A commercial developer office manager keeps the papers that let a building get built, opened and leased. That means permit and submittal logs, insurance proof from every sub, closeout files and lease records. They also run the front office, send the company's few but important bills, and make sure anyone can find any file fast.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, commercial building contractors · BLS, May 2025
Responsible for managing day-to-day office operations within a commercial building and development environment, ensuring seamless administrative tasks, efficient billing, accurate documentation, and effective coordination across departments.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Oversee daily administrative tasks and office coordination to support operational efficiency.
Manage billing processes and ensure timely invoicing and payment reconciliation.
Maintain and organize accurate documentation and records according to company protocols.
Serve as the primary point of contact for internal teams and external vendors.
Ensure compliance with industry regulations and company policies in all office operations.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Monitor and distribute office tasks to maintain smooth workflow throughout the day.
Process invoices and perform billing updates consistently and accurately.
Communicate regularly with commercial builders, developers, and other stakeholders.
Organize and file both digital and physical documents to ensure easy retrieval.
Provide prompt administrative support to management and cross-functional teams.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Invoice processing accuracy: Achieve a 99% accuracy rate.
Billing turnaround time: Complete billing within 24 hours.
Document management compliance: Maintain 95% adherence to documentation standards.
On-time task completion: Ensure 90% of daily office tasks are completed as scheduled.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration or a related field.
Minimum of 3 years of experience in administrative support or office management.
Strong proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite and office management software.
Excellent organizational skills with the ability to multitask efficiently.
Effective written and verbal communication skills.
6. Preferred Experience
Experience within the commercial construction, building, or home services industry.
Familiarity with project management software used in a construction or development setting.
Prior experience managing billing operations and regulatory compliance in an office environment.
A background in supporting senior management in fast-paced office settings.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to lift up to 20 pounds on occasion.
Extended periods of sitting and frequent use of computers and other office equipment.
Working in a predominantly office-based environment with occasional site visits.
Adequate visual acuity to effectively manage digital and physical documentation.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Typical work schedule is Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM – 5:30 PM.
Occasional extended hours may be required during peak billing or project periods.
Limited travel for meetings or training sessions is expected.
Work is primarily conducted on-site with opportunities for occasional remote work.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Salary range: $45,000 - $60,000 per year based on experience.
Performance-based bonus structure may be available.
Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance coverage.
401(k) retirement plan with employer matching contributions.
Additional benefits include paid time off and professional development opportunities.
10. Company Culture and Overview
We cultivate a collaborative and inclusive work environment where every team member is valued.
Our company is dedicated to professional growth, innovation, and operational excellence in the commercial building sector.
We believe in aligning our team’s success with company achievements through transparency and accountability.
Our culture emphasizes continuous improvement, customer satisfaction, and a shared commitment to excellence.
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
A developer keeps its buildings for years or sells them to buyers who read every file. The office manager's logs decide whether permits stay alive, whether subs on site are insured, and whether closeout and lease files hold up later.
A permit log that tracks inspections
A permit can die partway through a building. Under the Florida Building Code, as Collier County applies it, a permit expires if work doesn't start within six months. Once work starts, it stays alive only if it passes an inspection at least every 180 days. The office manager logs each permit with its last passed inspection. They warn the project manager early and ask for any extension before the permit runs out. Source: Collier County, Florida (example): Building Bulletin 16, expired permit notice and extension request (amended October 6, 2025).
Submittals get their own log
Before a sub orders steel, storefront glass or rooftop units, the architect reviews its shop drawings and product data. The office manager keeps that log: what went out, when, to whom, and whether it came back approved, approved as noted or rejected. A slow review can hold up a long-lead order for weeks, so the log goes to the weekly project meeting.
No proof of coverage, no start on site
In Florida, a contractor that hands work to a sub owes workers' comp to the sub's crew unless the sub has its own. It must also make the sub show proof. If a sub's officer has signed up for an exemption, the sub hands over a copy of that certificate. When the company acts as its own contractor, the office manager collects these before a sub starts, checks names and dates, and flags any policy that ends mid-job. Source: Florida Statutes 440.10 (2026): Liability for compensation.
Closeout files outlast the crews
In Florida, a claim over how a building was designed or built must, in any event, be filed within seven years. The clock starts at the first of these: a temporary certificate of occupancy, the full one, a certificate of completion, or the day work was abandoned. The office manager logs those dates for each building. Its permits, inspection and test reports and as-builts stay together at least that long; ask your lawyer if longer. Source: Florida Statutes 95.11 (2026): Limitations other than for the recovery of real property.
Lease files the leasing team can trust
Each tenant's file holds the signed lease and every change to it, the work letter, the memo that sets the rent start date, and the tenant's proof of insurance. If a lender or buyer requests one, it also gets an estoppel letter, where the tenant confirms the lease terms. Keeping a complete, up-to-date set for every tenant is the office manager's job. Then a buyer's or lender's request for documents takes days, not weeks.
