A painting chief operating officer turns signed contracts into finished, profitable paint jobs, done the same way at every branch. The COO runs the production leaders, sets lead-safe and ladder rules, and builds the crew and sub plan for exterior season.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, specialty trade contractors · BLS, May 2025
The Chief Operating Officer (COO) for Painting is responsible for overseeing all operational aspects of our painting division, ensuring efficient processes, exceptional service delivery, and long-term profitability. This role collaborates with leadership to drive strategic initiatives, streamline operations, and foster an environment of continuous improvement.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Oversee daily operations within the painting division to ensure process efficiency and high standards of quality.
Develop and implement operational strategies aligned with the company’s growth and profitability goals.
Collaborate with executive leadership in budgeting, forecasting, and resource allocation to maximize efficiency.
Monitor key performance metrics, identifying trends and implementing corrective strategies to achieve operational targets.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Review and analyze daily performance metrics and operational reports to adjust strategies as needed.
Lead cross-functional meetings with department heads to ensure clear communication and alignment on operational initiatives.
Engage with customers and field teams to resolve operational challenges and maintain high customer satisfaction.
Coordinate with vendors and suppliers to secure resources, ensuring timely project completions and cost efficiencies.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Revenue Growth Rate: Achieve a minimum of 10% increase annually.
Operational Efficiency: Maintain capacity efficiency at or above 85%.
Customer Satisfaction Rating: Sustain an average rating of >4.8 stars.
Gross Margin: Ensure a minimum gross margin of 40% on painting projects.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Operations Management, or related field.
Minimum of 8 years of progressive leadership experience, preferably in service-oriented or operational roles.
Strong analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills to lead diverse teams effectively.
6. Preferred Experience
Prior experience in the home services or specialized painting industry.
Proven track record managing large-scale operations and delivering consistent improvements in efficiency.
Experience with process improvement methodologies and strategic planning.
Familiarity with industry-specific software and operational tools is a plus.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to occasionally visit and inspect operational sites, requiring mobility and occasional light lifting (up to 20 lbs).
Comfortable working in varied environments including on-site visits to active painting projects.
Must be able to navigate workspaces that may involve confined areas or exposure to painting materials.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Typical work hours are Monday through Friday, 8 AM to 5 PM, with occasional extended hours during peak project periods.
Some travel may be required to project sites and regional offices.
Expected availability for occasional on-call duties during critical operational periods.
Office and on-site work environments, with a blend of indoor and outdoor settings.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Competitive salary range: $150,000 - $200,000 USD per annum.
Performance-based bonuses and profit-sharing opportunities.
Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance packages.
401(k) plan with company match and additional fringe benefits.
10. Company Culture and Overview
At [INSERT COMPANY NAME HERE], we foster a culture of innovation, collaboration, and growth.
Our team is dedicated to delivering superior service and quality in every painting project.
We invest in our employees, offering opportunities for continuous learning, career advancement, and a supportive work environment.
Join us in our mission to redefine industry standards while growing professionally and personally alongside passionate peers.
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
Painting happens inside customers' homes and on their siding, often on houses old enough to fall under lead paint rules. That puts prep, safety and consistency on the COO's desk.
Prep standards are written down
Two crews can paint the same house and get very different results, and the gap is often prep. The COO writes the standard for each surface: wash, scrape, sand, fill, caulk and prime, and which products are allowed. Crews photograph each stage. When paint fails early, those photos show which step was skipped and which crew skipped it.
Older homes need lead-safe methods
On paid jobs that disturb paint in pre-1978 homes, the method is set by EPA's rule or your state's version of it. Crews must post signs, contain the work area and pass a cleaning check at the end. Open-flame burning is banned, heat guns must run under 1,100 degrees Fahrenheit, and power sanders need a shroud or containment with a HEPA vacuum attached. The COO turns this into a checklist every crew and sub uses. Source: 40 CFR 745.85: Work practice standards (Cornell LII).
OSHA counts painting as construction
OSHA defines construction work to include painting, so its construction rules cover repaint crews. Ladders are the daily risk. OSHA requires a ladder training program, as needed, for each worker who climbs one, taught by a competent person. Where old paint has lead, OSHA's lead rule calls for interim protection during hand scraping and sanding until the company tests the real exposure. Source: OSHA 1926.1060: Ladder and stairway training requirements.
Cabinet doors often go to a shop
Cabinet work often means pulling the doors and spraying them in your own shop. When a shop sprays solvent-based or other flammable coatings, OSHA's spray finishing rule covers it. Exhaust fans must run whenever anyone sprays. No open flames or spark-making tools may be in the spray area or within 20 feet of it unless a partition separates them. Keep no more finish nearby than a shift or a day needs. The COO also sets how doors are tagged, cured and rehung. Source: OSHA 1910.107: Spray finishing using flammable and combustible materials.
