General contractor project manager job description
A general contractor project manager owns a set of remodels, additions or new homes from signed contract to final walk-through, running each one's budget, subs and homeowner updates. They price changes, keep costs inside the estimate, and back up the lead carpenter when the job hits something nobody planned for.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, residential builders and remodelers · BLS, May 2025
Annual pay: 10th percentile $58,940, middle half $75,110 to $129,990, 90th percentile $170,580. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
Reports to
Operations Manager
Department
Operations
Schedule
8 to 5, plus evenings when needed · 8 AM to 5 PM per the template, with extra hours as needed, some evening and weekend work, and on-call time in key phases
Responsible for planning, coordinating, and executing large-scale home service projects from inception to completion. Oversees project timelines, budgets, and stakeholder communications to ensure client satisfaction and adherence to quality standards. Serves as the primary point of contact between internal teams, subcontractors, and clients, ensuring efficient project delivery.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Develop and manage comprehensive project plans including scope, milestones, deadlines, and resources.
Oversee and control budgets, ensuring projects are delivered within financial targets.
Lead regular status meetings and provide detailed progress reports to stakeholders.
Ensure compliance with safety and building codes throughout all project phases.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Coordinate with subcontractors, vendors, and internal teams to schedule on-site activities.
Monitor daily project progress and address any immediate concerns or issues.
Conduct quality inspections and site visits to ensure compliance with project standards.
Update project management software with real-time data on project milestones and budget expenditures.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Project Completion Timeliness: Achieve 95% of projects completed on or ahead of schedule.
Budget Adherence: Ensure projects are within 5% of the allocated budget.
Customer Satisfaction Rating: Maintain an average rating greater than 4.8 stars.
Safety Compliance: Achieve 100% compliance with all safety standards and regulations.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor’s degree in Construction Management, Civil Engineering, or a related field.
Minimum of 5 years’ experience in project management within the home services or construction industry.
Strong leadership, communication, and negotiation skills.
Proficiency in project management software and MS Office Suite.
6. Preferred Experience
Experience as a General Contractor on large-scale home improvement projects.
Familiarity with local building codes and industry regulations.
Proven track record of managing multiple complex projects simultaneously.
Demonstrated ability to manage cross-functional teams and subcontractors effectively.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to perform site visits in various weather conditions including extreme temperatures.
Capability to stand, walk, and climb stairs for prolonged periods.
Occasional lifting of materials or equipment up to 25 pounds.
Exposure to construction environment requiring use of personal protective equipment.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Standard work hours typically from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm with additional hours as needed.
Travel between multiple job sites is required on a regular basis.
Occasional evening and weekend work to meet project deadlines.
On-call duties may be expected during critical project phases.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Salary range: $75,000 - $95,000 USD per year based on experience and performance.
Performance and project completion bonuses available.
Comprehensive benefits package including Health, Dental, and Vision insurance.
Eligibility for a 401(k) plan with company matching contributions.
10. Company Culture and Overview
We prioritize innovation and excellence in every project, fostering a collaborative and supportive environment.
Our dynamic team is committed to continuous improvement and professional growth.
We celebrate diversity and are passionate about exceeding customer expectations.
We believe in empowering our employees to bring their unique skill sets to achieve shared success.
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 residential builder
The PM answers for each job's money and for the family living with it. At a builder that opens up older houses and builds new ones, four things fill the week.
Demo turns up what nobody priced
Opening walls in an older house can expose rot, undersized framing, old wiring or a past owner's shortcuts. The project manager sees it in person, gets a fix and a price from the lead and any sub, and has the homeowner sign the change before the crew goes past it. If the crew can work elsewhere in the house while the homeowner decides, the PM moves them there so the day isn't lost.
Older houses can hide asbestos
OSHA's asbestos rule treats pipe, boiler and duct insulation, and sprayed-on or troweled-on surfacing, in buildings put up no later than 1980 as presumed asbestos until shown otherwise. The project manager checks the house's age, orders testing before demolition when those materials are in the way, and builds the result into the schedule. State rules on testing and removal vary, so check yours. Source: eCFR: 29 CFR 1926.1101, asbestos in construction.
An addition starts at the property line
Before a footing is dug, the PM confirms the setbacks on the approved plans, has a surveyor stake the corners, and asks the building department whether it wants a foundation survey before framing. Bristol, Connecticut, for example, requires an as-built after the foundation is in, before the structural inspection. A few inches over a setback line can mean a variance hearing or a foundation torn out, and that cost lands on the builder. Source: City of Bristol, Connecticut (example): building department inspections.
