Commercial general contractor operations manager job description
A commercial general contractor operations manager assigns the company's own crews, tools and equipment across active jobs and keeps the weekly plan realistic. They confirm materials, rentals and site readiness, so carpenters and laborers aren't left waiting on a sub, a delivery or a missing lift.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, commercial building contractors · BLS, May 2025
Annual pay: 10th percentile $64,930, middle half $99,830 to $207,480, 90th percentile $300,370. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
Reports to
General Manager
Department
Operations
Schedule
Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. · Extended hours in peak periods or when plans change, regular travel between sites, and on-call for urgent field issues
Also called
Director of field operations · Construction operations manager · Field operations manager · Resource manager
Commercial general contractor 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.
General Contractor - Commercial - Operations Manager
Company Name:
[INSERT COMPANY NAME HERE]
Department:
Operations
Reports to:
[General Manager]
Location:
[INSERT LOCATION HERE]
1. Position Summary
Responsible for efficiently allocating crews, optimizing schedules, and ensuring resource availability to keep projects on track and maintain high standards of quality. Plays a pivotal role in maximizing operational efficiency, reducing downtime, and supporting the overall growth and success of the company. Acts as a key liaison between field operations and management, ensuring seamless communication and coordination.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Allocate appropriate crews to commercial projects based on skill sets and availability.
Optimize daily and weekly schedules to maximize productivity and minimize project delays.
Ensure that all necessary resources and equipment are available for scheduled projects.
Coordinate with project managers and other departments to align operational plans with company goals.
Monitor and report on operational performance to ensure adherence to timelines and budgets.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Review the day’s project schedule and assign crews while adjusting for any last-minute changes.
Conduct daily check-ins with team leads to assess progress and resolve any operational issues.
Liaise with vendors and supply chain partners to confirm timely delivery of required materials.
Perform routine audits of resource allocation and crew efficiency to optimize future scheduling.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Crew Utilization Rate: Achieve a minimum of 90% efficiency per operational cycle.
Project Timeliness: Ensure at least 95% of projects meet the scheduled deadlines.
Resource Availability Rate: Maintain a target of 98% resource availability for scheduled projects.
Customer Satisfaction Rating: Attain an average rating of at least 4.8 stars from client feedback.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor’s degree in Construction Management, Business Administration, or a related field.
Minimum of 5 years’ experience in operations within the commercial construction or general contracting industry.
Excellent communication, organizational, and multitasking skills.
Proficiency in scheduling software and operational management tools.
Strong leadership skills with a proven track record of team management and conflict resolution.
6. Preferred Experience
Prior experience with crew allocation and project scheduling in a commercial general contracting environment.
Familiarity with construction codes, safety regulations, and industry standards.
Demonstrated experience working in a high-volume, fast-paced operational setting.
Experience with resource management in multi-site operations or large-scale projects.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to occasionally lift up to 25 pounds to transport materials or tools.
Frequent moving and standing while overseeing active construction sites.
Ability to work in variable weather conditions and on-site environments.
Occasional exposure to construction noise and on-site hazards requiring adherence to safety protocols.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Standard work hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
Occasional need for extended hours during peak project periods or unforeseen circumstances.
Moderate travel between various project sites is required regularly.
On-call duties may be necessary for urgent or emergency operational issues.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Annual salary range: $80,000 - $100,000 USD based on experience and qualifications.
Performance-based bonuses eligible upon meeting or exceeding KPI targets.
Comprehensive health benefit package, including medical, dental, and vision coverage.
401(k) plan with company matching contributions available.
Additional fringe benefits including paid time off, professional development opportunities, and employee wellness programs.
10. Company Culture and Overview
We are a growth-oriented company committed to excellence and innovation, where every team member is encouraged to contribute to a dynamic work environment.
Our culture values collaboration, diversity, and continuous improvement, empowering employees to achieve both personal and professional success.
We believe that our success is driven by a solid foundation of teamwork, transparent communication, and a shared commitment to client satisfaction.
Join us to be part of an inspiring team that supports your career growth while delivering outstanding service to our clients.
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 an operations manager at a commercial general contractor
In any trade, operations puts the right people and equipment on the right job. At a commercial GC, your own crews fit around many subs, and each assignment carries site rules that travel with it.
Delaware wants notice before anyone digs
On ground-up jobs and site work, someone has to notify the one-call center before the excavator shows up. Delaware law requires that notice at least 3 business days, and no more than 12, before work starts (26 Del. C. § 806). When a dig date moves, the window moves with it. Agree on whether your crew or the site sub places each ticket. Source: Delaware Code, Title 26, Chapter 8, Subchapter I (§ 806).
Temporary power needs GFCI or a grounding program
OSHA gives construction employers two choices. Protect temporary 120-volt receptacles of 15 or 20 amps with ground-fault circuit interrupters, or run the rule's assured equipment grounding conductor program, which covers cords and corded tools (29 CFR 1926.404(b)(1)). Your company picks one. When cords, spider boxes and tools move between jobs, make sure they follow that choice, and check each cord set before it goes back out. Source: eCFR: 29 CFR 1926.404, wiring design and protection.
