Fireplace and stove operations manager job description
A fireplace and stove operations manager assigns installers to jobs each morning and keeps installs on their promised dates. They check that each unit, vent kit and part is in the warehouse before a crew is booked. They also track permits and inspections and sort out delays with customers.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, other building equipment contractors · BLS, May 2025
Annual pay: 10th percentile $58,190, middle half $81,860 to $170,700, 90th percentile $227,430. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
Reports to
General Manager
Department
Operations
Schedule
Weekdays 8 to 5, busy-season on-call · Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., some evenings or weekends to meet install dates, on-call duty in peak seasons
Also called
Installation operations manager · Install and service manager · Field operations manager
Fireplace and stove operations 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.
Responsible for coordinating and managing all aspects of fireplace and stove installation projects to ensure efficiency and high-quality service delivery. Plays a critical role in resource allocation, scheduling, and maintaining project timelines while fostering strong communication between installers, clients, and internal teams.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Allocate installers to projects based on skills, availability, and project requirements.
Schedule and coordinate installation projects to meet customer deadlines and maximize resource utilization.
Oversee project timelines and adjust plans as needed to minimize delays and ensure quality installations.
Manage communication with clients, installers, and other stakeholders to support seamless project execution.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Review project schedules each morning and assign installers accordingly.
Monitor project progress to ensure adherence to timelines.
Conduct daily check-ins with installers to address any issues and update project statuses.
Collaborate with procurement and warehouse teams to ensure the availability of necessary materials and equipment.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Project Completion Rate: Achieve a 95% on-time completion rate.
Customer Satisfaction Rating: Maintain an average rating of >4.8 stars.
Installer Utilization Efficiency: Reach capacity efficiency of at least 90%.
Bachelor’s degree in Business, Operations Management, or related field is preferred.
Minimum of 3 years of experience in operations or project management, preferably within the home services industry.
Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
6. Preferred Experience
Prior experience in the fireplace and stove installation or broader home services industry.
Familiarity with project management software and tools.
Demonstrated success in resource allocation and scheduling in a dynamic work environment.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to lift up to 25 lbs as needed.
Occasional work in environments with varying temperatures, including indoor and outdoor settings.
Ability to move around installation sites and inspect work areas.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Typical work hours: Monday to Friday, 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM.
May require occasional evening or weekend work to meet project deadlines.
Some travel to client sites and project locations is expected.
On-call duties may be necessary during peak seasons.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Salary Range: $60,000 - $75,000 per year, based on experience.
Performance-based bonuses available.
Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance benefits.
401(k) plan with company match and additional fringe benefits as applicable.
10. Company Culture and Overview
We are a forward-thinking company committed to excellence and innovation in the home services industry.
Our inclusive culture fosters professional growth and teamwork.
We invest in our employees with continuous training and career development opportunities.
We believe in working together to deliver outstanding customer experiences and drive mutual success.
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 fireplace install can't start until the unit, every vent piece and the permit are ready, and it isn't finished until the inspector signs off. The operations manager runs every step in between.
A skills grid, not a seniority list
No two installs are alike. One is a direct-vent insert in a brick chimney. Another is a freestanding stove whose chimney has to go up through the attic and roof, or a fireplace framed into a new wall. The operations manager keeps a grid of who can do each kind of job and each brand. It also shows who does gas startups and who works on roofs. The National Fireplace Institute has a separate installer certification for each fuel: gas, wood and pellet. Put those on the grid too. Source: National Fireplace Institute (HPBEF): NFI certifications.
Book the install when the whole job is on the shelf
Glass can crack in transit, and a vent kit short one elbow or wall thimble stops a crew cold. So the operations manager books a date only after the warehouse confirms the box was opened, the unit matches the order, and it sits staged with its venting, trim and remote. A damaged unit gets a replacement order the day it's found, and the customer gets a call with the new date that day too.
The inspector's visit is part of the job
In unincorporated Larimer County, Colorado, for example, factory-built fireplaces, inserts and wood stoves need a permit and an inspection. The inspector checks the install against the maker's instructions, which must be on site. So the operations manager pulls the permit before install day and books the inspection. They make sure the manual stays in the house until the inspector has been, and they track each open permit until it closes. Source: Larimer County, Colorado (example): Fireplaces, wood stoves and fireplace inserts handout (updated January 23, 2026).
The first cold week
When the first cold snap arrives, gas units that sat all summer start to bring in calls: pilots that won't light, dead remote batteries, dirty burners. Those calls land while installs are booked solid. Get the parts they need, such as thermocouples, thermopiles and igniters for the brands you sell, onto the trucks before October, so a short fix doesn't turn into a second trip and a lost install slot.
