A commercial electrical operations manager staffs every open job with electricians and foremen, adding and pulling people as each building moves from rough-in to trim-out. They run the morning briefings, track trips back after crews leave a job, and find the hours lost to waiting.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, electrical contractors · BLS, May 2025
Oversee and optimize the daily allocation of electricians and site work schedules, ensuring timely and efficient project execution. Coordinate workflows between field teams and project management to maintain high standards of quality and safety. Contribute to overall business success by streamlining operations and maximizing customer satisfaction. Serve as a key liaison between clients, electricians, and management to ensure clear communication and prompt resolution of issues.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Allocate electricians to various projects based on expertise and project requirements.
Schedule site work and manage daily workflows to ensure optimal resource utilization.
Monitor and adjust project plans to address any unforeseen issues or delays.
Maintain updated records of work assignments, project statuses, and performance metrics.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Review daily schedules and assign resources accordingly.
Conduct morning briefings with field teams to communicate priorities and safety reminders.
Liaise with clients and stakeholders to provide project updates and address concerns.
Analyze workflow performance data to continuously improve scheduling and resource allocation.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
On-time project completion rate: 95% or higher.
Call back percentage: less than 5%.
Customer satisfaction rating: greater than 4.8 stars.
Capacity efficiency: 90% utilization of available electrician hours.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Construction Management, or a related field preferred.
Minimum of 3 years in an operations or scheduling role within the commercial electrical or construction industry.
Strong organizational skills and ability to manage multiple priorities with attention to detail.
Excellent communication, leadership, and problem-solving skills.
6. Preferred Experience
Experience in the commercial electrical industry or related home services field.
Familiarity with project management software and scheduling tools.
Proven track record of successfully managing field operations and teams in a fast-paced environment.
Background in developing process improvements and operational efficiencies.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to lift and move moderate equipment up to 25 pounds.
Regular visits to job sites with varying environmental conditions including outdoor work in hot or cold climates.
Ability to stand or walk for extended periods during on-site inspections.
Capacity to work in environments with moderate noise and safety gear requirements.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Typical work hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
Occasional overtime or early starts may be required to accommodate project demands.
Minimal travel between job sites within the designated service area is expected.
On-call responsibilities may arise during critical project phases.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Base salary range: $75,000 to $90,000 per year USD.
Annual performance-based bonus opportunities.
Health, Dental, and Vision insurance provided.
401(k) plan with company match and paid time off.
10. Company Culture and Overview
At [INSERT COMPANY NAME HERE], we foster a collaborative and inclusive environment where every team member is valued.
We support continuous growth and development through training and leadership opportunities.
Our focus on innovation and customer satisfaction drives our commitment to excellence in every project.
Join us in a culture that combines professionalism with a passion for quality service and community impact.
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
What a commercial electrical operations manager juggles
Every job needs a different number of electricians each week, and the general contractor's schedule sets the timing. The operations manager keeps the whole field force busy without starving any one job.
Each job peaks at a different time
A commercial job starts with a few electricians setting underground and overhead pipe. It swells during rough-in, then shrinks again for trim-out and testing. With a dozen jobs open, those peaks overlap. The operations manager reads each project manager's look-ahead schedule every week and moves people before a job falls behind, keeping each crew with its foreman where possible.
Adding hands for a peak
When several jobs peak at once, the operations manager needs electricians fast. A union shop calls the local's hall, which sends electricians under the agreement's referral rules. An open shop turns to staffing firms, overtime or new hires. Before any newcomer joins a crew, check that their license fits the work under your state's rules. Then decide how many outside hands each foreman can take on before quality slips.
Heat inside an unfinished building
Some states have their own heat rules that reach indoor work. In Maryland, for example, a building whose ventilation system or fans keep the heat index under 80 degrees Fahrenheit is outside the rule. An unfinished shell with no air moving gets no such pass. Once the heat index there hits 80, the employer must take temperature and humidity readings where crews work. From 90 up, set rest breaks apply unless other cooling steps are shown to work. Plan roof and shell work for cooler hours. Source: Maryland COMAR 09.12.32.02: Heat stress standards, scope.
