General contractor chief operating officer job description
A general contractor's chief operating officer designs the way every job runs. That covers schedule templates, the sub file, the safety program and closeout steps. They hold the company's crews and dozens of subs to one standard, whether the job is a remodel, an addition or a new home, and report to the CEO.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, residential builders and remodelers · BLS, May 2025
Annual pay: 10th percentile $91,200, middle half $157,070 to $315,530, 90th percentile $392,560. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
Reports to
Chief Executive Officer
Department
Operations
Schedule
Office hours, site visits, some weekends · The template sets office hours with site visits, longer days near deadlines, and some weekend meetings or on-call duty
Also called
COO · Vice president of operations · Vice president of construction · Director of construction
General contractor chief operating 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.
Serve as a strategic leader responsible for overseeing daily operations across multiple departments to ensure efficiency and quality in all phases of home services delivery. Leverage general contracting expertise to drive project excellence, cost management, and timely completion. Collaborate with senior management to align operational goals with company growth objectives.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Oversee day-to-day operational activities to maximize cross-department efficiency and operational excellence.
Develop and implement operational policies, procedures, and strategies that enhance project delivery and profitability.
Monitor contractor performance and ensure adherence to industry standards and regulatory requirements.
Collaborate with department heads to streamline processes and foster a culture of continuous improvement.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Review daily project schedules and adjust resources to meet operational demands.
Conduct regular site visits and meetings with project teams to ensure quality control and safety compliance.
Analyze operational metrics and provide actionable insights to improve efficiency and reduce operational costs.
Engage with customers and stakeholders to address concerns, provide updates, and enhance customer satisfaction.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
On-time project completion rate: target of 95% or higher.
Customer Satisfaction Rating: target of >4.8 stars based on post-service surveys.
Operational Cost Efficiency: target to reduce overhead by at least 10% annually.
Cross-Department Efficiency Rating: target to increase measurable efficiency by 15% year-over-year.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Construction Management, Engineering, or a related field.
Minimum of 10 years of experience in operational leadership within the home services or construction industry.
Strong strategic planning, team leadership, and project management skills.
Excellent communication, problem-solving, and analytical abilities.
6. Preferred Experience
Experience working as a general contractor or in a construction-focused environment.
Proven background managing multiple departments in a service-oriented organization.
Familiarity with regulatory compliance, safety standards, and quality control in home services.
Demonstrated success in driving efficiency and operational improvements on large-scale projects.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to perform site visits that may involve walking on uneven terrain and climbing scaffolding or ladders.
Occasionally lift, bend, or stoop to inspect projects or materials up to 25 pounds.
Work in varied environmental conditions, including outdoor construction sites.
Maintain mobility to perform supervisory tasks across multiple locations.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Typical office hours with additional on-site visits during standard business hours.
Flexibility to work extended hours during project tight deadlines or emergencies.
Occasional travel between project sites and company locations.
Availability for periodic weekend meetings or on-call responsibilities as needed.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Base salary range of $150,000 - $200,000 per year, commensurate with experience.
Performance-based bonuses and incentive programs.
Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance packages.
401(k) plan with company matching contributions and additional fringe benefits.
10. Company Culture and Overview
We are a forward-thinking company committed to excellence, innovation, and delivering exceptional home services to our valued customers.
Our culture emphasizes collaboration, continuous improvement, and professional growth for every team member.
We foster an inclusive work environment where creativity and accountability drive success.
We are dedicated to providing the resources and support needed for our employees to excel and advance in their careers.
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
Most of the people on a general contractor's sites work for someone else. The COO sets the standards that the company's own crews and every sub meet on every job.
A sub's safety record sets how often you check it
OSHA treats a builder with authority over its sites, including the power to make subs fix hazards, as a controlling employer owing reasonable care. The directive allows fewer checks on a sub showing its own safety effort: a steady record of compliance, step-by-step discipline for its crews, and regular safety meetings and training. In one OSHA example, a builder that knew its electrician's safety program and skill, and asked if the gear was safe, wasn't expected to test every outlet. The COO's sub file holds that proof for each sub. Source: OSHA directive CPL 02-00-124: multi-employer citation policy.
A permit ties you to licensed trades in Connecticut
Take Connecticut, for example. A contractor who pulls a permit that covers electrical, plumbing, heating or other licensed trade work must have that work done by people licensed for it. Those licenses come from the state and are good in every town. The COO's sub file keeps each trade sub's state license and its end date, and no trade work starts before its permit is issued. Source: Connecticut General Statutes 20-338 to 20-338c (example): licensed trade work and permits.
New homes and remodels need two playbooks
A new home moves through a set order, from footings to the certificate of occupancy, and its risks are known early: soil, utility hookups, weather. A remodel opens walls in week one and finds rot, old wiring or a beam that isn't there. The COO keeps a schedule template and a cost-tracking setup for each, and teaches project managers what to price and watch on each kind of job.
