A chimney service HR manager staffs the branches for the fall rush, then keeps sweeps certified, fit-tested and paid on written plans. They write the conduct rules that keep repair advice honest, and run hiring paperwork, injury claims and employee problems for every branch.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, building services companies · BLS, May 2025
Annual pay: 10th percentile $75,280, middle half $90,180 to $145,660, 90th percentile $179,490. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
Reports to
Chief Operating Officer
Department
Operations
Schedule
Weekdays, longer in the hiring push · Monday to Friday, 8 to 5. Long weeks in the summer hiring push, and on call for urgent staffing or compliance issues.
Also called
Human resources manager · HR and training manager · People operations manager
Chimney service HR 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.
Serve as the key leader in managing all human resource activities specific to the Chimney & Fireplace Services division, ensuring a cohesive workforce that drives company objectives. Oversee recruiting, onboarding, labor compliance, and staff relations to maintain a safe, efficient, and motivated team. Collaborate cross-functionally to align HR strategies with business goals and regulatory standards.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Develop and implement recruitment strategies, ensuring the attraction of top talent for all positions within the division.
Manage the onboarding process to integrate new hires quickly and effectively into the company culture.
Ensure full compliance with labor laws and internal policies, conducting regular audits and updates.
Address employee relations issues proactively to maintain a positive and respectful workplace environment.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Review applications and schedule interviews, maintaining clear communication with candidates throughout the process.
Coordinate onboarding schedules, training sessions, and new hire documentation to ensure a smooth transition.
Monitor and respond to employee inquiries and concerns, offering timely resolutions.
Maintain records and reports related to HR compliance, recruitment metrics, and staff performance.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Time-to-fill positions: Target of less than 30 days per vacancy.
Employee retention rate: Achieve greater than 90% annually.
Onboarding satisfaction score: Maintain an average rating of greater than 4.5 out of 5.
Labor compliance audit score: Achieve a score of 100% on all scheduled audits.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related field.
Minimum of 3-5 years of HR management experience, preferably within service industries.
Strong understanding of labor laws, HR best practices, and compliance requirements.
Excellent communication, interpersonal, and problem-solving skills, with proficiency in HRIS and Microsoft Office applications.
6. Preferred Experience
Prior work experience in the home services or maintenance industry, specifically in chimney and fireplace services.
Demonstrated success in implementing talent acquisition and retention strategies in specialized service sectors.
Familiarity with union negotiations or labor relations practices within a similar industry.
Experience collaborating with operational and field teams to drive continuous improvement.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to work in an office environment with occasional visits to job sites for staff meetings and compliance walkthroughs.
Occasional lifting of standard office supplies and equipment (up to 15 lbs).
Capacity to sit or stand for extended periods during meetings and training sessions.
Adaptability to work in varying temperatures when visiting outdoor service locations.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Typical work hours: Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
Occasional extended hours during peak hiring periods or critical project deadlines.
Minimal travel required to service sites and company events.
On-call availability may be necessary for urgent HR compliance or staffing issues.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Annual salary range: $60,000 - $80,000 USD, based on experience and qualifications.
Performance-based bonus opportunities and potential commission structures aligned with business metrics.
Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance plans.
401(k) plan with company match, paid time off, and other fringe benefits.
10. Company Culture and Overview
We foster a dynamic and inclusive work environment that values continuous learning and professional growth.
Our team is dedicated to excellence in customer service and employee engagement, ensuring every voice is heard.
We embrace innovation and teamwork, empowering each employee to contribute to our long-term success.
Join us in an atmosphere where your ideas and dedication can make a significant impact on both our company and our community.
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
Most of the staff climb roofs, work in soot and recommend repairs in customers' living rooms. That puts certifications, respirators, commission plans and honesty on HR's desk, next to the usual hiring and files.
Summer is hiring season
The COO sets the date fall crews must be ready, and HR works backward from it: when ads go up, when interviews run, and when each hire starts riding with a certified sweep. Start with last fall's helpers who left on good terms. Then look at people who already climb for a living, such as gutter crews, roofers and masons' tenders. For anyone on the certification track, pick a CSIA review date when the offer goes out.
Certification has fees and a credit count
CSIA's Certified Chimney Sweep credential carries an annual fee in the first two years of its three-year cycle. Renewing on credits alone takes 48 continuing education credits, with set minimums in technical, codes and standards, communication and liability, and health and safety topics. HR decides what the company pays for, books classes in spring and summer, and tracks each sweep's credits by category so nobody comes up short in year three. Source: CSIA: Becoming a Certified Chimney Sweep (fees, renewal and CEU categories).
Respirators come with appointments
Soot and mortar dust mean some crews wear respirators, under a written program the COO and operations manager run. HR's share is the paperwork and the timing. Put each wearer's next medical evaluation and fit test on one calendar, with reminders well before the next is due. Book fall hires for both in their first week so nobody waits on a dusty job, and store the clinic's notes in a medical file, never the personnel folder.
Pay for selling repairs goes in writing
Some companies pay technicians a commission or spiff when a repair they found is sold. In California, for example, a commission deal for work done in the state has to be written, spelling out how commissions are calculated and paid. The employer signs it, hands each employee on it a copy, and has each one sign a receipt. Temporary, variable incentives that can raise but never lower pay under the written contract don't count as commissions there. Write spiffs down anyway, and ask counsel what your state requires. Source: California Labor Code section 2751: written commission contracts (public.law copy of the official text).
