Chimney service chief operating officer job description
A chimney service chief operating officer sets how every branch works: who goes on the roof, how inspections are run and recorded, and how crews shift between sweeping in the fall and repair work the rest of the year. The branch general managers answer to the COO.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, building services companies · BLS, May 2025
The Chief Operating Officer (COO) will play a critical role in streamlining daily operations, managing safety compliance, and ensuring quality in our chimney and fireplace services. As the COO, your strategic planning and vision will assist in growing the company, while ensuring financial strength and operating efficiency.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Oversee daily operations and make adjustments as necessary.
Develop operational policies and procedures to ensure consistent quality of service.
Implement comprehensive safety compliance strategies to minimize risk.
Collaborate with the CEO and senior management to set company goals and objectives.
Lead employees to encourage maximum performance and dedication.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Monitor daily operations, including scheduling, dispatch, job quality, and customer interactions.
Review and understand financial and operational reports.
Lead team meetings to ensure communication and alignment across all departments.
Address customer issues and ensure their satisfaction.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Revenue Growth: Achieve an annual revenue growth of >10%.
Customer Satisfaction Rating: Maintain a rating of >4.5 stars.
Safety Compliance: Zero safety violations.
Operational Efficiency: Increase by 15% annually.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Management, or related field.
Minimum of 5 years of experience in a senior management position.
Proficient in business development and strategic planning.
Excellent leadership and decision-making skills.
Knowledge of safety regulations and procedures in the home services industry.
6. Preferred Experience
Experience in the home services industry, specifically chimney and fireplace services.
Prior experience as a COO or similar role.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to work in different environments, including hot or cold conditions.
Comfortable with occasional lifting of up to 30 lbs.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Typical work hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Occasional travel for industry conferences or meetings.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Salary range: $120,000 - $150,000 per year.
Benefits include Health, Dental, and Vision insurance, 401k, and bonus potential.
10. Company Culture and Overview
At [INSERT COMPANY NAME HERE], we believe in fostering a culture of growth and development. We are committed to providing a supportive work environment where employees are encouraged to grow both personally and professionally. Our team is dedicated to achieving excellence in all that we do, and we believe that our people are our greatest asset. We are looking forward to welcoming a COO who will help us to take our company to new heights.
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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Each branch faces the same roofs, the same fall surge and the same inspection standard. The COO settles how the company handles each of those, then holds every branch to it.
The CSIA logo comes with a staffing rule
A company with several technicians may show the Certified Chimney Sweep logo only if a currently certified sweep who signed CSIA's code of ethics is on the job, doing or supervising the sweep or inspection. That sweep signs any work order the customer gets and prints a certification number beside the signature. When the certification behind the mark expires, CSIA gives 30 days to take the marks off ads, trucks and the website. The COO plans crews and tracks renewals around that. Source: CSIA: Code of ethics and trademark use guidelines.
Falls top OSHA's citation list
On OSHA's preliminary list for fiscal 2026, fall protection in construction is the most cited standard. Construction ladders rank fifth and fall protection training ranks eighth. Repair crews work under those construction rules every day, and sweeps climb the same ladders. The COO writes one roof and ladder program for every branch, checks that it is followed, and keeps the training records an inspector will ask to see. Source: OSHA: Top 10 most frequently cited standards, fiscal 2026 (preliminary).
Three industry codes, one filing rule
The Census industry index files chimney sweeping under services to buildings, chimney masonry under masonry contractors, and liner installation under plumbing and HVAC contractors. Each branch takes the code of its main work, and OSHA's online filing list covers construction and building services alike. So a branch whose headcount reached 20 to 249 last year files its Form 300A injury summary online by March 2. Source: 29 CFR Part 1904: Recording and reporting injuries and illnesses (eCFR).
NFPA 211 has a new edition
NFPA now lists the 2027 edition of NFPA 211 as current. Cities and states adopt editions on their own schedule, so branches may answer to different ones for a while. The COO decides when report forms, training and the price book move to the new edition, and makes sure each branch knows which edition its local code uses. Source: NFPA 211 document information page.
One crew plan for two seasons
A company that staffs for October is overstaffed in May unless crews can switch. The COO decides who cross-trains: masons who can sweep when the fall backlog builds, and sweeps who can help set liners and caps in summer. Finish fall hiring by late summer, so new hires have ridden along before the phones start ringing.
