Industrial cleaning & degreasing general manager job description
An industrial cleaning general manager runs a branch or region day to day: its managers, crews, plant customers and profit. The GM keeps plant accounts happy between shutdowns, wins new ones, and makes sure each job is priced and staffed to make money.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, building services companies · BLS, May 2025
Industrial Cleaning & Degreasing - General Manager
Company Name:
[INSERT COMPANY NAME HERE]
Department:
Operations
Reports to:
[Chief Operating Officer]
Location:
[INSERT LOCATION HERE]
1. Position Summary
The General Manager is a strategic leader responsible for overseeing daily operations within the industrial cleaning and degreasing segment. This role directs multiple departments, monitors key performance indicators, and ensures exceptional client satisfaction, driving operational excellence and sustainable growth.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Directs day-to-day operations across all departments to optimize service delivery and operational efficiency.
Develops and implements strategic initiatives to enhance productivity and improve overall performance.
Monitors and analyzes KPIs to ensure targets are met and takes corrective action when necessary.
Maintains and elevates client satisfaction through proactive engagement and prompt resolution of issues.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Conducts daily operational briefings and department meetings to align team objectives.
Reviews performance reports and manages workflow to ensure smooth execution of projects.
Engages with clients regularly to gather feedback and assess service quality.
Coordinates with department heads to streamline communication and operational processes.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Revenue per hour: $150.
Callback percentage: <5%.
Customer Satisfaction Rating: >4.8 stars.
New client acquisition growth: 10% increase quarterly.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor’s degree in Business Management, Operations, or a related field.
Minimum of 7 years of operational or managerial experience in a service-oriented environment.
Strong leadership and team management skills with a results-driven approach.
Excellent analytical, communication, and problem-solving abilities.
6. Preferred Experience
Previous experience in the industrial cleaning, degreasing, or related facility maintenance industries.
Proven track record of successfully managing multi-department operations.
Experience in developing process improvements and implementing operational strategies.
Exposure to service industry best practices and customer satisfaction enhancement initiatives.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to occasionally lift items up to 25 lbs.
Regularly move around industrial environments and navigate various workspaces.
Capacity to work in environments with exposure to cleaning agents and machinery.
Competence to stand and walk for prolonged periods during operational hours.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Typical work schedule is Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
Occasional extended hours may be required during peak operational periods.
Periodic travel may be necessary for client meetings and industry events.
On-call duties expected during critical project phases or emergencies.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Salary range: $85,000 - $110,000 USD per year, commensurate with experience.
Performance-based bonus structure available.
Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance plans provided.
401(k) plan with company match and additional fringe benefits available.
10. Company Culture and Overview
At [INSERT COMPANY NAME HERE], we foster a culture of innovation and continual improvement that empowers our team to excel.
We value collaboration, transparency, and open communication across all levels.
Our commitment to customer satisfaction drives us to constantly refine our processes and exceed industry standards.
Join us and be a part of a dynamic team where your contributions truly make an impact.
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 makes the GM job different in industrial cleaning
A GM here sells to plant managers, food safety teams and purchasing staff, then delivers inside their plants. Those customers check the work, the chemicals and the paperwork before a line restarts.
Food plants check your cleaning chemicals
FDA's food plant rules say cleaning compounds and sanitizers must be safe and adequate for how they are used, and a plant can prove that with a letter of guarantee or certification. Only the toxic materials the plant needs may be kept there. Keep a file for each food customer with the safety data sheets and supplier letters their quality team will ask for. Source: eCFR: 21 CFR 117.35, sanitary operations in human food plants.
Dust cleanup is fire prevention work
OSHA's combustible dust checklist lists sugar, starch, cocoa and wood flour among the powders that can explode. It calls for regular cleaning of floors, ledges, beams, ducts and pipes, and for electric vacuums approved for Class II hazardous locations. A GM who sells dust cleanup needs those vacuums on the truck and crews trained to use them. Source: OSHA: Combustible dust poster and prevention checklist.
A callback is a re-clean before restart
After sanitation, a food plant's quality team may inspect or swab the line, and a failed check sends your crew back before production can start. Count each one as a callback, by line and by crew lead. Then find the cause, such as the wrong chemical, too little time on the schedule, or a part nobody took apart.
Grow inside the plants you already serve
Your next account often sits inside a customer you already have: another building, a sister plant under the same parent, or a maintenance manager who moves to a new site. Ask for a seat on the parent company's approved vendor list, and keep in touch with the people who leave.
