Framing and carpentry chief financial officer job description
A framing and carpentry chief financial officer decides how much lumber price risk the company carries, keeps uninsured crews off its workers' comp bill, and forecasts cash around each builder's check runs. They cost every house plan so the CEO knows which builders and plans actually pay.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, specialty trade contractors · BLS, May 2025
Annual pay: 10th percentile $69,930, middle half $100,570 to $283,340, 90th percentile $386,670. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, specialty trade contractors.
Reports to
Chief Executive Officer
Department
Finance
Schedule
Weekdays 8 to 5, on call at reviews · Monday to Friday, 8 AM to 5 PM, with on-call time during key financial reviews and short trips to local job sites
Also called
CFO · Vice president of finance · Finance director · Fractional CFO
Framing and carpentry chief financial officer 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.
The Chief Financial Officer for our Framing & Carpentry division is a strategic leader responsible for steering the financial health of the organization. This role drives fiscal strategy by managing budgets, conducting cost analysis, and ensuring a positive cash flow to support sustainable growth and operational excellence.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Lead the development and execution of financial strategies for the Framing & Carpentry division.
Oversee budget management, cost analysis, forecasting, and cash flow optimization.
Analyze financial performance and provide actionable insights to improve profitability.
Collaborate with operational teams to align financial targets with project outcomes.
Ensure compliance with financial regulations and internal controls.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Monitor daily cash flow and financial transactions within the division.
Review budget variances and update forecasts as needed.
Liaise with operational managers to discuss project costs and financial performance.
Prepare and review timely financial reports for executive decision-making.
Evaluate financial risks and opportunities on a day-to-day basis.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Budget Variance Rate: Maintain less than a 5% deviation.
Positive Cash Flow: Sustain a minimum buffer of 20%.
Operating Expense Reduction: Achieve a 10% annual cost savings.
Financial Reporting Accuracy: Attain 99% accuracy in monthly reports.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, or a related field.
Minimum of 8-10 years of progressive financial management experience.
Strong analytical, budgeting, and cost management skills.
Proficiency in financial software and ERP systems.
Excellent communication, leadership, and decision-making abilities.
Proven track record in managing complex projects and teams effectively.
Detail-oriented with a strategic mindset for long-term planning.
6. Preferred Experience
Prior experience in the home services industry, specifically within a Framing & Carpentry division.
Previous role as a CFO or senior financial leader in a similar operational environment.
Demonstrated experience managing construction project financials and operational budgets.
Background working with reputable home services or construction companies.
7. Physical Requirements
Primarily an office-based role with periodic site visits.
Ability to lift up to 15 pounds during on-site evaluations.
Frequent use of computer equipment and electronic devices.
Adaptability to work in dynamic environments, including occasional exposure to outdoor conditions.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Typical office hours from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday.
Occasional site visits to Framing & Carpentry project locations.
Minimal travel requirements, primarily local.
On-call availability during critical financial review periods.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Base salary range between $150,000 - $200,000 USD annually.
Performance-based bonus structure tied to key financial metrics.
Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance coverage.
401(k) retirement plan with a competitive company match.
Generous paid time off and holiday policies.
Opportunities for ongoing professional development and career growth.
10. Company Culture and Overview
At [INSERT COMPANY NAME HERE], we are committed to fostering a culture of innovation, collaboration, and continuous improvement. We pride ourselves on a supportive, inclusive work environment that encourages personal and professional growth. Our mission is to deliver exceptional quality in the home services industry while empowering our team to lead and drive positive change across all aspects of our business.
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
Framing contractors sell mostly labor, buy lumber in a market that swings, and often pay subcontracted crews. Each of those choices lands on the CFO's books. The insurance example uses Alaska; rules differ by state.
Supplying the lumber adds price risk
Some framers sell labor only and the builder buys the lumber package. Others supply it, which means bigger invoices, a yard credit line and exposure to price swings. In BLS's softwood lumber price index, May 2021 stood at nearly triple April 2020, and by that September it had dropped below half of its May level. The CFO sets how long a lumber price holds, ties each quote to the yard's quote date, and tells the CEO what one more supplied-lumber builder would add to the credit line. Source: BLS producer price index: softwood lumber (WPU0811).
Uninsured crews end up on your comp bill
Alaska's employer guide is one example. Under policy rules the state approved, a contractor must show proof that each sub carries workers' comp. For any that can't, the insurer charges extra premium on the contractor's policy for that sub's workers, and without clear records it is likely to base the audit on the whole contract price. A 1099 alone doesn't make a framer an independent contractor there. Ask for each crew's certificate straight from its insurance agent, and book crew labor apart from materials. Source: Alaska Division of Workers' Compensation: Employer's guide to the Act, rev. September 2022 (example).
