A property preservation COO runs field work across every county the company covers, from first secures to monthly inspections and grass cuts. They set routes, staffing, fleet rules and quality checks so orders close on time and pass each client's audit.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, building services companies · BLS, May 2025
Lead and optimize daily field operations while overseeing scheduling, resource management, and compliance in property preservation services. Drive operational excellence to ensure the highest levels of service quality and regulatory adherence. Collaborate with executive leadership to shape and implement strategic initiatives that enhance performance across all aspects of field operations.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Oversee daily field operations and resource allocation to optimize service delivery.
Develop and implement scheduling strategies to maximize efficiency and meet project deadlines.
Ensure strict compliance with industry regulations, company policies, and safety standards.
Collaborate with cross-functional teams to resolve operational challenges and drive continuous improvement.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Monitor field operations on a daily basis and adjust resource allocation as needed.
Conduct regular inspections and quality control visits to ensure adherence to standards.
Communicate effectively with field supervisors, technicians, and project managers.
Address operational issues promptly, ensuring customer concerns are resolved with a focus on satisfaction.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
On-Time Project Completion: Achieve a target of >95% on-time completion rate.
Customer Satisfaction Rating: Maintain an average rating of >4.8 stars.
Compliance Adherence: Secure a 100% compliance rate in all field operations.
Efficiency Improvement: Attain an annual cost savings target of at least 15%.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Operations Management, or a related field.
Minimum of 7 years’ experience in operations management with a strong emphasis on field service operations.
Excellent leadership, organizational, and communication skills with a proven track record of driving operational success.
Proficiency in scheduling, resource management software, and compliance monitoring systems.
6. Preferred Experience
Prior experience in property preservation services or related home services industries.
10+ years of progressive leadership experience in field operations, including multi-site oversight.
Demonstrated expertise in establishing and maintaining regulatory compliance and safety protocols.
Familiarity with advanced technology platforms used for scheduling and resource optimization.
7. Physical Requirements
Regular travel to offsite locations to assess operations and meet with field teams.
Ability to work in varying weather conditions on active job sites.
Occasional lifting of up to 25 lbs required during field inspections.
Ability to stand, walk, and maneuver on diverse terrains for extended periods.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Typical work schedule of 40 hours per week with the expectation of occasional extended hours during peak operations.
Combination of office-based work and frequent field visits.
On-call responsibilities during critical project phases or emergencies.
A dynamic environment that balances strategic oversight with hands-on operational management.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Annual salary range of $150,000 - $200,000 in USD, based on experience and qualifications.
Performance-based bonus structure aligned with operational KPIs.
Comprehensive benefits package including health, dental, and vision coverage.
401(k) plan with company matching and additional fringe benefits.
10. Company Culture and Overview
Our company prides itself on cultivating a collaborative, growth-oriented environment where innovation and teamwork drive success.
We are committed to fostering professional development, offering opportunities to learn, lead, and grow within the organization.
With a shared passion for excellence and customer satisfaction, we provide a supportive culture that empowers individuals to make a significant impact in the property preservation services industry.
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 preservation operations leadership different
Every COO turns plans into daily results. In preservation, federal servicing rules set part of the calendar, and crews work in empty houses spread across a region.
Loan rules set a monthly visit list
For FHA-insured loans in default, federal rules make the servicer inspect a vacant or abandoned home at least monthly. When a payment is 45 days late and calls haven't reached the borrower, the servicer must check whether the home is empty. Those visits repeat as long as the loan stays in default. Plan crew capacity around that standing list, not just new orders. Source: eCFR: 24 CFR 203.377, inspection and preservation of properties.
A debris trailer can make you a motor carrier
A pickup towing a loaded dump trailer can pass the federal weight line. Once the rig is rated at, or actually weighs, 10,001 pounds or more and hauls property in interstate commerce, motor carrier rules apply. A Chicago crew pulling a dump trailer of debris into northwest Indiana can be covered. The rules can apply even when no driver needs a CDL. Check vehicle ratings and cross-state routes with your safety lead before the next truck purchase. Source: eCFR: 49 CFR 390.5, definition of commercial motor vehicle.
Every client writes its own rules
Each investor and client sets its own preservation standards. For FHA homes in Illinois and Indiana, HUD sets the winterizing season from September 1 through April 30, and national vendors add their own photo and timing rules on top. Crews can't memorize five manuals. Turn them into one internal checklist per order type, flag each client's differences, and update it the same week a client changes a rule. Source: HUD: FHA Single Family Housing Policy Handbook 4000.1, last revised August 12, 2026 (property preservation and Appendix 7.0).
