A general contractor's HR manager hires and keeps the carpenters, leads and office staff a builder runs on, while subs supply the rest of the labor. The HR manager writes drug testing and tool rules that fit the state, makes sure crew drive time is paid right, and brings hurt workers back on light duty.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, residential builders and remodelers · BLS, May 2025
Annual pay: 10th percentile $86,570, middle half $104,040 to $168,860, 90th percentile $206,460. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
Reports to
Chief Operating Officer
Department
Administration
Schedule
40-hour week, site visits, some on-call · A 40-hour week with some longer days, visits to job sites in the region, and on-call duty in key project phases
Also called
Human resources manager · HR generalist · HR and safety manager · Personnel manager
General contractor HR 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.
Serve as the primary HR leader within our general contracting division, ensuring that recruitment, labor compliance, and employee relations support a high-performing, safety-focused workforce. Work closely with the operations and field teams to align HR strategies with business objectives and overall company growth.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Develop and execute recruitment strategies to attract skilled labor and administrative personnel.
Ensure compliance with all labor laws and regulations while maintaining accurate records and documentation.
Foster a positive workplace culture by addressing employee issues and establishing clear communication channels.
Collaborate with department heads to align workforce planning with project schedules and business goals.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Review and screen incoming applications and coordinate candidate interviews.
Monitor and update employee records, ensuring the accuracy of labor certifications and safety compliance.
Conduct orientation sessions and ongoing training programs for new and current employees.
Serve as the first point of contact for employee concerns, mediating conflicts and facilitating solutions.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Recruitment Efficiency: Fill open positions within 45 days.
Employee Retention Rate: Achieve a retention rate of over 90% annually.
Labor Compliance: Maintain a 100% compliance rate with regulatory audits.
Employee Satisfaction: Sustain a satisfaction rating of >4.8 stars on internal surveys.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or related field.
A minimum of 3-5 years of HR management experience, preferably within the home services or construction industry.
Strong organizational and communication skills with proficiency in HRIS software systems.
Ability to interpret labor laws, safety standards, and regulatory requirements.
6. Preferred Experience
Previous experience working in a general contracting or construction environment.
Demonstrated success in recruiting and managing a diverse workforce in a dynamic field environment.
Experience with project-based hiring and seasonal workforce planning.
Familiarity with industry-specific safety and compliance standards.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to occasionally lift and carry up to 20 lbs.
Regular visits to field sites in various weather conditions including hot and cold environments.
Extended periods of walking or standing during on-site inspections and meetings.
Minimal exposure to construction site conditions with adherence to safety protocols.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Standard workweek of 40 hours with occasional extended hours to meet project needs.
On-site visits and field work required as necessary to support hiring and compliance initiatives.
Limited travel to various project sites within the region.
On-call duties may be required during critical project phases or compliance issues.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Competitive salary range of $70,000 - $90,000 per annum based on experience.
Performance-based bonus structure to reward recruitment and compliance successes.
Comprehensive Health, Dental, and Vision benefits.
401(k) plan with company matching contributions.
Additional fringe benefits including paid time off and professional development opportunities.
10. Company Culture and Overview
We foster a culture of growth, teamwork, and excellence within an environment that values continuous improvement and open communication.
Our commitment to safety, quality, and customer satisfaction drives every decision we make in the field and in the office.
Join us to be part of a dynamic organization where your skills can help shape our future and elevate your career.
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
A residential general contractor keeps a core of carpenters, leads and laborers on payroll and hires subs for the rest. HR's hardest calls sit with that core: who can be drug tested, what can come out of a paycheck, which drive time counts as work, and how a hurt carpenter gets back on the job.
Cannabis and drug tests in Connecticut
Connecticut, for example, lists construction among the employers exempt from its rules that protect off-duty cannabis use. Its older drug testing law still applies, though. An applicant must be told in writing, when applying, that a urine test is planned. An employee can be tested only on reasonable suspicion, unless federal law allows random tests, the Labor Commissioner's rules name the job as high-risk or safety-sensitive, or the test is part of an employee assistance program the worker chose to join. A positive needs a second test to confirm it. Source: Connecticut General Statutes, section 21a-422o.
Lost tools and the paycheck
Carpenters bring their own hand tools, and company nailers, saws and lasers go missing. In Connecticut, for example, an employer may hold back wages only when a law requires or allows it, when the worker signs a deduction form the Labor Commissioner approved, or in a few narrow cases. Federal rules add a floor: tools a carpenter must buy for your work can't drop a week's pay below the minimum wage or shave the overtime owed. Settle tool rules in writing with counsel, not on payday. Source: Connecticut General Statutes, section 31-71e.
Drive time from the shop counts
Crews often meet at the shop to load material and hear the day's plan, then drive to the job. Under federal rules, when a worker has to report somewhere first, to get instructions or collect tools, the drive from there to the job is work time, whatever the custom. So is driving between jobs during the day. A normal commute from home to a site isn't. HR sets how timecards record each leg, and checks state rules too. Source: 29 CFR 785.38: Travel that is all in the day's work (eCFR).
