A commercial general contractor COO runs project delivery on every job. They set how project managers, superintendents and subs plan, build and close out work, own the safety and quality systems, and step in with owners when a job slips.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, commercial building contractors · BLS, May 2025
General Contractor - Commercial - Chief Operating Officer
Company Name:
[INSERT COMPANY NAME HERE]
Department:
Operations
Reports to:
[Chief Executive Officer]
Location:
[INSERT LOCATION HERE]
1. Position Summary
Responsible for overseeing and optimizing daily operations within our commercial general contracting projects to drive operational excellence and foster efficiency. Plays a pivotal role in managing cross-department workflows and ensuring alignment with strategic company objectives.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Lead operational strategies that streamline processes and enhance productivity across all departments.
Manage and coordinate the cross-functional teams to ensure on-time project delivery and high-quality execution.
Foster a culture of continuous improvement and operational excellence among project teams.
Collaborate with senior leadership to develop and implement long-term growth initiatives and performance improvement plans.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Oversee daily project operations and provide executive guidance to department heads.
Conduct regular performance reviews and daily briefings to monitor project progress.
Engage with key clients and stakeholders to assess project progress and address concerns promptly.
Evaluate operational data to drive actionable insights and implement process improvements.
Operational Efficiency Improvement: Achieve a 15% increase year-over-year.
Client Satisfaction Rating: Maintain customer feedback scores of >4.8 stars.
Gross Margin: Ensure a minimum of 20% margin on approved projects.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Construction Management, Engineering, or a related field.
Minimum of 10 years of progressive leadership experience in operations within the construction or contracting industry.
Excellent strategic planning, problem-solving, and decision-making abilities.
Strong interpersonal and communication skills, with proven experience in cross-departmental collaboration.
6. Preferred Experience
Prior executive experience within the commercial general contracting or home services industries.
History of successfully implementing operational improvements and change management initiatives.
Experience overseeing large-scale construction projects and managing multi-disciplinary teams.
Familiarity with industry-specific software and technologies for project management and operational analysis.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to visit active construction sites, which may involve walking on uneven terrain and occasional exposure to outdoor weather conditions.
Capable of lifting up to 20 pounds for light equipment inspections.
Frequent site visits requiring standing, walking, and occasional climbing of stairs or ladders.
Compliance with all safety and operational health standards as required at construction sites.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Standard work hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
Flexibility to work during extended hours or weekends as project demands require.
Regular travel to multiple project sites is expected.
Availability for on-call duties during critical project phases or emergencies.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Base salary range: $150,000 - $200,000 per year, commensurate with experience.
Performance-based annual bonus structure.
Comprehensive benefits package including Health, Dental, Vision, and 401k plan with company match.
Additional fringe benefits including paid time off, professional development opportunities, and transportation allowances.
10. Company Culture and Overview
Our company embraces a culture of innovation and excellence, offering employees opportunities to grow and make a meaningful impact on major construction projects.
We value teamwork, transparency, and continuous improvement, and strive to create an environment where every team member can excel and contribute to our long-term success.
We are dedicated to maintaining a supportive and inclusive workplace where ideas are valued and collaboration leads to outstanding results.
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 changes for a COO at a commercial general contractor
Every COO builds systems so work is done the same way each time. At a commercial GC, those systems must also cover old buildings, concrete dust and a stack of turnover papers.
Older buildings need an asbestos inspection first
EPA's asbestos NESHAP rules cover renovation and demolition in commercial buildings. They leave out residential buildings with four or fewer dwelling units. The rules call for a thorough inspection where the work will happen. The owner or operator must also notify the delegated agency, often a state agency, before any demolition, and before renovations that disturb asbestos material above a threshold amount. Make the survey a gate in your preconstruction checklist. Don't leave it to the demolition sub. Source: U.S. EPA: Asbestos National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP).
Slab cutting needs a written silica plan
Fit-outs often mean saw-cutting slabs for new plumbing, core drilling and grinding concrete. Any employer whose workers do that needs a written exposure control plan. It must also name a competent person to inspect the work and carry out the plan (29 CFR 1926.1153(g)). The COO checks that your plan covers the tasks your crews really do. Each sub doing silica work needs its own plan. Source: eCFR: 29 CFR 1926.1153, respirable crystalline silica in construction.
Injury summaries go to OSHA each March
Construction is on OSHA's list for electronic filing. An establishment with 20 or more employees at any point last year must file its Form 300A summary electronically by March 2 (29 CFR 1904.41). Owners' prequalification forms often ask for the same figures. The COO should know them, and how each case was recorded, before an owner asks. Source: eCFR: 29 CFR 1904.41, electronic submission of injury and illness records.
