In a home service business that sells projects, such as remodeling, restoration, roofing or commercial work, a project manager takes each sold job from handoff to closeout: permits, materials, schedule, subcontractors, change orders, budget and the customer. The role is built on ownership. The project manager answers for a set of individual jobs from contract to final payment, while a production manager runs all the crews.
Project Manager · Any home service business · Word (.docx) · No email needed.
Project Manager job description template
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[Company name] · [City, State]
Project Manager
[Full-time / part-time] · [Base pay range and pay period] · Reports to [production manager or operations manager]
Position summary
As project manager at [Company name], you'll carry each sold job from handoff to final payment. You confirm scope and selections with the customer, pull permits, order materials, schedule crews and subcontractors, and book inspections. You write change orders before extra work starts, track cost against the budget, and keep the customer updated at every step until the job closes.
What you’ll do
Hold a handoff with [the salesperson or estimator] and the customer to confirm scope, selections and the start date.
Pull permits, book inspections, and get [HOA, building owner or insurance carrier] approvals where a job needs them.
Order materials, track lead times, and confirm deliveries before crews are scheduled.
Build each job's schedule with [the production manager or field supervisor], and line up subcontractors.
Write change orders for added work or hidden damage, and get the customer's signature before the work starts.
Compare each job's labor and material spending with its budget, and send invoices or draw requests on time.
Close each job with a final walk-through, punch list, customer sign-off and warranty paperwork.
A typical day
Call or text each customer whose job moved, with what happens next and when.
Visit an active job to check progress and quality with the field supervisor.
Check inspection results, deliveries and permit portals, and adjust the schedule.
Update job notes, photos, costs and change orders in [your project management software].
Answer questions from subcontractors, suppliers and inspectors.
What you need
[3+] years managing residential or commercial projects in a trade, or [5+] years as a lead in the field.
Can read plans and specifications and build a material list from them.
Understands permits and inspections for [your trade] in [your area].
Has written change orders and tracked job cost against a budget.
Gives customers clear, calm updates by phone, text and email.
Nice to have
Experience in [your trade], such as remodeling, restoration, roofing or commercial work.
Certifications your trade uses, such as [IICRC, EPA Lead-Safe Certified Renovator, or a manufacturer's installer training].
Experience with [your estimating or project management software].
OSHA 10 or OSHA 30 Construction card.
Physical requirements
Walk job sites, climb ladders, and check work in attics, crawl spaces or on roofs.
Carry samples, tools and paperwork up to [25] pounds.
With or without reasonable accommodation.
Schedule and work environment
Time split between the office and job sites across [your service area].
Hours: [days and times], starting early on inspection or delivery days.
Job sites can be hot, cold, dusty or noisy, and customers may be living in the home during the work.
Pay and benefits
Base pay: [range and hourly or salary basis]. Additional pay: [overtime, bonus or incentive terms, or none].
Benefits: [health, dental, vision, retirement, paid time off, and when eligibility starts].
How to apply
Apply at [application link]. Our process is [phone interview, in-person interview, and next steps]. Contact [hiring contact] if you need an accommodation during the application process.
How the project manager role changes by industry
The core job holds in every trade that sells projects: take the sold job, plan it, and run it to closeout. What changes is who else has a say. An insurance adjuster in restoration, a utility in solar, a general contractor in commercial HVAC, and a homeowners association in deck work each add steps the project manager has to manage.
Writes the scope and line-item estimate for each water, fire or mold loss, works it through with the insurance adjuster, checks drying logs, and runs the rebuild to a signed certificate of completion.
Pulls permits, books rough-in and final inspections, sets up utility disconnects for service upgrades, and follows builders' schedules, while the master electrician makes the code calls.
Moves each signed contract to permission to operate: permit approval, the utility interconnection application, inspections and the financing partner's milestones.
Confirms decking and railing choices, gets permits and HOA approval, books footing, framing and final inspections, and holds crews to the maker's install guide so the warranty holds.