When a lead carpenter gets hurt
A remodel often has one lead who knows the house, the homeowner and the subs. If that lead hurts a back or a hand, the job loses its boss on site, not just a pair of hands. HR tells the production manager the same day, so another lead can cover. Once the doctor sets work limits, HR finds tasks that fit them, such as takeoffs for an estimator or punch-list walks with a project manager, following the comp carrier's return-to-work steps.
How much general contractor HR managers make
The closest BLS group for general contractor HR managers is human resources managers. Human resources managers who work for residential builders and remodelers earned a median of $133,790 a year ($64.32 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s below the $149,280 median for human resources managers in all industries. About 330 of the 220,660 human resources managers in that survey work for residential builders and remodelers.
The template's salary comes with a bonus for hiring and compliance results. Its range sits mostly under the lowest tenth of BLS pay figures for HR managers at residential builders and remodelers. Before posting, check what builders near you pay their first HR hire, and tie part of the bonus to crew seats filled before signed jobs start.
Residential builders and remodelers
$133,790$133,790 median Middle half $104,040–$168,860 10th–90th $86,570–$206,460
All industries
$149,280$149,280 median Middle half $111,110–$199,290 10th–90th $88,200–$267,810
$50k$100k$150k$200k$250k$300k
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
$86,570
$104,040
$133,790
$168,860
$206,460
All industries
$88,200
$111,110
$149,280
$199,290
$267,810
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 been the HR lead at a company with its own carpenters or other trade crews
Writes drug testing and cannabis policies that match each state you hire in
Sets up timecards so shop time and drive time get paid correctly
Has taken a hurt carpenter from first report back to full duty with the comp carrier
Recruits carpenters and lead carpenters, not only office staff
Teach these on the job
Your shop routine and how crews get to jobs
Which tools carpenters bring and which the company owns
Who to call first when a carpenter is hurt on site
The states you hire in and their required notices
The timekeeping app your crews clock in on
At a builder this size, the template's HRIS line means whatever HR tools your payroll platform includes, plus an applicant tracker. The tool that matters most here is the timekeeping app, which has to record the shop, each job and the drive between them. Have finalists sketch a crew timecard that pays shop-to-job drive time without anyone guessing.
General contractor HR 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 · Project-based hiring
You win [3] big projects starting in the same month and need [6] more carpenters. What do you do?
A strong answer: Starts recruiting right away through referrals, schools and trade groups, uses structured interviews and skills tests, and onboards fast with safety first.
Behavioral · Resolving field conduct problems
Tell me about a time workers complained that a lead carpenter's way of correcting people, like yelling or put-downs in front of the crew, was a problem.
A strong answer: Took it seriously, heard both sides, focused on behavior, set clear expectations with the lead, offered coaching, documented it, protected those who complained from retaliation and followed up.
Start from the template's goals. After a year of records, set new ones with the COO, and compare slow months with slow months and busy with busy before calling anything a trend.
Recruitment Efficiency
Days from opening a seat to the hire's first day, read against the start date of the job that seat was for. A carpenter who starts after the job does counts as a miss, however quick the search.
Employee Retention Rate
The share of each crew still on payroll at year-end, sorted by lead carpenter, since one hard lead can empty a crew. Ask every leaver whether pay, the lead or the work drove it.
Labor Compliance
A quarterly self-check of a sample of files: Form I-9s, drug test notices given at application, signed tool policies, and timecards that show shop and drive time. Close each gap within the month and note who fixed it.
Employee Satisfaction
A short anonymous survey twice a year, filled in at the shop on paid time so crews actually answer. Ask about tools, trucks, leads and schedules, then tell everyone what changed because of it.
Career path
Recruiter at a staffing agency for the tradesLearns where carpenters and laborers look for work and what keeps them.
HR managerOwns hiring, policies, comp claims and crew pay rules for the builder.
Vice president of peopleLeads HR for several offices or a second brand as the builder grows.
Yes, but overtime still applies under federal rules. Add up the week's day rates and divide by the hours actually worked; that's the regular rate. Each hour beyond 40 earns half of it again, so five ten-hour days means that extra pay on ten hours. Check your state's overtime rules too, and have timecards show real hours, not just days.
How much does a general contractor HR manager make?
Human resources managers who work for residential builders and remodelers earned a median of $133,790 a year ($64.32 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $104,040 and $168,860 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and bonus terms.
Can a Connecticut builder refuse to hire a medical cannabis patient?
Not for being a registered patient alone. Connecticut bars refusing to hire, firing or penalizing someone only because they are a qualifying patient or caregiver, unless federal law requires it. The employer can still ban use during work hours. It can also discipline someone who is under the influence at work. That rule stands apart from the construction exemption, so have counsel read your policy with both in mind.
Is a lead carpenter exempt from overtime?
Usually not. Federal rules name carpenters among the construction trades owed overtime when they aren't managers, at any pay level, and a salary doesn't change that. A lead who builds alongside the crew most of the day fits that rule. If a lead's main job is managing people rather than building, have counsel review the duties before you call the job exempt, and check your state's rules too.
What do the HR template's site visit, weather and lifting lines mean?
The lines ship as written. For HR they mean walking a framed addition to meet a new crew, standing through a safety talk in a cold driveway or a hot yard, and carrying a box of gloves, glasses or training binders up to 20 pounds. List those tasks beside the template lines with a rough count per month, and say the company weighs accommodation requests.
