Commercial general contractor project manager job description
A commercial general contractor project manager runs the contract on tenant build-outs, store remodels and small ground-up buildings, from buyout to closeout. They hire and manage the subcontractors, keep the schedule and budget, and answer to the owner and architect for cost and time.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, commercial building contractors · BLS, May 2025
Oversees large commercial build projects by managing scope, timeline, and budget to ensure successful completion. Coordinates with trades, subcontractors, and vendors to maintain project quality and efficiency. Acts as the central point of communication between clients, stakeholders, and project teams to drive continuous improvement. Contributes to the company’s mission by delivering projects that meet or exceed industry standards and client expectations.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Develop and manage detailed project plans, including scope, timeline, and budget.
Oversee and coordinate multiple trade contractors and subcontractors on site.
Monitor project progress and ensure adherence to safety, quality, and regulatory standards.
Identify, assess, and mitigate project risks and issues in a timely manner.
Provide regular project updates to senior management and stakeholders.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Review and update project schedules to reflect current progress.
Communicate with on-site teams and external vendors to resolve daily operational challenges.
Conduct routine site visits and inspections to ensure compliance with quality standards.
Prepare daily progress reports and document project milestones.
Address client queries and coordinate on-site modifications as necessary.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Project Completion Rate: Achieve a 95% on-time project delivery rate.
Budget Variance: Maintain project cost variance within 5% of the approved budget.
Safety Compliance Rate: Ensure zero safety incidents on project sites.
Client Satisfaction Rating: Attain an average rating greater than 4.8 out of 5.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor’s degree in Construction Management, Engineering, or a related field.
Minimum of 5 years’ experience managing large-scale commercial construction projects.
Excellent leadership, communication, and negotiation skills.
Proficiency in project management software and construction project tools.
Solid understanding of construction processes, regulations, and best practices.
6. Preferred Experience
Proven track record with commercial general contracting projects.
Familiarity with sustainable construction practices and LEED certifications.
Experience working within high-pressure, dynamic project environments.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to work in outdoor construction sites with varying weather conditions.
Frequent site inspections and the ability to navigate uneven terrain.
Capability to use personal protective equipment (PPE) as mandated.
Ability to lift up to 25-50 pounds as needed for on-site tasks.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Regular 40-hour work week with additional hours required to meet project deadlines.
Occasional travel is expected to various project site locations.
Daily on-site presence required for meetings, inspections, and project oversight.
Operate in a fast-paced, dynamic environment that demands flexibility and effective time management.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Salary Range: $85,000 to $110,000 USD per year.
Eligibility for performance-based bonuses.
Comprehensive Health, Dental, and Vision insurance plans.
401(k) retirement plan with company matching.
Opportunities for ongoing professional development and career advancement.
10. Company Culture and Overview
A forward-thinking and innovative environment that values creativity and teamwork.
Committed to excellence, safety, and customer satisfaction in every project.
Supportive leadership that emphasizes employee growth, development, and empowerment.
A collaborative culture that celebrates success and encourages community engagement.
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 project manager at a commercial GC
Project managers in every trade watch scope, time and cost. At a commercial GC, the PM runs many subcontracts at once, answers to an owner and an architect, and on federal work follows clauses that spell out the schedule and the price of finishing late.
Submittals set the order dates
Nothing gets ordered until the architect approves the submittal. Rooftop units, switchgear, storefront and hollow metal frames can take a long time to build after approval, so the PM starts the submittal log the week the contract is signed and pushes the long-lead items first. A late submittal makes a late job even when the field crew is ready.
Federal jobs start with an approved schedule
When a federal contract includes FAR 52.236-15, the contractor must submit a practicable schedule within five days after work starts, or another period the contracting officer sets. It shows the order of work and the start and finish dates for the main features, including getting materials and equipment. Build it before mobilizing, so the first week isn't spent on paperwork. Source: eCFR: FAR 52.236-15, schedules for construction contracts.
Late days can carry a fixed charge
Under FAR 52.211-12, a federal contractor that misses the completion date pays liquidated damages for each day of delay, at the rate the contract sets, and they keep adding up until the work is finished or accepted. Private and state contracts may have their own version. Find the daily amount on day one, and record weather, owner and inspection delays the day they happen. Source: eCFR: FAR 52.211-12, liquidated damages for construction.
On federal jobs, the specs win over the drawings
FAR 52.236-21 says that when drawings and specifications differ, the specifications govern. A discrepancy in the figures, drawings or specs goes to the contracting officer for a written answer, and an adjustment made without one is at the contractor's own risk and expense. If a shop drawing varies from the contract, the contractor must describe the change in writing, separate from the drawing, when it's submitted. Have the team flag both before anything is ordered. Source: eCFR: FAR 52.236-21, specifications and drawings for construction.