Check the work before the client does
Clients often re-inspect finished orders and charge back what fails. Run your own checks first. Have supervisors revisit a sample of done homes each week and compare what they see to the crew's photos. Rotate the checks across counties and subcontractors so no area goes unseen for long.
How much property preservation chief operating officers make
The closest BLS group for property preservation chief operating officers is chief executives. Chief executives who work for building and home services companies earned a median of $130,000 a year ($62.50 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 430 of the 204,350 chief executives in that survey work for building services companies.
Pay tends to be salary with a bonus on operating goals like on-time orders and audit results. The figures shown come from the chief executives code this page uses.
Building services companies
$130,000$130,000 median Middle half $102,340–$208,630 10th–90th $93,610–$275,020
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
Building services companies
$93,610
$102,340
$130,000
$208,630
$275,020
All industries
$75,700
$129,540
$213,990
$356,200
$507,730
BLS doesn’t publish pay for property preservation 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
Running multi-county field operations with employees and subcontractors
Building staffing plans around recurring and new orders
Turning client and investor rules into checklists crews follow
Oversight of fleet, safety and vehicle compliance
Steady handling of client escalations and failed audits
Teach these on the job
HUD servicing rules for vacant properties
Each client's order codes, due dates and photo rules
Your work order and photo platform
Local code enforcement and vacant building contacts
Disposal sites and their rules in each county
A preservation COO watches the work order system's dashboards, a routing tool, GPS fleet tracking and every client's portal. The ad should name the platform and say if the COO owns changes to it, since checklists and photo rules are often set up client by client.
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 · Photo rejections
On-time completion is fine, but a client's quality score is falling because of photo rejections. What do you do?
A strong answer: Reviews the rejection reasons, retrains crews on the photo rules, adds a checklist in the app and an office check, and scores vendors on it.
Behavioral · Vendor network quality
Tell me about a time you managed a network of independent field vendors. How did you keep quality up?
A strong answer: Describes onboarding, scorecards, audits and pay or volume tied to quality.
Treat these numbers as samples. Base yours on order history and client scorecards, and review them by territory each month.
On-Time Project Completion
Count orders finished and sent in before the client's deadline, split by order type and county. Use the client's timestamp rather than the crew's, since scorecards go by it.
Customer Satisfaction Rating
Use ratings and comments from client scorecards and vendor manager surveys. Record which client each score came from so one large account doesn't mask the others.
Compliance Adherence
Audit a sample of orders against the client's checklist, investor rules and safety rules. Count a failed item as a miss even when the client didn't catch it.
Efficiency Improvement
Measure what each finished order costs, by type, before and after each change in routing, staffing or materials. Count only savings that last past one season.
Career path
Field supervisorRuns crews in one territory and checks their work.
Operations managerAssigns orders and manages crews across several counties.
General managerOwns departments, clients and margin for a region.
Chief operating officerRuns field operations for the whole company.
Why does the COO template mention weather, lifting and rough ground?
Those lines describe the site visits in this job. The COO walks yards, porches and basements of empty homes in rain, heat or snow, and steps over debris and broken ground. They may carry a camera kit, a lock or supplies up to 25 pounds during a quality check. Build the ad around those tasks, and weigh each request for an accommodation on its own facts.
How much does a property preservation chief operating officer make?
Chief executives who work for building and home services companies earned a median of $130,000 a year ($62.50 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $102,340 and $208,630 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and bonus terms.
How should a preservation COO manage subcontracted crews?
Treat them as part of your field team. Require insurance certificates and a signed scope before the first order, give them the same checklists and photo rules as employees, and score their orders the same way. Spread work so no county depends on a single subcontractor, and review a new sub's first orders in person.
How should a COO put a client's new rule into the field?
Read the change the day it arrives and list the order types it touches. Update the internal checklist, the photo rules in the work order platform and the training notes together, and tell dispatch and supervisors the start date. Then audit the first batch of orders under the new rule before the client's reviewers see them.
How should a preservation COO respond when a crew damages a home?
Pull the crew's photos and the previous visit's photos the same day, tell the client before they hear it from someone else, and get a repair bid moving. Then find the cause, such as a skipped checklist step, a new crew member or a rushed route, and fix that so it doesn't happen at the next house.