Plans excavation, base and drainage with the field supervisor, gets engineering for taller walls, and writes change orders when digging turns up poor soil or buried debris.
Measure the handful that suit the jobs you sell, with targets drawn from jobs you've already closed.
Jobs finished by the date promised at handoff: [your target].
Final job cost against the budget: [your target].
Extra work billed through signed change orders: [your target].
Inspections passed the first time: [your target].
Days from final walk-through to final payment: [your target].
Customer rating at closeout: [your target].
Before you hire a project manager
Ask for a change order story. Ask finalists about a job where hidden damage or a customer request changed the scope. Listen for when they wrote it up and got a signature: before the work, not after.
Test the paperwork, not just the field skills. Give finalists a short scope and one plan sheet, and ask for a material list and a rough schedule. Strong field leads sometimes know the work well but have never built a budget.
Say how many jobs at once. BLS notes that some construction managers run several projects at once, such as building several homes. Tell candidates how many jobs, and what size, a project manager usually carries at your company, since a run of kitchen remodels and one large commercial build are very different workloads.
Check the customer side. Ask how they'd tell a homeowner the job will finish late. A good answer gives the reason, the new date and the next step, on the same day they find out.
When applications come in, Iris interviews applicants by phone using your requirements. Your team reviews the answers and decides who to meet.
Project Manager interview questions
Two of the 10 questions in our project manager interview guide, and what a strong answer sounds like.
Situational · Subcontractors and schedule
On a basement finish, your HVAC sub and your electrician both show up [Monday] to rough in the same ceiling, and each says the other should have waited. What do you do?
A strong answer: Decides on site, usually the least flexible runs first, like ducts and sloped drain lines, with wiring last. Gives the second sub other work or a firm return day, and tells the customer if dates move. Then fixes the cause with a weekly look-ahead schedule every sub confirms.
Behavioral · Subcontractors and schedule
Tell me about a subcontractor you dropped from your list, or nearly dropped. What happened?
A strong answer: Names the sub and the problem, with dates and photos. Raised it directly and early, put expectations in writing, gave a fair chance, then stopped using them with a backup lined up. Now checks license, insurance and references, and tries new subs on smaller jobs first.
In a home service business that sells projects, a project manager takes each sold job from handoff to final payment. They confirm scope and selections, pull permits, order materials, schedule crews and subcontractors, write change orders, track the budget and keep the customer updated until the job closes.
Is a project manager the same as a production manager?
No, though small companies sometimes combine them. The production manager plans the work of every crew across the company. The project manager is the customer's main contact on a set of jobs and owns each one's permits, materials, changes and budget. If one person does both, put both sets of duties in the job description.
How much does a project manager make?
For construction project managers, the closest BLS group is construction managers. Their U.S. median pay was $55.28 an hour, or $114,990 a year, in 2025, according to BLS data published by O*NET. The group includes construction managers at large commercial builders and in every other industry, so compare local postings for project managers in your trade.
Does a project manager need a license?
It depends on your state and trade. BLS says professional certification isn't required for construction managers, but some states require construction managers to be licensed, so check with your state's licensing board. Trade credentials, such as IICRC certification in restoration, are industry credentials, not legal requirements.
What should a project manager job description include?
Along with the standard sections, name the trade and job types, how many jobs the role carries at once, who estimates and sells, your software, and whether the role handles billing and collections.
Is the HireBus Role Blueprint free?
Yes. You can copy the general template at no charge, and its Word file needs no email to download. The download box also has every industry's version.
HireBus Role Blueprints: 34 industry versions of the project manager job description, reviewed for publication on October 20, 2026.
Pay and outlook figures cover all construction managers, from large commercial builders to small contractors, in every industry, not only home service businesses. It is the closest BLS group for construction project managers. O*NET reports 609,100 people employed as construction managers in 2025 and projects much faster than average growth (7% or higher), with about 49,700 job openings a year, on average, from 2025 to 2035.
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