The person you move needs the right training
Before you send a carpenter to a job with rolling scaffold, check their records. Anyone working from a scaffold must be trained by a qualified person on the hazards of that type of scaffold (29 CFR 1926.454(a)). Forklift operators on a jobsite need training and an evaluation too (29 CFR 1926.602(d)). Keep a simple training chart next to the crew schedule, so a quick swap doesn't put an untrained person on the job. Source: eCFR: 29 CFR 1926.454, scaffold training requirements.
Give punch work its own crew
Near the end of each job, punch lists and closeout fixes pull carpenters away from the next job's framing and doors. Many commercial GCs keep a small, steady punch crew that moves from job to job. It finishes jobs cleanly without stalling the next start. Track its hours by job, so the cost shows up where the defects were.
How much commercial general contractor operations managers make
The closest BLS group for commercial general contractor operations managers is general and operations managers. General and operations managers who work for commercial and industrial builders earned a median of $148,700 a year ($71.49 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 32,560 of the 3,503,020 general and operations managers in that survey work for commercial building contractors.
Usually a salary with a bonus for meeting KPI targets, as the template describes. The pay range in the template is lower than the BLS median for this industry, though that figure also counts general managers. Check what local contractors offer before you post.
Commercial building contractors
$148,700$148,700 median Middle half $99,830–$207,480 10th–90th $64,930–$300,370
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$350k
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
$64,930
$99,830
$148,700
$207,480
$300,370
All industries
$50,090
$72,320
$105,770
$167,280
$253,390
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 scheduled crews across several commercial jobs at once
Can read drawings well enough to judge crew size
Keeps superintendents and project managers on one plan
Says no to a project manager when the crew isn't free
Spots idle time on timecards and fixes the cause
Teach these on the job
Your crew scheduling tool and timecard app
Your equipment list and rental vendors
Each owner's site rules, badges and work hours
Your training records and who holds which card
Crew plans often live in a tool like LaborChart or a shared spreadsheet. Daily reports come in through Procore or Raken, and owned equipment is tracked in a system such as Tenna or ToolWatch.
Commercial general contractor 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 · Allocating self-perform crews
Three projects all want your best self-perform carpentry crew next week. How do you decide?
A strong answer: Looks at contract milestones, critical path, liquidated damages exposure, site readiness and alternatives like overtime, a sub or another crew, then decides and explains why.
Behavioral · Cutting downtime
Tell me about a time you cut downtime for crews waiting on materials, equipment or other trades.
A strong answer: Names the cause of the waiting, the fix (staging, lookahead checks, delivery timing) and the hours saved.
Commercial general contractor operations manager KPIs
The numbers in the template are samples, not rules. A few months of your own timecards and schedules will show what's realistic, and you can raise them as the crew grows.
Crew Utilization Rate
Compare hours your crews charged to jobs with hours paid each week, from timecards in your field app. Sort the idle time by cause: waiting on subs, materials or decisions.
Project Timeliness
Check each job's actual substantial completion date against the contract date plus approved extensions, and note which slips came from your own crews.
Resource Availability Rate
Count scheduled crew starts where people, materials and equipment were all on site at start time, out of all scheduled starts that week.
Customer Satisfaction Rating
At the end of each job, ask the owner's site contact to rate cleanliness, communication and schedule. Go over low scores in the weekly operations meeting.
Commercial general contractor operations manager FAQ
Who orders materials, the project manager or operations?
Usually the project manager buys out materials and subcontracts against the budget. The operations manager makes sure the timing works, so deliveries match crew start dates and rentals arrive and leave on time. If you have a logistics manager, they handle receiving and staging. Write the split down, or two people will order the same lift.
How much does a commercial general contractor operations manager make?
General and operations managers who work for commercial and industrial builders earned a median of $148,700 a year ($71.49 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $99,830 and $207,480 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and bonus terms.
What goes in a morning crew assignment?
Keep it to one screen: the crew lead, the job and site contact, the work planned for the day, and what materials and equipment are on site. Add the building's sign-in and badge rules, and any task that needs special training, such as scaffold or silica work. Send it the evening before when you can.
Does the drive between two jobs count as work time?
For hourly crew members, yes. Under federal wage rules, moving a crew between sites in the middle of the day is time they work, while the normal trip from home to the first job is not work time. When you pull a crew off one fit-out at noon and send it across town, the drive goes on the timecard and counts toward overtime. Plan moves to cut those drives, and look up any state rule that adds to the federal one.
What will an operations manager carry and check on site?
The operations template mentions lifting as much as 25 pounds, moving and standing on active sites, changing weather and construction noise. In practice that means walking several jobs a week to see that crews, tools and lifts are where the plan says. It can mean carrying a tool bag or a box of fasteners to a crew that ran short. Wear hearing protection and other gear wherever the site calls for it.