Callbacks are punch lists and warranty calls
In commercial work, a callback usually means a trip back after the crew has left. It might be a punch item, a missing label, a light that won't answer its controls, or a warranty call from the owner's building staff. Each trip costs labor nobody bid for. Many punch trips go away when the foreman walks each floor with the superintendent and clears the list before the last crew leaves. Plan that walk into the schedule.
How much commercial electrical operations managers make
The closest BLS group for commercial electrical operations managers is general and operations managers. General and operations managers who work for electrical contractors earned a median of $119,990 a year ($57.69 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 29,880 of the 3,503,020 general and operations managers in that survey work for electrical contractors.
Salaried, with a yearly bonus and paid time off. The ad should say whether site visits use a company truck or paid mileage.
Electrical contractors
$119,990$119,990 median Middle half $84,900–$165,460 10th–90th $58,340–$230,120
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
10th–90th percentileMiddle halfMedianAnnual pay, May 2025. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
Annual pay by percentile
Group
10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
Electrical contractors
$58,340
$84,900
$119,990
$165,460
$230,120
All industries
$50,090
$72,320
$105,770
$167,280
$253,390
BLS reports residential and commercial electrical contractors together. 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 the crew board for a commercial electrical contractor with ten or more jobs open
Turns a general contractor's schedule and a project manager's look-ahead into crew counts
Knows the phases of a commercial electrical job and how many people each one takes
Holds foremen to start times and daily reports
Can say no to a general contractor without losing the relationship
Teach these on the job
Where crew plans are kept and who sees them
Your union referral steps or staffing partners
Each foreman's strengths and the jobs they've run
Your heat plan and morning briefing routine
How you log and close out callbacks
Crew plans often live in a spreadsheet or a construction workforce planning app, next to the project software where look-ahead schedules are kept. Whatever holds it, the plan has to show every electrician by name, job and day, so foremen and project managers see the same week.
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 · Allocating electricians
Two jobs both need your only foreman with switchgear experience next week. What do you do?
A strong answer: Looks at which job's work can move, talks with both project managers, considers backup support, and decides based on risk and contract dates.
Behavioral · Improving efficiency
Tell me about a change you made that cut idle time for electricians on commercial jobs.
A strong answer: Names the cause (material, lifts, access, other trades), the change (staging, lift scheduling, daily plans), and how much idle time dropped.
Track these weekly, since a phase that slips shows up here while there's still time to move people. The general manager sets the targets from a year of closed jobs.
On-time project completion rate
Phases your crews finished by the general contractor's look-ahead date. Each week, list the phases at risk and the crew moves made to save them.
Call back percentage
Return trips after a crew has left the job, set against jobs closed in the same period. Log each by cause and foreman, and keep warranty calls apart from punch items.
Customer satisfaction rating
A quick rating from the general contractor's superintendent at the end of each phase, not just closeout, so crew problems surface while there's time to fix them.
Capacity efficiency
Available hours are what your electricians could have worked on jobs this week. Count how many went to a job, and tally the gaps that repeat, such as a lift that's never free or a general contractor who opens floors late.
What physical work comes with this operations manager job?
Standing through morning briefings, walking each floor with a foreman to see what's left before trim-out, moving a box of devices or a coil of wire to a crew, and visiting jobs outdoors in any season, hot or cold. Sites are noisy, and every one requires a hard hat, glasses and a vest. Write these into the ad as tasks, and answer any accommodation request one person at a time.
How much does a commercial electrical operations manager make?
General and operations managers who work for electrical contractors earned a median of $119,990 a year ($57.69 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $84,900 and $165,460 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and bonus terms.
Should a foreman follow the same general contractor from job to job?
Often it helps. A superintendent who has worked with your foreman before shares problems early and trusts their reports. The cost is flexibility: tie your best foreman to one client, and a harder job elsewhere may get a weaker lead. Match the foreman to the job's risk first and the client second, and tell the general contractor early when you have to switch.
What should a morning briefing cover?
Keep it short and about that day: which areas are live or being energized, lift and ladder plans, deliveries, inspections, heat or cold, and who is new on the crew. Ask foremen to say the key hazards back. Keep a sign-in sheet, since many general contractors want records of daily safety talks.
How far ahead should an operations manager plan crews?
Two views cover most of it: names by job for next week, and crew counts by job for the next four weeks. The weekly plan changes most, so settle it by Friday and send it to the foremen. Anything further out belongs to the general manager's backlog forecast.