How much chimney service chief operating officers make
The closest BLS group for chimney service chief operating officers is chief executives. Chief executives who work for building and home services companies earned a median of $130,000 a year ($62.50 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s below the $213,990 median for chief executives in all industries. About 430 of the 204,350 chief executives in that survey work for building services companies.
Salaried with bonus potential, per the template. Tie part of the bonus to safety and inspection quality, not only to growth, so nobody earns more by rushing roof setups.
Building services companies
$130,000$130,000 median Middle half $102,340–$208,630 10th–90th $93,610–$275,020
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
Building services companies
$93,610
$102,340
$130,000
$208,630
$275,020
All industries
$75,700
$129,540
$213,990
$356,200
$507,730
BLS doesn’t publish pay for chimney sweeps on their own. These figures cover services to buildings and dwellings, 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 written procedures that several branches or crews followed, and checked that they did
Runs a field safety program for roof and ladder work, records included
Plans staffing for a sharp seasonal peak without carrying a fall-sized crew all year
Leads general managers through numbers, not only through visits
Reads a chimney inspection report well enough to spot a weak one
Teach these on the job
CSIA credentials and how your sweeps renew them
Your report forms and the NFPA 211 edition behind them
Injury logs and the Form 300A filing
Your field service software and camera storage
Liner, cap and masonry product lines you install
The COO lives in the field service software: schedules, inspection reports, photos and video, and callback tracking by branch. Add a training and certification tracker and the OSHA 300 logs. Footage rules are the COO's call too: how long clips are kept and who may pull one when a finding is disputed.
Chimney service chief operating officer 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 · Fixing skipped fall protection
An audit shows technicians often skip fall protection on low-pitch roofs. What do you do?
A strong answer: Finds out why (missing gear, time pressure, training), fixes those causes, sets a clear rule, enforces it the same way for everyone and keeps auditing.
Behavioral · Improving operations
Tell me about an operations change that improved results you could measure, such as jobs per technician-day or days from inspection to proposal.
A strong answer: Names the bottleneck, such as reports written at night or proposals waiting on the office, the change, like building proposals on a tablet at the job, how technicians took to it and the measured result.
These four only mean something when you compare branches with each other and each fall with the last one. Give it a full year of data before you lock in targets.
Revenue Growth
The COO's share of growth is capacity: more completed sweeps and repairs per crew. Track revenue by branch next to booked hours, so growth from longer waits isn't counted as success.
Customer Satisfaction Rating
Ratings by branch and by job type. A sweep rating and a reline rating mean different things, and a branch whose inspection jobs rate lower than its sweeps needs a closer look.
Safety Compliance
OSHA citations, recordable injuries and near misses, plus scored roof and ladder checks from unannounced site visits. A clean record with no near misses reported often means nobody is reporting.
Operational Efficiency
Jobs completed per crew day, drive time between stops, and callbacks, each split into fall and off-season. Gains that come from rushing roof setup don't count.
Where does a chimney COO's job stop and a GM's start?
The COO decides how every branch records a Level 2, what each truck carries, how footage is stored and what a safe roof setup looks like. The GM works inside those rules: which customers get the October slots, and which repair proposals go out at what price. When one branch keeps missing the standard, the COO first asks whether the standard fits that market, then holds the GM to it.
How much does a chimney service chief operating officer make?
Chief executives who work for building and home services companies earned a median of $130,000 a year ($62.50 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $102,340 and $208,630 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and bonus terms.
What should a chimney COO finish before the fall rush?
New hires trained and riding along, fall gear and ladders inspected, cameras and vacuums serviced with spares on hand, and certifications checked for anyone due to renew. Summer booking campaigns for past customers can also pull some sweeps forward. The fall runs on what was ready in August.
Why does the COO template mention hot or cold conditions and lifting 30 pounds?
Because the COO visits jobs: walking a roof in January to check a crew's setup, climbing into a summer attic during a Level 2 inspection, or carrying a camera case or ladder section. Write those tasks in the ad. Under the ADA, the question is whether a candidate can do the job's essential tasks, with or without a reasonable accommodation.
What should a chimney COO do after a chimney fire in a home the company swept?
Pull the job file that day: the signed report, photos and camera footage. Notify your insurer the way the policy requires, and send a master technician or an outside inspector who didn't work the job to look. Keep crews from discussing fault with the homeowner until the facts are in. Then check whether the crew followed the procedure, and if it did, fix the procedure.
