Commercial general contractor office manager job description
A commercial general contractor office manager runs the front office, contract files and document logs, and gets pay applications and bid packages out on time. They keep the company's registrations, tax clearances and records current, so a public or federal job is never held up by missing paperwork.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, commercial building contractors · BLS, May 2025
Responsible for overseeing administrative operations, billing practices, and project documentation to support commercial construction initiatives. Serves as the primary liaison between field operations and the back office to ensure seamless communication and efficient project delivery.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Manage and supervise day-to-day administrative tasks to support commercial projects.
Handle billing, invoicing, and document control to maintain accurate financial records.
Coordinate with project managers to ensure timely supply of project documentation.
Maintain compliance with company policies and industry regulations.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Oversee reception, email, and phone communications with clients and vendors.
Process invoices and collaborate with the accounting team for timely payments.
Organize and maintain project files, contracts, and correspondence.
Facilitate effective scheduling and resource allocation for ongoing projects.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Invoice Processing Accuracy: 99% accuracy in billing and documentation.
Documentation Turnaround Time: 95% of documents processed within 24 hours.
Customer Satisfaction Rating: Achieve a rating of >4.8 stars on feedback surveys.
Administrative Efficiency: Reduce administrative errors by 10% year-over-year.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Construction Management, or a related field.
Minimum of 3 years’ experience in an office management role, preferably within the construction or home services industry.
Strong organizational and multitasking abilities.
Proficiency in office software and construction management tools.
6. Preferred Experience
Experience working with commercial general contracting or related industries.
Background in project management and construction administration.
Familiarity with billing systems and document management processes.
Previous exposure to contract administration and compliance.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to lift up to 20 pounds occasionally.
Extended periods of sitting and working at a computer.
Occasional movement around office and project sites.
Maintain a posture suitable for both desk work and light physical tasks.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Typical work hours: Monday to Friday, 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM.
Occasional extended hours to meet project deadlines.
On-site presence in the office with occasional visits to project locations.
Minimal travel required, primarily local or regional.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Salary Range: $45,000 - $60,000 USD per year, commensurate with experience.
Eligibility for performance bonuses based on meeting administrative KPIs.
Health, dental, and vision insurance coverage.
401(k) retirement plan options with company matching.
Additional fringe benefits such as paid time off and professional development opportunities.
10. Company Culture and Overview
We are a growth-oriented company that fosters a collaborative and innovative environment, empowering employees to excel in a supportive and dynamic culture.
Our commitment to quality, teamwork, and continuous improvement drives our success and helps build lasting relationships with clients and employees alike.
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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The paperwork that wins and closes commercial jobs
Any office manager keeps files and runs the front desk. At a commercial GC, public and federal owners won't sign, pay or close out without certain records, and the office is the one that has them ready.
Hawaii state jobs wait on a tax clearance
In Hawaii, a state contract of 25,000 dollars or more isn't binding until the agency has the contractor's tax clearance from both the state Department of Taxation and the IRS (HRS § 103D-328). Final payment waits for new clearances, and if a tax debt turns up during the contract, the state can set it off against your payments. Keep the clearance current and know how to renew it well before bid day. Source: Hawaii Revised Statutes § 103D-328, tax clearances.
Delaware public bids name the subs
On a Delaware public building job above the bid limit the state sets, the bid must come with a list of subcontractors. When the agency requires subs to be prequalified, a bidder may not list one that hasn't been (29 Del. C. § 6962). Collect sub names and their prequalification status while the bid is being priced, not in the last hour before it's due. Source: Delaware Code, Title 29, § 6962, large public works contracts.
Federal work starts and ends with records
To bid federal work, the company must be registered in SAM when it submits the offer (FAR 4.1102). After the job, contractors keep books, documents and other records available for audit for 3 years after final payment in most cases (FAR 4.703). Put the SAM renewal on the office calendar, and mark each federal job file with the date it can leave storage, unless a dispute or audit is still open. Source: FAR 4.703, contractor records retention policy (eCFR).
Contract notices run on the contract's clock
Commercial contracts often require written notice of a delay or claim within a set number of days, sent a set way. When a contract is signed, copy each notice deadline and delivery method into the office calendar, and keep proof of every notice sent. A claim with good facts can still fail because the notice went out late.
Every addendum gets acknowledged
While a job is out to bid, owners issue addenda that change drawings, specs or the bid date. Log each one as it arrives, send it to the estimator and the subs pricing that scope, and check that the bid form lists all of them before it goes out.