How much commercial general contractor project managers make
The closest BLS group for commercial general contractor project managers is construction managers. Construction managers who work for commercial and industrial builders earned a median of $126,690 a year ($60.91 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s above the $114,990 median for construction managers in all industries. About 92,590 of the 380,360 construction managers in that survey work for commercial building contractors.
Paid a salary, often with a bonus when jobs finish on budget. BLS puts the median for construction managers at commercial builders above what the template offers at its high end, so check local offers before posting.
Commercial building contractors
$126,690$126,690 median Middle half $98,640–$160,330 10th–90th $78,100–$201,870
All industries
$114,990$114,990 median Middle half $88,550–$151,640 10th–90th $69,690–$189,440
$50k$75k$100k$125k$150k$175k$200k$225k
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
$78,100
$98,640
$126,690
$160,330
$201,870
All industries
$69,690
$88,550
$114,990
$151,640
$189,440
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 commercial jobs with many subcontractors from buyout to closeout
Reads contracts and spots notice, payment and schedule terms
Keeps a critical path schedule current as the job changes
Prices change orders and backs them up with quotes and hours
Writes clearly to owners, architects and subs
Teach these on the job
Your project management and accounting software
Your subcontract forms and approval limits
Federal contract clauses, for a PM new to public work
LEED record keeping, if you take on LEED jobs
Your weekly report format
Commercial PMs run RFIs, submittals and change orders in software such as Procore or Autodesk Construction Cloud, schedule the work in P6 or MS Project, then pull job cost from the accounting system. Say in the ad which scheduling tool you use, since many candidates know only one.
Commercial general contractor project 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 · Unsigned change work
The owner wants added work but won't sign change orders until the end of the job. What do you do?
A strong answer: Explains the contract process, asks for written direction or a construction change directive, tracks costs on signed time-and-material tags, sends timely notices, and escalates.
Behavioral · Protecting margin
Tell me about a time you protected a project's margin during buyout or construction.
A strong answer: Names the specific actions (scope clarity, rebidding, change capture, cutting general conditions time) and the result.
Commercial general contractor project manager KPIs
Keep the four measures, but pick the targets from your last several jobs and the contracts you sign.
Project Completion Rate
Compare each job's substantial completion date with the contract date, adjusted for approved time extensions. Review late jobs for the cause: submittals, subs, owner decisions or inspections.
Budget Variance
Compare forecast final cost with the approved budget plus approved change orders at each monthly cost review. Note how early the forecast caught each overrun, not just its size.
Safety Compliance Rate
Count recordable incidents and citations on the PM's jobs, including subs. Pair it with leading measures, such as safety walks completed and toolbox talks held each week.
Client Satisfaction Rating
Survey the owner and the architect at turnover with the same short form every time. Look past the score to the comments, and call back on any low mark.
Career path
Project engineerRuns RFIs, submittals and logs for a senior PM.
Project managerOwns the contract, budget and schedule for several jobs.
Senior project managerRuns the biggest contracts and mentors newer project managers.
General managerLeads the whole company's work, from bids through warranty.
Other roles in a commercial general contractor business
Should a commercial GC's project manager also do estimating?
Partly. At a company this size, many PMs price their own change orders and help on bids for repeat clients. Full estimating on new bids runs on a different calendar, and a PM buried in bids lets live jobs slip. One split that works: estimators price the bid, the PM reviews it before it goes out, and the PM owns the budget once the job is won.
How much does a commercial general contractor project manager make?
Construction managers who work for commercial and industrial builders earned a median of $126,690 a year ($60.91 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $98,640 and $160,330 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and bonus terms.
Does our project manager need a LEED credential?
Only if you build LEED projects or chase owners who want them; the template lists LEED as a preference. USGBC's LEED Green Associate is the entry credential, and a LEED AP with specialty requires passing the Green Associate exam first. On a LEED job, the PM gathers product and waste records from subs, which goes faster with someone who has done it before.
What should a project manager send the owner each week?
A short update: where the schedule stands against the baseline, decisions the owner owes and by what date, pending change orders with their amounts, and a few photos. Owners often forward it to a tenant, broker or lender, so write it in plain words. Send it on the same day each week so a missed report gets noticed.
What do the template's site, PPE and lifting lines mean for a project manager?
The PM walks the job most days, often over unfinished floors, gravel or roof decks, wearing a hard hat, safety glasses and a vest. Carrying sample boards, a box of tile or a laptop and plan set falls under the lifting line. Include this site work in the ad, and weigh any accommodation request case by case.