How much fireplace and stove operations managers make
The closest BLS group for fireplace and stove operations managers is general and operations managers. General and operations managers who work for other building equipment contractors earned a median of $123,170 a year ($59.21 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 5,250 of the 3,503,020 general and operations managers in that survey work for other building equipment contractors.
The job is salaried, with performance bonuses on top. Base the bonus on what scheduling controls, such as dates kept and return trips for missing parts, rather than the number of installs.
Other building equipment contractors
$123,170$123,170 median Middle half $81,860–$170,700 10th–90th $58,190–$227,430
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
Other building equipment contractors
$58,190
$81,860
$123,170
$170,700
$227,430
All industries
$50,090
$72,320
$105,770
$167,280
$253,390
BLS doesn’t publish pay for fireplace and stove installers on their own. These figures cover other building equipment contractors, 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 booked install crews when most units are special orders and fall is the rush
Matches jobs to installers by product, venting route and roof work
Follows each order from the maker to the warehouse to install day without losing a part
Keeps a running list of open permits and inspections and gets them closed
Gives a customer a new date before they have to ask for one
Teach these on the job
Your scheduling and inventory software
Each brand's venting parts and what each install type needs
Permit steps in each town you serve
Freight damage and warranty claim procedures
Your job closeout steps for inspections and paperwork
Plan on a scheduling board in your field service software, the inventory system's open-order and received reports, and a permit log for each town. A staging area in the warehouse, with a shelf or bay for each upcoming install, does as much as any software.
Fireplace and stove operations 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 · Handling a damaged delivery
A special-order stove arrives with cracked glass and a dented panel the day before install. What do you do?
A strong answer: Notes the damage on the delivery receipt with photos, starts the freight claim, contacts the manufacturer for parts or a replacement, calls the customer and moves the crew to another job.
Behavioral · Balancing builder and retail work
Tell me about a time you split install crews between builder jobs and retail customers so neither side waited too long.
A strong answer: Set capacity for each side from builder schedules and the retail backlog, kept a crew flexible, gave both honest dates and tracked wait times.
Read these weekly from September to January, when a slipped date costs the most, and monthly the rest of the year.
Project Completion Rate
Count a job as complete only when the unit runs, the inspection is booked or passed, and nothing is left for a return trip. Report the rest by which step held them up.
Customer Satisfaction Rating
Sort low scores by cause and keep the ones about install dates, arrival windows and waits for parts, since scheduling owns those. Compare crews only on jobs of the same type.
Installer Utilization Efficiency
Booked install and service time against each installer's paid hours, week by week. When it drops, check the staging shelf and the permit log before blaming the crew.
Callback Percentage
Return trips with a scheduling cause: a missing part, a wrong vent piece, an inspection failed over paperwork. Track them apart from product failures, so fixes to staging and booking get credit.
Career path
Lead installerDirects one crew on site and inspects its finished jobs.
Production managerOversees install projects from plan to finish and holds them to code.
Operations managerAssigns installers, books installs once parts are staged, and tracks permits.
General managerLeads the whole location, showroom and office included.
Other roles in a fireplace & stove installation business
Who orders units: the operations manager or the warehouse?
The template has the operations manager work with the buyers and the warehouse, not do the buying. In this bundle, the inventory specialist orders supplies and confirms deliveries, and the warehouse manager runs receiving and gets orders ready for the crews. The operations manager sets the date each job needs its parts and flags any order that will miss it.
How much does a fireplace and stove operations manager make?
General and operations managers who work for other building equipment contractors earned a median of $123,170 a year ($59.21 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $81,860 and $170,700 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and bonus terms.
How should a fireplace operations manager handle a failed inspection?
Get the inspector's notes in writing, fix the item on the next open day, and rebook the inspection before the crew leaves the fix. Then sort the cause: a missed clearance goes back to the lead installer, a missing document to the office. If one item keeps failing in one town, ask that inspector what they look for and add it to your checklist.
Should a hearth operations manager run service too?
The template doesn't say, but your installers also run service calls, so the two calendars share people. If the operations manager owns both, they can move a technician the morning a cold snap fills the service board. If service has its own manager, write down who gets a shared technician on a day both boards are full, and let the GM settle anything the rule doesn't cover.
What do the operations manager template's lifting and temperature lines mean?
Carrying a carton of pipe sections or a surround panel from the warehouse to a truck, checking a stove's hearth pad in a cold garage or an unheated new home, and looking at a vent run in a summer attic. Put that work in plain terms in the posting, so candidates can picture the field side of the job.
