Framing and carpentry chief executive officer job description
A framing and carpentry chief executive officer decides which builders and building types the company frames for, how fast it adds crews, and whether it builds wall panels or buys them. Owners or a board measure them by growth and margin, and the CEO lines up the licenses and financial statements that bigger jobs require.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, specialty trade contractors · BLS, May 2025
Lead the strategic direction of the Framing & Carpentry division within the home services industry. Drive business growth by securing major framing and carpentry contracts and ensuring operational profitability. Represent the company in high-level negotiations and industry events to enhance brand reputation. Foster a culture of innovation, quality, and service excellence across all aspects of the business.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Develop and execute strategic initiatives to drive revenue growth and market share in the framing and carpentry sector.
Identify and secure new contract opportunities and maintain strong relationships with key clients.
Oversee operational efficiency, budgeting, and financial performance to ensure sustained profitability.
Lead a high-performing executive team, setting clear goals and monitoring progress against objectives.
Ensure compliance with industry regulations, standards, and safety protocols.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Conduct review meetings with senior management to discuss project updates, financials, and strategic priorities.
Engage in high-level client interactions to present proposals, negotiate contracts, and address business needs.
Analyze market trends and data to adjust strategic plans and identify emerging opportunities.
Oversee contract bidding processes and coordinate with operations to ensure project deliverables are met.
Represent the company at industry forums, networking events, and public engagements.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Revenue Growth: Achieve a minimum annual increase of 15%.
Contract Win Rate: Secure at least 80% success in competitive contract bids.
Customer Satisfaction Rating: Maintain a rating of >4.8 stars from client feedback surveys.
Gross Margin: Sustain a gross margin of at least 30% on projects.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor’s degree in Business, Construction Management, or a related field; advanced degree preferred.
Proven leadership experience at an executive level, with a strong background in scaling operations.
Exceptional strategic planning, negotiation, and decision-making abilities.
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills with a focus on team empowerment and accountability.
6. Preferred Experience
10+ years of experience in the home services industry with a focus on framing, carpentry, or construction operations.
Demonstrated track record in winning large-scale contracts and delivering profitable outcomes.
Prior experience in executive leadership and managing multi-disciplinary teams.
Familiarity with industry-specific regulations, market dynamics, and technological advancements in construction.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to visit job sites and perform on-site evaluations when necessary.
Capable of managing meetings in diverse settings, including office environments and active construction sites.
Occasional lifting of materials or samples up to 20 lbs may be required.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Standard business hours with additional flexibility to accommodate client meetings and industry events.
Occasional travel to client sites, industry conferences, and regional offices.
On-call availability for critical business matters during non-business hours on a rotational basis.
Primarily office-based with regular field visits.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Salary Range: $150,000 - $250,000 per annum, commensurate with experience and qualifications.
Performance-based bonuses aligned with contract wins and profitability metrics.
Comprehensive Health, Dental, and Vision insurance plans.
Participation in a 401(k) retirement plan with company matching contributions.
Other fringe benefits such as company vehicle allowance and professional development opportunities.
10. Company Culture and Overview
Our company prides itself on a dynamic and growth-oriented culture that encourages innovation, collaboration, and personal development.
We foster an inclusive environment where team members are empowered to contribute ideas and drive change.
Our commitment to excellence and customer satisfaction is at the heart of every project we undertake, paving the way for long-term success and industry leadership.
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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A framing company sells crew time to builders and general contractors, so leads, licenses and the balance sheet cap how far it can grow. These are the calls that set those limits. The license example uses Arkansas; every state draws its own lines.
Apartment buildings can need a bigger license
Take Arkansas. A building with five or more units isn't single-family there, so framing one for fifty thousand dollars or more takes a commercial license with the carpentry and framing class. A restricted license, good for single projects below 1.5 million dollars, needs a compiled financial statement. Bigger projects call for a statement reviewed or audited by a CPA. Lumber bought by the prime contractor doesn't count toward your project cost if that contractor's license lists the class for your work. Line up that CPA work before the big bid. Source: Arkansas Commercial Contractors Licensing Law and rules, revised April 2026 (example).
A panel shop makes you part factory
Building wall panels or trusses indoors moves framing hours off the lot and out of the rain, and can take days off each house on a builder's schedule. It also means a building, saws and layout tables, flatbed trucks, a crane or telehandler for every set, and a shop crew that needs steady volume in slow months. Whether to build panels, buy them from a component plant or keep stick framing is the CEO's call, sized to builders' signed starts, not hoped-for ones.
Lead framers set the growth rate
Each new crew needs a lead who can read structural sheets, run a crane day and get a frame through inspection. OSHA also requires a competent person to train every worker who may be exposed to falls, so someone must be ready to teach each new crew. Before promising a builder another community, the CEO checks how many leads are ready now and how many crews each field supervisor can cover. Faster growth shows up months later as correction notices and back-charges. Source: eCFR: 29 CFR 1926.503, fall protection training.
Trim and doors are a second business
Finish carpentry starts weeks after the frame, once drywall is hung and finished, and builders judge it on fit and finish rather than speed. It needs its own people, tools and storage for door and trim packages. Some framing companies drop it to keep every hand on frames. Others keep it because the same builders want one trade partner from frame to punch. The CEO makes that call, and judges trim on its own monthly profit and loss rather than blended into framing.