How much commercial general contractor office managers make
The closest BLS group for commercial general contractor office managers is First-Line supervisors of office and administrative support workers. First-Line supervisors of office and administrative support workers who work for commercial and industrial builders earned a median of $36.07 an hour ($75,020 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s above the $69,500 median for First-Line supervisors of office and administrative support workers in all industries. About 5,340 of the 1,436,680 First-Line supervisors of office and administrative support workers in that survey work for commercial building contractors.
Office managers here tend to be salaried, earning a bonus when they hit the template's administrative goals. The posted range begins under most of the BLS numbers for office and administrative supervisors in commercial building and ends below their median.
Commercial building contractors
$75,020$75,020 median Middle half $59,480–$94,210 10th–90th $52,660–$119,350
All industries
$69,500$69,500 median Middle half $55,950–$85,090 10th–90th $45,610–$104,710
$25k$50k$75k$100k$125k$150k
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
$52,660
$59,480
$75,020
$94,210
$119,350
All industries
$45,610
$55,950
$69,500
$85,090
$104,710
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
Running the front office and the document logs at the same time
Reading a contract for dates, notices and insurance terms
Building a bid package against a hard deadline
Keeping project managers on time with polite, steady follow-up
Fluency in Word, Excel and Adobe Acrobat
Teach these on the job
Your project platform's document and RFI logs
SAM.gov and state contractor registration steps
Hawaii tax clearance and Delaware bid forms
Your filing structure and record hold dates
Which owners want what in their billing packets
Drawings, RFIs and submittals live in the company's project software, often Procore or Autodesk Build. Bid forms go through Adobe Acrobat and contracts through DocuSign. Tell candidates which platform runs your jobs and if building bid packages is part of the role.
Commercial general contractor office 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 · Insurance requirements
A subcontractor's insurance certificate doesn't list your company and the owner as additional insureds, as the subcontract requires. What do you do?
A strong answer: Rejects it, tells the sub's agent exactly what's needed, informs the project manager, and follows policy on site access or payment until it's fixed.
Behavioral · Organized under pressure
Tell me about a time you kept closeout paperwork organized while several projects were finishing at once.
A strong answer: Describes a tracker by project (warranties, manuals, lien waivers), priorities, and how deadlines were met.
The template's goals are samples. Count your own document and billing errors for a quarter, then set targets that fit your project load.
Invoice Processing Accuracy
Track pay applications and vendor bills that came back for a wrong amount, missing backup or wrong format, as a share of everything sent.
Documentation Turnaround Time
Log when each contract, RFI, submittal or change order reaches the office and when it is filed, sent or routed, using the project platform's time stamps.
Customer Satisfaction Rating
Add office questions to the closeout survey: how easy the billing was to follow, how fast paperwork came back, and whether calls were returned.
Administrative Efficiency
Keep a simple error log of late notices, misfiled documents and lapsed registrations, and compare its count with the same months last year.
Career path
Receptionist at an architecture firmLearns drawings, transmittals and how project files are kept.
Project coordinatorSupports project managers with RFIs, submittals and meeting minutes.
Office managerRuns the front office, contract files, bids and records.
Contracts managerReviews and negotiates owner contracts and subcontracts for the company.
Other roles in a commercial general contractor business
Who keeps the RFI and change order logs, the office manager or the project managers?
Project managers write RFIs and price changes. The office manager keeps the logs: numbers, dates sent and answered, and filing in the project platform. With one person owning the logs, an owner's question about an old change gets an answer in minutes, not a search through three inboxes.
How much does a commercial general contractor office manager make?
First-Line supervisors of office and administrative support workers who work for commercial and industrial builders earned a median of $36.07 an hour ($75,020 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $59,480 and $94,210 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and overtime.
How many project managers can one office manager support?
It depends on how much billing and bid work sits with the office. A useful signal: when logs and bid packages stop getting done in normal hours, add a project coordinator. Watch overtime and late pay applications, since they show the load before a resignation does.
Should the office manager review contracts?
The office manager should read every contract for dates, notice rules, insurance terms and billing steps, and flag anything unusual to the general manager. Changing the terms is a job for the general manager and counsel. A one-page summary of each contract keeps project managers from missing the parts that cost money.
What physical tasks are part of the office manager job?
Per the template, the job means occasional lifting of up to 20 pounds, long stretches at a computer, and moving around the office and project sites. Think of carrying plan sets and closeout boxes, hand-delivering a sealed bid to a public agency, and attending a site meeting in a hard hat and vest.