How much commercial developer office managers make
The closest BLS group for commercial developer office managers is First-Line supervisors of office and administrative support workers. First-Line supervisors of office and administrative support workers who work for commercial and industrial builders earned a median of $36.07 an hour ($75,020 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s above the $69,500 median for First-Line supervisors of office and administrative support workers in all industries. About 5,340 of the 1,436,680 First-Line supervisors of office and administrative support workers in that survey work for commercial building contractors.
The template lists a salary and says a performance bonus may be offered. BLS counts office managers with every first-line office supervisor, and at commercial building firms that chart runs higher than the template's numbers, so check what nearby firms offer before you set pay.
Commercial building contractors
$75,020$75,020 median Middle half $59,480–$94,210 10th–90th $52,660–$119,350
All industries
$69,500$69,500 median Middle half $55,950–$85,090 10th–90th $45,610–$104,710
$25k$50k$75k$100k$125k$150k
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
$52,660
$59,480
$75,020
$94,210
$119,350
All industries
$45,610
$55,950
$69,500
$85,090
$104,710
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 kept permit, submittal or RFI logs for commercial construction
Chases insurance certificates and keeps them current without reminders
Files documents so someone else can find any of them in minutes
Leads a receptionist or admin team and sets the office routine
Writes clear, polite emails to subs, city staff and tenants
Teach these on the job
Each city's permit portal and inspection records
Your insurance requirements for subs and tenants
Your closeout checklist and file naming rules
Lease terms such as rent start dates and estoppels
Your construction app and document system
Expect a shared document system such as SharePoint or the documents area of Procore, the permit websites of each city you build in, and a tracker for insurance certificates, whether software or a spreadsheet. Once buildings lease up, lease files may also live in a property system like Yardi.
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 · Lender closing checklists
A lender's closing checklist needs ten documents by Thursday, and three are with outside parties. What do you do?
A strong answer: Tracks each item, calls the outside parties for firm dates, escalates early, and keeps the CFO informed.
Behavioral · Document control
Tell me about a time you improved how contracts, insurance or loan documents were filed so people could find the current version.
A strong answer: Describes the old problem, the new folder structure and naming rules, how people adopted it, and fewer lost or outdated documents.
Track your own office for a quarter, then pick targets; the template's figures are just a first guess.
Invoice processing accuracy
The office may bill tenants for extra work, bill project companies for fees and route contractor invoices for approval. Sample each kind monthly and count wrong amounts, wrong companies and missing backup.
Billing turnaround time
Hours from a billable event, such as approved tenant extra work or a monthly fee, to the invoice going out, measured from the approval date in your system.
Document management compliance
Each month, audit a few files against your standard: permits with their latest inspection, current insurance for every sub on site, complete lease files. Count every missing or expired document.
On-time task completion
Office tasks due this week that were done on time, from your task list. Track permit, insurance and closeout tasks on their own lines, since a miss there costs the most.
Career path
Receptionist or office assistantAnswers calls, greets visitors and learns the filing system.
Project coordinatorKeeps the logs and paperwork for one or two buildings.
Office managerRuns the office and every building's document trail.
HR managerSome take on hiring, benefits and personnel files as the staff grows.
Other roles in a commercial builders & developers business
Keep the template line, but know what it stands for: reading plan sheets and stamped permit sets, checking names and dates on insurance forms, and checking scanned files. Write those duties into the ad rather than describing anyone's eyesight. Many can be done with screen zoom or other tools, and an applicant may ask for reasonable accommodation.
How much does a commercial developer office manager make?
First-Line supervisors of office and administrative support workers who work for commercial and industrial builders earned a median of $36.07 an hour ($75,020 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $59,480 and $94,210 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and overtime.
Who should track insurance certificates, the office or the project manager?
The office. A project manager on a late job is tempted to let a sub start before its paperwork arrives. One tracker kept by the office manager, with a rule that no sub starts without current proof of coverage, takes that pressure off. The project manager still gets an alert when a policy lapses, so the sub can be kept off site until it's fixed.
How does the office manager work with the leasing team?
The leasing lead and outside brokers make the deals; the office handles the paper around them. That means routing drafts for signature, filing the signed copies, and logging the dates each lease sets, such as a tenant's deadline to give notice that it will renew. Put those dates on the leasing lead's calendar as well as the office's, so no option slips by unnoticed.
What billing does a developer's office send out?
Less than a contractor's office, but each bill matters. Common ones are tenant charges for extra work beyond what the lease promises, fees from the parent company to each project company, and sometimes bills to partners in a deal. Each needs its backup attached: the signed change, the fee terms or the partner agreement. In interviews, ask which of these the candidate has billed.