How much industrial cleaning & degreasing general managers make
The closest BLS group for industrial cleaning & degreasing general managers is general and operations managers. General and operations managers who work for building and home services companies earned a median of $82,580 a year ($39.70 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s below the $105,770 median for general and operations managers in all industries. About 74,770 of the 3,503,020 general and operations managers in that survey work for building services companies.
Building services companies
$82,580$82,580 median Middle half $60,290–$118,560 10th–90th $45,720–$164,990
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
10th–90th percentileMiddle halfMedianAnnual pay, May 2025. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
Annual pay by percentile
Group
10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
Building services companies
$45,720
$60,290
$82,580
$118,560
$164,990
All industries
$50,090
$72,320
$105,770
$167,280
$253,390
BLS doesn’t publish pay for industrial cleaning companies on their own. These figures cover services to buildings and dwellings, 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 a branch or division with its own profit and loss
Can walk a plant and turn what they see into a priced scope
Hires and coaches managers, not just crews
Speaks the language of plant maintenance and food safety staff
Holds steady when a customer calls about a failed restart
Teach these on the job
Your price book, equipment rates and standby terms
Each account's history and contacts
Your branch's crews, trucks and specialties
The audits your food plant customers run
Your proposal and job costing tools
The GM lives in the job management and estimating software, the CRM or bid log, and the monthly branch profit report. Expect customers to send work through their own maintenance or purchasing systems, so the GM should know how a plant work order becomes your job ticket.
Industrial cleaning & degreasing general 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 · Contract terms
A big plant offers a multi-year contract, but it requires broad indemnity and very long payment terms. How do you decide?
A strong answer: Reviews the terms with legal and finance, prices the risk and cash cost, negotiates, and walks away if it can't be fixed.
Behavioral · Developing people
Tell me about a technician you developed into a crew lead who could run jobs at a client's plant.
A strong answer: Explains how they chose the person, the training and responsibility they gave step by step, and how the person performed as a lead.
Industrial cleaning & degreasing general manager KPIs
Swap the template's sample targets for branch numbers once you have a quarter of clean data, then walk through them with the COO.
Revenue per hour
Divide billed revenue by paid crew hours for each job, including time crews spend waiting on lockout, permits or a late line stop. If waiting time isn't billed, it shows up here first.
Callback percentage
Count re-cleans, return trips and failed customer inspections against completed jobs each month. Tag each one with a cause so the fix goes to scheduling, training or equipment.
Customer Satisfaction Rating
Ask the plant contact who signed the ticket for a rating after each job, and survey maintenance and quality leads quarterly. Low scores get a call from the GM, not an email.
New client acquisition growth
Count first jobs with plants that haven't bought from you before, by quarter. Note how each one found you, whether a referral, a sister plant or a bid list, to know which source to work harder.
Career path
Field supervisorSupervises shutdown crews and sees what each service really takes.
Operations managerSchedules crews and trucks for a branch's plant accounts.
General managerOwns a branch's customers, managers and profit.
Industrial cleaning & degreasing general manager FAQ
What do the GM template's lifting, standing and plant floor lines mean?
They describe the field side of the job. A GM walks a plant floor with a customer to scope work, carries a sample kit or a box of safety data sheets, stands through a crew briefing at the start of a shutdown, and works near cleaning chemicals and running equipment in whatever protection the plant sets.
How much does an industrial cleaning & degreasing general manager make?
General and operations managers who work for building and home services companies earned a median of $82,580 a year ($39.70 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $60,290 and $118,560 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and bonus terms.
How should an industrial cleaning GM bid a job they have never seen?
Walk it with the plant's contact before pricing. Ask what product or residue is in the equipment, how thick it is, where water and power hook up, where the lockout points are, and where waste can go. When the unknowns are big, offer the first job as time and materials, then quote fixed prices once you have real hours.
Should an industrial cleaning branch take on nightly sanitation contracts?
Only if the branch can staff it every night of the contract. A nightly account needs its own night crew leader, a trained backup for each spot on the crew, and a set hand-off to the plant's quality team before start-up. Price in what it costs to keep that crew steady, since one missed night delays the plant's morning.
How does a GM keep a plant account when the main contact leaves?
Know more than one person at every plant: maintenance, safety, quality and purchasing. Hold a short review with them each quarter, with photos and job history, so the work speaks for itself when someone new arrives. Meet the new contact in person in the first weeks and walk the plant together.