Turnover is its own phase
Commercial owners expect manuals, warranties, as-built drawings, spare materials and staff training before final payment. Jobs that leave this to the last week can stall for months. Give closeout its own checklist, a named owner and a start date in every schedule. Review open closeout items for all jobs in one weekly report.
Decide which trades to keep in-house
Many commercial GCs do some trades themselves, such as rough carpentry, doors and hardware or small concrete work. They sub out the rest. Each trade you keep adds control and margin, but also labor risk and equipment cost. Review the choice each year from job cost history, not habit.
How much commercial general contractor COOs make
The closest BLS group for commercial general contractor COOs is chief executives. Chief executives who work for commercial and industrial builders earned a median of $225,550 a year ($108.44 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s above the $213,990 median for chief executives in all industries. About 840 of the 204,350 chief executives in that survey work for commercial building contractors.
Usually a salary plus an annual bonus, as the template says. Linking the bonus to schedule results and finished-job profit, not revenue, rewards delivery.
Commercial building contractors
$225,550$225,550 median Middle half $168,640–$347,300 10th–90th $124,070–$499,640
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
Commercial building contractors
$124,070
$168,640
$225,550
$347,300
$499,640
All industries
$75,700
$129,540
$213,990
$356,200
$507,730
BLS doesn’t publish pay for commercial general contractors on their own. These figures cover nonresidential building construction, 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 run several commercial jobs at once
Writes simple processes that superintendents follow
Reads a schedule and finds the critical path fast
Holds project managers to forecasts without hovering
Treats safety records as a business number
Teach these on the job
Your project management platform and its reports
Your owners' prequalification and reporting forms
Your closeout checklist and turnover format
Which trades your company performs in-house
Expect the COO to decide how jobs are run inside your project platform, such as Procore or Autodesk Build, covering submittals, RFIs, daily logs and closeout. Schedules usually live in Primavera P6 or Microsoft Project, and the COO should read both.
Commercial general contractor COO 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 · Staffing projects
You've won two projects that start the same month, and only one superintendent with the right experience is free. What do you do?
A strong answer: Assigns by risk and complexity, considers a strong assistant with extra support, hiring, or adjusting a start date, and doesn't overload one superintendent.
Behavioral · Standardizing processes
Tell me about a time you got project teams that each ran jobs their own way to use one standard process, such as submittal logs, change-order logs or monthly cost reports.
A strong answer: Names the process, built it with a project manager and a superintendent, kept the template short, trained the teams, checked it in monthly project reviews, and shows a result like faster change-order approvals or fewer missed submittals.
The figures in the template are only examples. Recent closed jobs and the buildings you want to win next should decide yours.
Project Delivery Timeliness
Count jobs that reached substantial completion by the contract date, adjusted only for time extensions the owner signed. On every late job, find the first slip, not the last.
Operational Efficiency Improvement
Pick one or two measures you can count the same way every year, such as fee earned per project manager or overhead per job, and compare them year over year.
Client Satisfaction Rating
Interview each owner's project lead at closeout and score responsiveness, quality and closeout speed. The COO calls anyone who scores you low.
Gross Margin
Follow margin on approved projects from bid to closeout, and flag any job whose forecast margin drops between monthly reviews so the team acts early.
Should the COO pick the superintendent for each job?
The COO sets the rule, and operations makes the daily call. A good rule matches the superintendent to the building type and the owner, such as a medical fit-out or an occupied office. The COO steps in on the biggest jobs, and settles it when two PMs both claim one superintendent. The COO also keeps a list of who is ready for larger work.
How much does a commercial general contractor COO make?
Chief executives who work for commercial and industrial builders earned a median of $225,550 a year ($108.44 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $168,640 and $347,300 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and bonus terms.
Do we need a full-time safety manager?
Many commercial GCs add one when several jobs run at once or owners ask for safety staff in prequalification. Until then, the COO sets the safety program and superintendents carry it out. A part-time consultant can run audits and training in between. Whoever holds it, the COO should see every incident report the day it happens.
How does a COO keep owners from finding problems first?
Hold a short monthly review on each job, apart from the owner's meetings. The project manager walks through schedule, cost forecast, open change orders and closeout status. When something slips, the project manager calls the owner first, with a plan. Owners forgive delays far more easily than surprises.
What does the COO do on site, given the template's lifting and ladder lines?
The template mentions uneven ground, outdoor conditions, lifting up to 20 pounds and climbing stairs or ladders. On a site walk, that means checking upper floors by stairs before the elevator is running, and climbing to a roof to see curbs or flashing. It also means carrying a tablet, drawings or a sample. The COO wears the same gear and follows the same safety rules as everyone on site.