Honest findings are a conduct rule
CSIA's code of ethics has each certified sweep pledge to work in an honest and fair manner and to avoid unfair or deceptive statements, and homeowners can file an ethics complaint with CSIA at no charge. Put the company's own rule in the handbook: every finding backed by a photo or video, no repair sold on a guess, and a clear discipline path when someone breaks it. Then read the commission plan for anything that rewards a finding the footage can't support. Source: CSIA: Code of ethics and ethics complaint process.
How much chimney service HR managers make
The closest BLS group for chimney service HR managers is human resources managers. Human resources managers who work for building and home services companies earned a median of $109,990 a year ($52.88 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s below the $149,280 median for human resources managers in all industries. About 420 of the 220,660 human resources managers in that survey work for building services companies.
Salary plus the template's performance bonus. For HR, fair results are fall crews hired and riding along by the COO's date, and no certification left to lapse.
Building services companies
$109,990$109,990 median Middle half $90,180–$145,660 10th–90th $75,280–$179,490
All industries
$149,280$149,280 median Middle half $111,110–$199,290 10th–90th $88,200–$267,810
$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 services companies
$75,280
$90,180
$109,990
$145,660
$179,490
All industries
$88,200
$111,110
$149,280
$199,290
$267,810
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
Runs a seasonal hiring push with many interviews in a few weeks
Keeps certification, training and medical appointment dates in one tracker
Writes pay plans and handbook rules a helper can follow on first read
Investigates an overselling complaint without taking sides before the facts are in
Understands overtime and commission pay rules for field staff
Teach these on the job
CSIA's credit categories and where sweeps earn credits
Chimney job titles, from helper to master technician
Your respirator program and the clinic you use
How your technicians present findings and repair proposals
Your HR and payroll system
Files, benefits and pay usually run through one HR and payroll system, plus hiring software able to handle a summer's worth of applicants in a few weeks. Keep one tracker for every technician's CSIA dates, credits and fit tests. When a customer disputes a technician's conduct, the field software's notes, photos and video hold the facts.
Chimney service HR 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 · Hiring ahead of the season
You need [four] more sweep technicians trained by September. How do you find, hire and train them in time?
A strong answer: Starts in spring, uses referrals, trade schools and related trades, runs structured interviews, builds a training plan with ride-alongs and certification prep, and sets checkpoints.
Behavioral · Keeping staff through the slow season
Tell me about how you kept good technicians through the slow spring and summer months.
A strong answer: Planned off-season work such as masonry, caps and dryer vents, cross-training or steady hours, kept in touch, and can share retention results.
Your last two hiring seasons set the numbers. Sit down with the COO about them in August and again in January.
Time-to-fill positions
Measure each opening from approval to the hire's first ride-along with a crew. Report fall technician openings in their own column, apart from office roles.
Employee retention rate
Take last October's roster and mark everyone still employed this October. Year-round staff and seasonal helpers get separate rates, and a seasonal job that ended as planned isn't a loss.
Onboarding satisfaction score
After the first month, each new hire rates training, gear, ride-alongs and paperwork on the template's scale. Compare branches and trainers to see whose new hires feel ready.
Labor compliance audit score
Name each audit you run, such as I-9 self-checks, the workers' comp payroll audit, signed commission plans and fit-test dates. Report the share that passed, and assign each finding to someone with a date to fix it.
Career path
Office managerHandles new-hire paperwork, time off and personnel files for a branch.
Recruiter or HR generalistBooks interviews, ride-alongs and CSIA classes for the branches.
HR managerRuns the fall hiring push, written pay plans and the conduct handbook.
HR directorOwns policy, benefits renewals and manager training company-wide.
Other roles in a chimney & fireplace services business
What do the template's lines about temperatures and standing mean?
They describe tasks, not a person's body. This HR manager may run a 7 a.m. safety meeting in an unheated shop in January, check a job site on a hot afternoon during a compliance walkthrough, and lead a training day on their feet. Put those duties in the posting, put the same question about them to every finalist, and offer reasonable accommodation.
How much does a chimney service HR manager make?
Human resources managers who work for building and home services companies earned a median of $109,990 a year ($52.88 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $90,180 and $145,660 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and bonus terms.
The template mentions union negotiations. Does that apply here?
It's a preferred skill, not a requirement. It matters if a branch has a union contract, or if employees start talking about organizing. Then call a labor lawyer first, and have managers hold off on answering staff questions about it until they've been briefed.
Should the company cover a technician's CSIA certification?
It usually pays off. A certified sweep can run the jobs your CSIA marketing promises and earns trust in the living room. Write the deal down: what the company covers, such as the review, the exam, annual fees and classes, and what happens if the person leaves soon after. Any clause asking for money back needs a lawyer's review first.
A customer says a technician oversold a repair. What does HR do?
Treat it like any conduct complaint. Ask the GM for the footage review the branch already runs on disputed findings, and wait for it before judging. Meanwhile, get the technician's side in writing and check past discipline for the same rule, so the outcome matches what others got. Give the technician the result in private. The customer hears from a manager what the company will do for them, not what happened to the employee.
