Industrial construction HR manager job description
An industrial construction HR manager hires and keeps welders, pipefitters, millwrights and office staff. HR also runs drug tests and background checks, and keeps the training records plant owners check before crews go on site.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, commercial and industrial building contractors · BLS, May 2025
Accountable for recruiting and retaining top talent in an industrial construction environment. Ensures that all HR practices adhere to industry compliance and regulatory requirements. Promotes a strong, collaborative team culture to support both operational excellence and company growth. Acts as a strategic partner to leadership to align workforce capabilities with business objectives.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Develop and implement strategic recruitment processes to attract skilled candidates.
Ensure compliance with local, state, and federal employment and safety standards.
Manage onboarding, training, and performance management programs across the organization.
Foster a culture of teamwork and employee engagement through regular communication and team-building activities.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Screen resumes, conduct interviews, and coordinate staffing efforts.
Monitor compliance with labor laws and industry-specific regulations.
Address employee relations issues and contribute to resolving workplace conflicts.
Collaborate with management to assess staffing needs and improve retention strategies.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Time to Fill Positions: <45 days.
Employee Retention Rate: >90% annually.
Compliance Audit Success Rate: 100% adherence.
Employee Satisfaction Score: >4.5 out of 5 in regular surveys.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources or a related field.
Minimum of 5 years of HR experience, preferably in industrial construction or a related sector.
Strong interpersonal and communication skills.
Proficiency in HRIS and recruitment platforms.
6. Preferred Experience
Experience working within an industrial construction or similar home services environment.
Proven track record of managing comprehensive HR functions for diverse teams.
Prior experience with talent acquisition and employee development initiatives.
Familiarity with unionized labor environments is an advantage.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to occasionally lift up to 15 pounds.
Regularly work in an office environment with occasional site visits.
Must be able to navigate construction sites with appropriate safety gear.
Flexibility to work in varying environmental conditions during field assessments.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Standard work hours: Monday to Friday, 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM.
Occasional travel between office and construction sites as required.
On-call availability for urgent HR issues during peak operational periods.
Collaborative office environment supporting professional growth and mentorship.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Salary range: $75,000 - $95,000 USD annually, based on experience and qualifications.
Potential performance-based bonuses or commission structure.
Comprehensive Health, Dental, and Vision insurance plans.
401k plan with company match and additional fringe benefits.
10. Company Culture and Overview
At [INSERT COMPANY NAME HERE], we are committed to fostering an inclusive culture that values innovation, teamwork, and professional development.
Our team is driven by a passion for excellence and continuous improvement in every project we undertake.
We offer a supportive environment where every employee is empowered to grow, succeed, and make a significant impact.
Join us and contribute to a company that values both its people and its clients, setting industry standards for quality and service.
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 hires are skilled crafts who move from project to project. Plant owners and public agencies add their own checks on who can work.
Rhode Island public jobs need OSHA 10 cards
On Rhode Island state and municipal construction projects that meet the law's project cost threshold, contractors must give on-site employees OSHA's ten-hour construction safety course. Each worker must carry the card while work is being done and can't lend it to anyone else. HR tracks who holds a card and books the class for new hires before they're sent to a public job. Source: Rhode Island General Laws 37-23-1: Safety awareness program required.
Rhode Island limits drug tests of current workers
Plant owners often ask contractors to test their workers. In Rhode Island, you may test a current employee only on reasonable grounds. Those grounds must come from specific notes, made at the time, on job performance, appearance, behavior or speech. A worker who tests positive is sent to a substance abuse professional, not fired for that result. The law has narrow exceptions, such as federally required tests of truck drivers, so have counsel read an owner's testing clause before you sign. Source: Rhode Island General Laws 28-6.5-1: Drug testing permitted only in accordance with this section.
Plant badges can bring background checks
Some plant owners want a criminal background check before they badge a worker. If a background check company runs it, the Fair Credit Reporting Act applies. The worker gets a separate written disclosure and signs to approve the check. Before you turn them down or take other adverse action based on the report, they get a copy of it and the FTC's rights summary. In Oregon, you can't require applicants to disclose convictions on the application or before the first interview. Fair-chance rules vary by state and city. Source: Oregon Revised Statutes 659A.360: Restricting criminal conviction inquiries.
Craft titles cover different work
A pipefitter from HVAC service and one from process piping know different jobs, and the same goes for electricians and millwrights. Ask about materials, pressure tests and the plants they've worked in, and call their past foremen, not just the office. Plant owners notice fast when a crew's skills don't match the work.