The year is planned around winter
In cold-winter markets, digging and pouring in frozen ground costs time and money. So does siding in the cold or a roof left open in a storm. The COO plans start dates so additions and new homes are closed in before hard freezes. Indoor remodels fill the winter, and spring doesn't start every job in the same week.
How much general contractor chief operating officers make
The closest BLS group for general contractor chief operating officers is chief executives. Chief executives who work for residential builders and remodelers earned a median of $213,510 a year ($102.65 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s about the same as the $213,990 median for chief executives in all industries. About 520 of the 204,350 chief executives in that survey work for residential builders and remodelers.
The template offers the COO a salary, performance bonuses and incentives. Link the COO's share to results the whole company feels, such as closeout margin, warranty calls and injuries, instead of one department's numbers.
Residential builders and remodelers
$213,510$213,510 median Middle half $157,070–$315,530 10th–90th $91,200–$392,560
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
Residential builders and remodelers
$91,200
$157,070
$213,510
$315,530
$392,560
All industries
$75,700
$129,540
$213,990
$356,200
$507,730
BLS doesn’t publish pay for general contractors on their own. These figures cover residential 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 production for a residential builder with several project managers and many subs
Writes procedures that project managers, lead carpenters and subs actually follow
Has run a site safety program that covered company crews and subcontractors
Has built schedules for both new homes and remodels
Has set up a builder's project management platform and got subs to use it
Teach these on the job
Your schedule templates and project management setup
How each town's inspectors work
Your subs' strengths and track records
Your closeout and warranty steps
Trade license rules in the states you build in
The COO owns how the project management platform is set up, the schedule templates for remodels and new homes, the sub file with licenses and insurance, and the safety program binder. Ask finalists what they would change first in a setup like yours, and why.
General contractor chief operating 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 · Scaling the company
The company wants to double the number of projects in two years. What do you put in place first?
A strong answer: Develops PMs and lead carpenters, builds a sub bench, standardizes processes and software, and plans cash with finance before adding volume.
Behavioral · Improving on-time completion
Tell me about a time you cut delays from late selections, sub no-shows or failed inspections across your remodels.
A strong answer: Found which causes mattered most, changed the process, such as selection deadlines in contracts or pre-inspection checklists, and shows on-time completion improving.
Count these each quarter by project type, since a remodel and a new home finish on different clocks. Test the template's targets on last year's jobs before you adopt them.
On-time project completion rate
Of the jobs closed this quarter, how many met their contract date, with extra days allowed only for signed changes or written owner delays, shown separately for each kind of job.
Customer Satisfaction Rating
Homeowner scores at closeout across all project managers, plus the count of warranty items left open past the response time your company promises.
Operational Cost Efficiency
Overhead not charged to jobs, such as office staff, vehicles, software and the yard, measured against yearly revenue, with a manager named for each line.
Cross-Department Efficiency Rating
Handoffs that failed: jobs started with missing selections, permits or signed changes, and sales promises the project manager heard about late. Fewer each quarter means departments are working together.
Career path
Field supervisorLearns how jobs go wrong in the field, site by site.
Production managerMatches the company's crews to the backlog and keeps work moving.
Chief operating officerOwns the schedule templates, sub rules and safety program for every job.
Should subcontractors work inside the builder's project management app?
For the schedule and messages, yes. When subs see their dates in your app and post photos of rough work there, the project manager, the lead carpenter and the job file all match. Don't ask a two-person tile crew to learn every feature. Give each sub a login and a short list of what to post and when, and make it part of the subcontract. Expect some trades to need a reminder call on their first few jobs.
How much does a general contractor chief operating officer make?
Chief executives who work for residential builders and remodelers earned a median of $213,510 a year ($102.65 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $157,070 and $315,530 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and bonus terms.
Should subcontractors' crews go through our safety orientation?
Yes, a short one before their first day on your jobs. Cover your site rules: where guardrails and harness anchors go, how dust is kept out of an occupied home, where to park, and who to call. Keep a sign-in sheet. It doesn't replace the training each sub owes its own crew, but it gives you a record that every crew heard your rules.
What should a COO do about a run of failed inspections?
Sort the failures by trade, inspector and project manager. A pattern usually points to one cause: a sub who skips a step, a schedule that books inspections before the work is ready, or a town that reads the code its own way. Fix that cause, add the item to the pre-inspection checklist, and tell every project manager what changed. Then watch the next month.
What do the COO template's ladder, scaffold and lifting lines mean?
They describe site checks. The COO climbs a ladder to check framing or roof work on a second-floor addition, steps onto scaffolding to check its guardrails, and walks a rough new-home lot in any weather. They carry a box of samples or hardware, up to 25 pounds. Name those visits in the job ad, and mention that reasonable accommodation can be discussed.