Count costs when they're committed
A budget that only shows paid bills looks healthy until the sub invoices land. Count a sub's contract, a cabinet order or a window deposit against the job the day it's signed. The project manager then sees what's left to spend, and can warn the owner while there's still room to fix it, well before drywall.
How much general contractor project managers make
The closest BLS group for general contractor project managers is construction managers. Construction managers who work for residential builders and remodelers earned a median of $98,390 a year ($47.30 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s below the $114,990 median for construction managers in all industries. About 56,450 of the 380,360 construction managers in that survey work for residential builders and remodelers.
Pay here is a salary, with bonuses for finished projects, per the template. Even its top figure falls short of what a typical construction manager earns at a residential builder in BLS data, so a PM who has run large jobs may expect more.
Residential builders and remodelers
$98,390$98,390 median Middle half $75,110–$129,990 10th–90th $58,940–$170,580
All industries
$114,990$114,990 median Middle half $88,550–$151,640 10th–90th $69,690–$189,440
$25k$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
Residential builders and remodelers
$58,940
$75,110
$98,390
$129,990
$170,580
All industries
$69,690
$88,550
$114,990
$151,640
$189,440
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
Prices a change on site and explains it plainly to a homeowner
Reads plans, specs and sub bids and spots what's missing
Tracks a budget weekly and acts on what it shows
Keeps several jobs and families moving without dropped calls
Says no to a homeowner or sub calmly, and in writing
Teach these on the job
Your project management and accounting software
Your contract terms and change order form
Your subs, suppliers and their lead times
How your local building departments review plans
Your estimate format and cost codes
Buildertrend, JobTread or a similar app holds the PM's schedules, change orders and homeowner messages, and the accounting system supplies job costs. Name your apps in the ad, and mention a company vehicle if one comes with the job.
General contractor project manager interview questions
Two of the 7 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 · Mid-job changes
Halfway through framing, the homeowner asks to move a wall and add a window. What do you do?
A strong answer: Checks structure, header and permit impact, gets engineering if needed, prices the cost and schedule change, gets a signed change order before work, and updates subs and plans.
Behavioral · Handling hidden conditions with clients
Tell me about a time demo uncovered something, like rot, old wiring or an undersized beam, that changed a client's budget.
A strong answer: Stopped work in that area, documented it with photos, had the right sub or engineer define the fix, priced options, and got a signed change order from the client before going on.
The template's targets are samples. Base yours on last year's closed jobs, and judge each PM on the jobs they ran from start to finish.
Project Completion Timeliness
Compare each job's actual completion with the date in the contract, moved only by signed change orders. Keep a short note on the cause of each late finish.
Budget Adherence
Compare final job cost with the original estimate plus approved changes. Check open jobs the same way each month, and ask the PM to explain any phase that is running over.
Customer Satisfaction Rating
Survey homeowners at handover and again a few months later. Read what they say about updates, surprises and how changes were handled.
Safety Compliance
Track the PM's jobs on site safety audits, missing safety paperwork and any citations. The same miss showing up across one PM's jobs points to coaching.
Career path
Lead carpenterRuns a crew on site and learns to price small changes.
Project managerRuns the budgets, subs and homeowners for several jobs.
Senior project managerTakes the largest jobs and coaches newer PMs.
General managerAnswers for sales, production and profit across the company.
Should a builder's project manager come from the field or the office?
Both can work. A former lead carpenter knows how long work takes and spots problems on a walk-through, but may need help with budgets and writing. A construction management graduate is often strong on numbers and software but needs site time to learn how houses go together. Hire for the gap you can coach, and pair a new PM with a strong field supervisor.
How much does a general contractor project manager make?
Construction managers who work for residential builders and remodelers earned a median of $98,390 a year ($47.30 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $75,110 and $129,990 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and bonus terms.
When should a project manager call in a structural engineer?
Any time a job removes or moves a bearing wall, adds a floor, cuts a large new opening, or puts heavy loads like a stone counter, a big tub or a roof deck where none were planned. Your building department may ask for a stamped design for those changes anyway. Bringing the engineer in during design costs less than stopping a crew mid-demo to wait for a beam size.
Who orders a job's materials, the PM or the lead carpenter?
Split it by size and timing. The PM orders the big and slow items from the plans, such as framing packages, windows, cabinets and fixtures, so lead times are set early. The lead orders small fill-ins as the job goes, under a spending limit you set. Write the split down so nothing gets ordered twice or not at all.
How much physical work does a builder's project manager do?
Mostly walking and looking. The PM visits each job, climbs stairs and ladders to check framing or a roof, works in heat, cold and dust in a hard hat, safety glasses and boots, and sometimes carries samples or a few boxes of tile. Describe those tasks in the ad, since they are what the template's site visit, stairs and lifting lines mean.