How much framing and carpentry chief executive officers make
The closest BLS group for framing and carpentry chief executive officers is chief executives. Chief executives who work for specialty trade contractors earned a median of $169,170 a year ($81.33 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 3,830 of the 204,350 chief executives in that survey work for specialty trade contractors.
Per the template, the CEO earns a salary, bonuses for contract wins and profit, and a vehicle allowance. Pay the contract-win part only after a new builder's first phase is framed and its margin is known, so a cheap price sheet can't earn a payout.
Specialty trade contractors
$169,170$169,170 median Middle half $100,570–$283,340 10th–90th $69,930–$386,670
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
Specialty trade contractors
$69,930
$100,570
$169,170
$283,340
$386,670
All industries
$75,700
$129,540
$213,990
$356,200
$507,730
BLS counts too few chief executives at structure and exterior contractors for a steady figure, so these figures cover specialty trade contractors. 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 added framing crews for a new builder community and kept the old ones on schedule
Knows what a production builder's purchasing team expects from its framer
Reads the company's balance sheet the way a licensing board or surety would
Can size a crew plan: how many leads, framers and helpers a community needs
Has held a builder price sheet through a slow housing market
Teach these on the job
Each builder's start pace and the plans you frame most often
The CPA work your license renewals call for
The component plants and lumber yards you buy from
Whether your crews are employees, subcontractors or a mix
What the owners ask to see before approving a new builder
A framing CEO's dashboard is the builders' start schedules: lots released, lots coming and the plans on each. Give finalists your backlog by builder and building type, and ask what they would want to learn from a builder's division president.
Framing and carpentry chief executive 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 · Big builder contracts
A national builder offers a contract for a large number of houses at a tight price. How do you decide?
A strong answer: Checks crew capacity, who buys the lumber, cash flow and payment terms, how much of the business one builder would control, and might start with a smaller phase.
Behavioral · Learning from failure
Tell me about a bet you made that didn't pay off, such as a new builder account, a panel shop, a finish carpentry division or a new market.
A strong answer: Names the decision and the numbers they expected, what actually happened, how fast they cut losses, and the check they now run before a similar bet.
Framing and carpentry chief executive officer KPIs
Work out each target with the owners from your signed backlog and crew count. The template's figures assume a builder market that's growing.
Revenue Growth
Billed revenue against the same month last year, read beside square feet framed. When revenue climbs and square footage doesn't, the growth came from price, not from more framing.
Contract Win Rate
Builder communities, phases and apartment buildings awarded, out of those you priced. Log the reason for each loss, such as price, crew count or start date, so sales and operations each see their share.
Customer Satisfaction Rating
Builders seldom answer surveys. Ask each division's purchasing manager for a yearly score and track the back-charges each builder bills you. A rising back-charge total is a low rating in money.
Gross Margin
Revenue minus crew labor and its payroll costs, crane and equipment time and any materials you supply, by builder and building type. A builder whose margin slides two quarters in a row gets a pricing talk.
Career path
Project managerLearns each builder's plans, prices and payment habits.
General managerLeads the framing and trim crews' managers and keeps builders happy day to day.
Chief executive officerPicks builders, building types and growth pace, and answers to the owners.
Owner or partnerEarns shares by hitting growth targets, often with a path to buy the founder out.
Should a framing company take on apartment buildings?
One building can keep crews busy for months, which smooths out the year. But apartment work comes through general contractors, often with slower pay, held-back payments, more submittals and stricter site rules, and multistory wood frames add fire-blocking and shrinkage details your crews may not know. Bid one building first and staff it with your strongest lead. Judge it on cash as well as margin, and don't pull crews your single-family builders were promised.
How much does a framing and carpentry chief executive officer make?
Chief executives who work for specialty trade contractors earned a median of $169,170 a year ($81.33 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $100,570 and $283,340 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and bonus terms.
Should a framing company own its telehandlers or rent them?
Look at how the machines move. A telehandler parked in one community, lifting bundles to the deck on most working days, earns its payment. One that has to be trailered between scattered lots for a lift or two is usually cheaper to rent with delivery included. Owned machines also bring service, a truck and trailer to haul them, insurance, and an evaluation record for every operator. Many framers own enough for steady work and rent for the busy months.
What should a framing CEO do when a builder asks for a price cut?
Start with the past year's numbers on that builder's plans: labor hours, crane rental and callbacks. If a plan is already thin, show the figures. Offer something besides price, such as a full phase at a fixed rate, simpler sheathing layouts, or panels for plans the builder repeats. Decide your floor before the meeting, and turn down volume your crews would frame at a loss.
How much site work does a framing CEO do?
Enough to see the product. Picture walking a framed second floor with a builder's superintendent before a big award, stepping through stud walls and over lumber stacks, and climbing temporary stairs. Now and then the CEO brings a sample wall section or a bag of hold-downs to a meeting. The template's site-visit and 20-pound lifting lines ship as written. Spell out these visits next to them, and say who to contact about reasonable accommodation.
