Market leader · Vice president and general manager
Commercial developer general manager job description template
This is our Role Blueprint, word for word. Replace the highlighted fields and adjust the example targets and pay to fit your company.
Builders / Developers - Commercial - General Manager
Company Name:
[INSERT COMPANY NAME HERE]
Department:
Operations
Reports to:
[Chief Operating Officer]
Location:
[INSERT LOCATION HERE]
1. Position Summary
Oversee and lead multiple teams managing commercial building and development projects to ensure operational excellence and project profitability.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Develop and implement operational strategies that drive team performance and project success.
Monitor project budgets, timelines, and quality standards to ensure profitability and client satisfaction.
Oversee recruitment, training, and performance management for diverse teams across multiple projects.
Collaborate with stakeholders including commercial builders and developers to maintain strong partnerships and streamline project execution.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Review daily project reports, financial statements, and performance metrics to inform decision-making.
Conduct regular team meetings and one-on-one sessions to review progress and address challenges.
Engage with clients and developers to manage expectations, provide progress updates, and resolve issues promptly.
Oversee scheduling, resource allocation, and conflict resolution among project teams.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Revenue per project: Achieve a minimum target of $150,000 per project.
Project profitability: Maintain a profit margin of at least 20%.
On-time project completion: Achieve on-time delivery for 95% of projects.
Customer Satisfaction Rating: Maintain a rating above 4.8 stars.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Construction Management, or a related field.
Minimum of 10 years of experience in project or operations management within the home services or construction industry.
Strong leadership, strategic planning, and financial analysis skills.
Excellent communication and interpersonal abilities to manage multi-disciplinary teams and stakeholders.
6. Preferred Experience
Experience in commercial building or development projects with a strong track record of project profitability.
Proven success managing multiple teams in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.
Direct exposure to client relations and business development in the home services or construction sectors.
Familiarity with industry-standard project management software and tools.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to travel frequently between project sites and company office.
Capacity to engage in moderate physical activity including site inspections and walk-throughs.
Flexibility to work in varied environmental conditions such as outdoor construction sites.
Occasional lifting of materials or equipment up to 25 pounds.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Standard work hours with occasional extended hours during project peak periods.
Regular on-site visits for project assessments and team coordination.
Travel expectations of up to 30% nationally for site inspections and stakeholder meetings.
Flexible schedule to meet project deadlines and coordinate with diverse teams.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Salary range of $120,000 - $150,000 USD per year.
Performance-based bonus structure tied to project profitability and operational KPIs.
Health, Dental, and Vision insurance plans provided.
401(k) plan with company matching contributions.
10. Company Culture and Overview
At [INSERT COMPANY NAME HERE], we foster a culture of innovation, collaboration, and continuous improvement where every team member is encouraged to contribute ideas and drive positive change.
We pride ourselves on a supportive work environment that values diversity, professional growth, and a shared commitment to excellence.
Our focus on customer satisfaction and quality service sets the foundation for both personal and company-wide success.
Join us to be part of a dynamic team that is reshaping the future of commercial building and development.
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
Here the GM runs a slice of the company's own real estate, not a backlog of jobs for clients. The division's results ride on land costs, local approvals, rents and tenants as much as on building well.
In Florida, the license runs through a qualifier
Licensing differs by state. In Florida, a company that contracts gets its license through a qualifying agent. That person attests to final say over all construction work and over contracts, checks and payments, unless the state approves a financially responsible officer for the money side. Owning the land doesn't get around it. The owner-builder exemption for commercial work has a low cost cap and leaves out buildings for sale or lease. If the division will build rather than hire a licensed contractor, line up the qualifier first. Source: Florida Statutes 489.119 (2026): Business organizations; qualifying agents.
A division's profit comes in three forms
Depending on how the company keeps score, a division may earn construction margin on its own buildings, fees from partner deals, and rent or sale gains once a building is done. The GM needs to know which of these the bonus pays on, since a quick sale and a long hold produce very different numbers in the same year.
Local costs show up before construction
Impact fees, utility hookup charges, road work the city asks for and plan review times vary from one city to the next. A GM who knows the market prices them into the pro forma before the land deal closes. One who doesn't finds them at permit time, after the budget and the loan are set.