How much industrial construction HR managers make
The closest BLS group for industrial construction HR managers is human resources managers. Human resources managers who work for commercial and industrial builders earned a median of $151,040 a year ($72.61 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s about the same as the $149,280 median for human resources managers in all industries. About 990 of the 220,660 human resources managers in that survey work for commercial and industrial building contractors.
A salary, often with a bonus. Even the template's upper figure sits under what BLS shows for almost every HR manager here. It looks more like HR specialist pay, so decide first if you need a manager or a generalist.
Commercial and industrial building contractors
$151,040$151,040 median Middle half $124,720–$187,220 10th–90th $102,880–$236,090
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
Commercial and industrial building contractors
$102,880
$124,720
$151,040
$187,220
$236,090
All industries
$88,200
$111,110
$149,280
$199,290
$267,810
BLS reports industrial and commercial building contractors together. 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
Hiring many skilled crafts at once, with quick reference calls to past foremen
Knowing federal and state job law, and when to call a lawyer
Clean records: I-9s, training cards, test results and personnel files
Plain talk with crews on site and staff in the office
Fair, written handling of complaints and investigations
Teach these on the job
Each plant owner's contractor prequalification forms
The Rhode Island and Oregon rules that apply where you work
Your HRIS and applicant tracking system
Collective bargaining agreement terms, if you work union
Your craft pay scales and classifications
Expect an HRIS such as Paylocity, Paycom or ADP, an applicant tracking system, and a training tracker that holds each worker's cards and expiry dates. Name the prequalification services your owners use, since HR often uploads records to them.
Industrial construction 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 · Ramping up craft labor
You win a project needing [60] welders and pipefitters in [6] weeks. How do you staff it?
A strong answer: Uses the right channels such as union halls, recruiters and past workers, plans per diem for travelers, verifies welding qualifications with tests, and times onboarding with client badging.
Behavioral · Labor relations
Tell me about a grievance or labor relations issue you handled. What was the outcome?
A strong answer: Knew the agreement or policy, investigated fairly and reached a resolution both sides could accept.
The template's targets are samples. Set yours from a year of your own hires, exits and survey results.
Time to Fill Positions
Count the days between approving a job and getting a yes on the offer, split by crafts, field leaders and office staff. Your applicant tracking system holds the dates.
Employee Retention Rate
Share of employees who stay through the year, counted apart from workers hired for a single project or outage. Review exit notes to see why people left.
Compliance Audit Success Rate
Check a sample of personnel files, I-9s, training cards and drug test records each quarter against your checklist and owners' requirements. Count the files with no findings.
Employee Satisfaction Score
Run a short anonymous survey for field and office staff, with paper or text options so crews can answer. Compare results by department and act on the comments.
Career path
Safety and training coordinatorTracks certifications, schedules training and learns the craft workforce.
HR generalistRuns hiring, onboarding and employee files for field and office staff.
HR managerOwns hiring, compliance and employee relations across the company.
HR directorLeads HR for a larger industrial group with several offices.
Other roles in an industrial construction business
How do you recruit welders and pipefitters when every contractor wants them?
Start before you need them. Keep in touch with community college welding programs and apprenticeship programs, and pay for certifications your crafts earn. A referral bonus paid after the new hire stays a set time can help, because crafts know who is good. Post the plant type and the travel involved, since experienced hands look for both.
How much does an industrial construction HR manager make?
Human resources managers who work for commercial and industrial builders earned a median of $151,040 a year ($72.61 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $124,720 and $187,220 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and bonus terms.
What union knowledge does an industrial HR manager need?
Enough to read each collective bargaining agreement you work under: its rules on discipline, grievance steps, overtime, travel and reporting pay. HR should know the business agent and stewards by name and keep a file of past grievances and how they ended. Leave hall referrals to operations and benefit fund reports to finance; HR's part is the people side.
A plant owner wants a worker kept off its property. What now?
Many owner contracts let the plant remove a contractor's worker from its property, often with little explanation. Get the owner's reason in writing if you can, and look into it the same way you would any complaint. A site ban isn't always grounds for firing; look for work on another job if the facts support it, and document the decision either way.
What site tasks does the template's physical section describe?
Walking a plant job in a hard hat, safety glasses, boots and any flame-resistant clothing the owner requires. The visits are to meet a foreman, hand out new-hire packets or look into a complaint. Carrying a box of onboarding binders or training materials. Some visits mean outdoor yards in rain, wind or sun. Describe them in the posting as duties and hear out any request for an accommodation.