Builders pay on their own check runs
Many production builders issue a purchase order for each lot and stage, then pay it on a set check run once the superintendent approves the work in their system. Miss an approval and the money waits for the next run. The CFO forecasts cash by stage and check date, has someone chase open approvals before each cutoff, and tells the general manager which builders' approvals keep slipping.
Margin lives in each house plan
A builder pays the same price each time it builds a plan, so a plan that runs long loses money house after house. The CFO costs crew hours, crane time, supplied lumber, hardware and callbacks by plan, elevation and option. Hardware adds up: Fairbanks, Alaska's building office, for one, notes that more windows, doors or floors make extra hold-downs more likely. Before each new price sheet, the CEO and general manager get a short list of plans that need a higher price or a simpler detail. Source: City of Fairbanks, Alaska: building FAQ on framing inspections (example).
How much framing and carpentry chief financial officers make
The closest BLS group for framing and carpentry chief financial 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.
The template's CFO earns a base salary plus a bonus tied to financial results. A framing CFO's bonus can rest partly on supplied-lumber jobs that held their quoted margin and on comp audits that closed without surprise premium.
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 kept a lumber yard credit line in good standing through a price spike
Puts a hold date on every supplied-lumber quote and sticks to it
Knows how workers' comp premium audits treat subcontracted crews
Costs work by house plan and elevation, not only by job
Builds a cash forecast from builders' check runs and open approvals
Teach these on the job
Each builder's portal, approvers and check-run dates
Your yard accounts, quote terms and any joint check agreements
How your crews are paid and what paperwork each subcontractor files
What your comp carrier asked for at the last audit
The plan and option codes your builders use on purchase orders
A framing CFO's day runs through job costing set up by lot and plan, the builder portals where purchase orders and approvals live, and lumber yard statements. A useful interview test: hand over one builder's payment notice covering a dozen lots and ask them to post it to the right houses.
Framing and carpentry chief financial 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 · Customer credit risk
A builder pays well past terms on average and keeps adding houses. What do you do?
A strong answer: Measures the exposure, protects lien rights, renegotiates terms, sets a credit limit, and raises it with the owner before adding more.
Behavioral · Improving cash flow
Tell me about a time you shortened the gap between paying for labor and lumber and getting paid by builders.
A strong answer: Names the gap they found, such as extras billed late or draws tied to inspections, the change, such as weekly extras billing or yard terms matched to builder pay cycles, and the cash result.
Framing and carpentry chief financial officer KPIs
Read each of these with labor-only and supplied-lumber work split apart. The two carry different revenue, risk and margin, and one blended figure hides both.
Budget Variance Rate
Each month's actual costs against budget for crew labor, cranes and equipment, lumber and overhead. Explain any labor miss house by house, using each plan's budgeted crew hours.
Positive Cash Flow
Cash at each month-end against next month's payroll, yard bills and loan payments, plus builder payments already approved. Track the dollar value of approvals still open as a warning line.
Operating Expense Reduction
Spending no lot carries, from estimators and office pay to the yard, pickups and insurance, compared with last year. Book a comp audit bill in the year it arrives, with a note, so it isn't mistaken for waste.
Financial Reporting Accuracy
Corrections made after each monthly report goes out, such as lot costs coded to the wrong plan or a builder payment posted to the wrong house, counted and sorted by cause.
Career path
BookkeeperMatches yard invoices, crew pay and builder payments to each lot.
ControllerSigns off on margin by plan before the CEO sees it.
Chief financial officerManages lumber risk, comp audits and cash across every builder.
Chief executive officerSome go on to run the company after years as the CEO's partner on deals.
Most do, unless the crew's business is a corporation, which is generally exempt. For payments in 2026 and later, federal law raised the reporting line for Form 1099-NEC to two thousand dollars a year, and the same line applies to backup withholding on those payments. It may rise with inflation starting in 2027. A crew paid every week passes that line fast, so collect a W-9 with its taxpayer ID before the first check.
How much does a framing and carpentry chief financial 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 sign joint check agreements with its lumber yard?
Yards that supply a framer's lumber sometimes ask the builder to write checks payable to both the yard and the framer, so the yard knows it will be paid. That can keep a credit line open when your own credit is stretched. Have your attorney read each agreement, track which lot every joint check covers, and endorse it over to the yard the day it arrives.
How should a framing CFO handle retainage on apartment jobs?
Framing is one of the first trades finished, but many apartment subcontracts hold back part of each payment until the whole building is done, often many months after your crews leave. Before signing, ask for your held-back money to be released when the framing is accepted, not at the end. Track each held amount as its own receivable with the date it's due, and price the wait into the bid. Ask your attorney whether your state limits retainage.
How much field time does a framing CFO need?
A little. Read the template's 15-pound lifting and outdoor lines as short visits: walking a lot to count a lumber drop against the yard ticket, checking a stack of trusses reported damaged, or carrying a laptop and a folder of delivery slips to a builder's office. Those lines ship as written. List the visits in your ad and say that requests for accommodation are welcome.