Brokers bring in the tenants
In many markets, office, retail and industrial tenants arrive through local brokers. The GM picks the listing broker for each building, agrees on commissions, and approves tenant improvement allowances within the limits the CEO sets. One slow lease-up can wipe out a year of profit for the whole division, so the GM watches leasing as closely as construction.
How much commercial developer general managers make
The closest BLS group for commercial developer general managers is general and operations managers. General and operations managers who work for commercial and industrial builders earned a median of $148,700 a year ($71.49 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s above the $105,770 median for general and operations managers in all industries. About 32,560 of the 3,503,020 general and operations managers in that survey work for commercial building contractors.
Offer a base salary with a bonus on project profit and operating goals. Base the profit part on buildings the GM's team delivered, after interest and leasing costs, so finishing fast never outscores finishing well.
Commercial building contractors
$148,700$148,700 median Middle half $99,830–$207,480 10th–90th $64,930–$300,370
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$350k
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
$64,930
$99,830
$148,700
$207,480
$300,370
All industries
$50,090
$72,320
$105,770
$167,280
$253,390
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 answered for the profit of a region, division or branch in commercial construction or development
Knows the planning staff, brokers and subcontractors in the market
Turns a land deal into a budget, a schedule and a leasing plan
Gets project managers and leasing staff working toward the same delivery date
Settles disputes with tenants, partners and subs before they turn into claims
Teach these on the job
Your approval limits and what goes up to the COO
Your pro forma format and bonus math
Your standard lease and tenant improvement terms
Your project gates and monthly reports
How your company holds its contractor licenses in each state
The GM reads the division through cost reports from the construction software, a leasing pipeline from the brokers, and monthly division financials. CoStar or a similar data service helps track rents and vacancy in the market.
Commercial developer general manager interview questions
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 · Budget recovery
Two projects are over budget and a third is ahead. The CEO wants a recovery plan by Friday. Walk me through it.
A strong answer: Finds root causes per project, updates cost to complete, lists options (value engineering, change recovery, schedule), decisions needed, owners and dates.
Behavioral · Developing project leaders
Tell me about a superintendent or project manager you hired or promoted who became a strong leader. What did you see in them early?
A strong answer: Names early signals (owned problems, subs and clients trusted them, clear daily reports) and how they gave the person bigger projects with support.
Set the division's targets from buildings it has already delivered, not from the template's sample figures.
Revenue per project
Decide first what counts: the division's fees and construction margin on each building, or the full sale price or rent. The template's target reads like a fee or margin figure, not a sale price. Read it next to project size.
Project profitability
Profit on each building after land, hard and soft costs, interest and leasing commissions, compared with the pro forma approved at the land deal. Explain each gap: cost, rent, schedule or financing.
On-time project completion
Buildings turned over by the date promised to tenants and lenders. Count it building by building, and note which delays came from the city, which from design and which from the field.
Customer Satisfaction Rating
Here the people to survey are tenants and buyers. Survey them at move-in and after the first year, and track lease renewals and warranty calls by building.
How does a GM differ from a COO at a builder-developer?
The COO sets the system every project runs on across the company. The GM works inside that system for one market or division and owns its profit, its local partners and its tenants. Smaller builder-developers may have one GM per region and a single COO above them, or a GM only where it builds far from the home office.
How much does a commercial developer general manager make?
General and operations managers who work for commercial and industrial builders earned a median of $148,700 a year ($71.49 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $99,830 and $207,480 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and bonus terms.
Why does the template ask a GM to lift 25 pounds?
The line ships as written, but use the ad to list the tasks behind it: carrying drawing sets, sample boards and a laptop on site walks, climbing stairs in a building with no elevator yet, and walking rough ground in boots and a hard hat. Listing the tasks tells candidates what the work involves and leaves room to talk about reasonable accommodation.
Should a division build for other owners between its own projects?
It can keep good people busy, but it is its own business with its own risks. Expect outside owners to write the contract, hold back retainage from each payment, and often ask for payment and performance bonds. Before a surety bonds you, expect it to review the whole company's finances. Talk it through with the CFO before the first bid.
Where should a developer GM be based?
It depends on how you split the company. A GM who runs one market should usually live there. Land deals, city approvals and broker ties depend on being known locally. A GM who runs a product division, such as industrial, may oversee projects in several states. That fits the template's national travel line. Say in the ad which job it is, and where the travel goes: sites, partners or the home office.