Sub crews meet the same bar
Subcontracted painters work under your name, so the COO decides what a sub needs before the first job. That usually means insurance certificates, a walkthrough of your prep and closeout steps, and, for paint-disturbing work on homes built before 1978, its own EPA or state lead-safe firm certification. Subs who skip steps get fewer jobs, and the best ones get first pick of the schedule. Source: U.S. EPA: Renovation, Repair and Painting Program, contractors.
How much painting chief operating officers make
The closest BLS group for painting chief operating officers is chief executives. Chief executives who work for specialty trade contractors earned a median of $169,170 a year ($81.33 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s below the $213,990 median for chief executives in all industries. About 3,830 of the 204,350 chief executives in that survey work for specialty trade contractors.
A salary with bonus and profit sharing, often settled once the exterior season's job costs are final. Job margins, crew days filled and walkthrough scores usually drive it.
Specialty trade contractors
$169,170$169,170 median Middle half $100,570–$283,340 10th–90th $69,930–$386,670
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
Specialty trade contractors
$69,930
$100,570
$169,170
$283,340
$386,670
All industries
$75,700
$129,540
$213,990
$356,200
$507,730
BLS counts too few chief executives at painting contractors for a steady figure, so these figures cover specialty trade contractors. 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 painting or other home improvement company
Can write a prep standard a new painter can follow on day one
Plans crew and sub capacity months before spring
Finds the jobs that lost money and the step that caused it
Builds a bench of sub crews and drops the ones who cut corners
Teach these on the job
Your prep standards and approved products
EPA lead-safe work practices and record forms
How your estimating software hands jobs to production
Cabinet shop flow and spray equipment
Your paint suppliers' terms and delivery options
Production lives in scheduling software such as Jobber, JobNimbus or DripJobs, a crew and sub calendar, a photo app that stores before-and-after pictures for each job, and the paint store's online ordering. If crews still order paint by text and job photos sit on personal phones, say so, because fixing that is part of the job.
Lock these targets only after a full season of your own job costing, and put them on the agenda of every production meeting.
Revenue Growth Rate
Produced revenue, meaning jobs finished, each quarter, set against the matching quarter a year before. Watch sold backlog beside it, since a wet season can delay revenue that is already signed.
Operational Efficiency
List every crew day on the month's calendar, with in-house and sub crews in separate rows, and mark each one painted, rained out, idle or spent on unpaid touch-ups. Efficiency is the painted share.
Customer Satisfaction Rating
Walkthrough scores and online reviews, tagged with the crew leader or sub on each job. Read the written comments, not only the stars: they point to the prep, cleanup or communication step the standard needs to fix.
Gross Margin
Gross margin on each finished job: the price minus crew labor, sub cost, paint and sundries. Compare estimated with actual on every job, and look for patterns by crew, surface and estimator.
Everything that happens after the customer signs and before the last check clears. The COO decides how jobs get scheduled, which prep and safety steps every crew follows, the crew and sub headcount the season needs, and how paint gets bought. Most weeks include job cost reviews, job site visits and fixing whatever step caused the last round of rework.
How much does a painting chief operating officer make?
Chief executives who work for specialty trade contractors earned a median of $169,170 a year ($81.33 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $100,570 and $283,340 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and bonus terms.
Who does what: COO, director of operations or operations manager?
In a painting company with all three, the operations manager keeps one branch's crews scheduled and supplied. The director of operations travels between branches, coaching the GMs and checking that each one follows company procedures. The COO decides what those procedures are, sets the capacity plan, and answers to the CEO for production company-wide. A single-branch company usually skips the director, and the COO's work often falls to the owner or GM.
Do painting crews need lead certification?
Not every painter, but every company that does the work. When a paid job disturbs paint in a pre-1978 home, the firm must be EPA- or state-certified unless an exception applies, such as a lead-free test result or a small repair under EPA's size limits. Each job needs an assigned certified renovator who directs the work, and that renovator can train the other painters on the job. Renovators take an accredited course and a refresher within five years. Some states, including Wisconsin, Georgia and Oregon, run their own EPA-approved programs, so check their rules.
How should a painting COO plan for the exterior season?
Start in winter. Count sold and expected exterior jobs, turn them into crew days, and compare that with the crews and subs you can count on. Sign up subs, order ladders and spray gear, and hire and train painters before spring. Then keep a list of interior work ready so rain days don't leave crews idle.
What should a new painting COO fix first?
Often it's how a sold job passes from the salesperson to the crew. If the estimate doesn't list surfaces, prep level, colors and access, crews guess and margins slip. Next come job cost reports that show estimated against actual hours, and a capacity plan for the coming exterior season. An early audit of safety and lead-safe records is worth doing too.
