Residential developer general manager job description
A residential developer general manager runs several subdivisions at once, from the next phase's approvals to the last home's closing. They track build targets, budgets, safety and buyer ratings, and report to the COO on each community.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, residential builders and remodelers · BLS, May 2025
Residential Builders / Developers - General Manager
Company Name:
[INSERT COMPANY NAME HERE]
Department:
Operations
Reports to:
[Chief Operating Officer]
Location:
[INSERT LOCATION HERE]
1. Position Summary
Lead and oversee multiple subdivisions to ensure the highest levels of efficiency, quality, and compliance in all residential building projects. Drive strategic planning, track key performance indicators (KPIs), and achieve build targets aligned with the company’s growth objectives. Act as a pivotal liaison between project teams and executive leadership to streamline operations in a dynamic home services environment.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Develop and implement strategic operational plans to meet project milestones and financial targets.
Oversee daily operations across multiple subdivisions ensuring projects remain on schedule and within budget.
Monitor KPIs, assess building progress, and adjust strategies to achieve targeted construction outcomes.
Maintain high standards of quality, safety, and regulatory compliance on all residential development sites.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Conduct regular site visits to ensure project alignment with quality and safety standards.
Analyze performance reports and adjust operational tactics based on real-time KPIs and feedback.
Collaborate with construction managers, designers, and subcontractors to streamline workflows.
Coordinate meetings with key stakeholders to review project statuses and refine build targets.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Build Target Achievement: 100% of scheduled milestones met or exceeded.
Project Budget Adherence: Maintain project costs within 95% of budgeted estimates.
Safety Compliance: Achieve a safety incident rate of <2% per annum.
Customer Satisfaction Rating: Maintain an average rating of >4.8 stars.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor’s degree in Construction Management, Civil Engineering, Business Administration, or a related field.
Minimum of 7 years of progressive leadership experience in residential construction or home services.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with a keen eye for detail.
Excellent communication, organizational, and interpersonal skills.
6. Preferred Experience
Prior experience in managing multiple subdivisions or large-scale residential projects.
Proven track record in meeting or exceeding build targets within the residential construction sector.
Familiarity with construction management software and modern project tracking tools.
Experience working in a fast-paced, growth-oriented home services environment.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to regularly visit multiple construction sites and navigate varying environmental conditions.
Ability to stand, walk, and work in diverse weather conditions.
Occasional lifting of materials up to 25 lbs may be required.
Capacity to work in both office and on-site settings.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Standard office hours with occasional extended hours during peak project phases.
Regular travel between multiple residential project sites is required.
Minimal on-call duties, with emergencies handled as necessary.
Fast-paced work environment requiring agility and adaptability.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Salary range: $95,000 - $125,000 USD per year, commensurate with experience.
Performance bonuses tied to project completion and KPI achievements.
Comprehensive benefits package including Health, Dental, and Vision insurance.
Participation in a 401(k) plan with company match and additional fringe benefits.
10. Company Culture and Overview
We are a forward-thinking, growth-oriented company committed to excellence and innovation in the residential building industry.
With a strong focus on quality, safety, and customer satisfaction, we empower our employees to grow and succeed.
Our collaborative team environment fosters continuous learning, professional development, and a shared commitment to achieving ambitious goals.
Join us to be part of a dynamic culture where your contributions make a significant impact in transforming communities.
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
A general manager anywhere hits targets through other people. At a developer, those targets are lots and homes across several subdivisions, each at its own stage and under its own approvals.
New Hampshire planning boards work on a clock
In New Hampshire, a planning board decides at its next regular meeting, or within 30 days of delivery, whether a subdivision application is complete. Once it accepts the application, it has 65 days to approve, conditionally approve or deny, subject to extension or waiver. Build each phase's schedule around those dates, and make sure the engineer files a package the board will accept as complete. Source: New Hampshire RSA 676:4, board's procedures on plats.
Condo owners take over the board in steps
When townhomes are sold as condominiums in Nebraska, the developer can control the owners' association only for a limited time. Within sixty days after half the units that may be created are conveyed to buyers, those owners elect at least one member and a quarter of the board. Developer control ends no later than sixty days after nine in ten are conveyed, or two years after the developer stops offering units, if sooner. Plan the handoff with clean books and finished common areas. Source: Nebraska Revised Statutes 76-861, condominium association and declarant control.
Buyers move in beside active construction
Early buyers live on streets where homes are still going up. Mud, noise, dumpsters and trucks are their daily view, and it shows up in their ratings. Set rules in each subdivision for work hours, parking, trash and debris, and have someone answer a resident's complaint the same day.
Release homes at the pace sales can sell
Agree with the sales manager on how many homes or lots to release in each phase and at what prices. Releasing too many at once can stall prices, while too few can leave crews waiting. Review the pace each month with sales and construction, and adjust starts before unsold homes pile up.
How much residential developer general managers make
The closest BLS group for residential developer general managers is general and operations managers. General and operations managers who work for residential builders and remodelers earned a median of $105,010 a year ($50.48 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s about the same as the $105,770 median for general and operations managers in all industries. About 40,030 of the 3,503,020 general and operations managers in that survey work for residential builders and remodelers.
Usually a salary plus bonuses tied to completions and other KPIs. The template's range falls inside the BLS figures for general and operations managers at residential builders.
Residential builders and remodelers
$105,010$105,010 median Middle half $72,790–$156,380 10th–90th $52,000–$210,110
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
Residential builders and remodelers
$52,000
$72,790
$105,010
$156,380
$210,110
All industries
$50,090
$72,320
$105,770
$167,280
$253,390
BLS reports home builders and remodelers 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
Has run more than one subdivision at a time
Reads a plat, a site plan and a list of approval conditions
Manages a budget across land, site work and houses
Leads project managers, superintendents and a sales team
Speaks clearly in front of planning boards and homebuyers
Teach these on the job
Your towns' boards, staff and hearing calendars
Your floor plans, options and price list
Your association documents and covenants
Your reporting software and KPI dashboard
The GM works from a project app like Buildertrend, job costing pulled from accounting, a lot status board per subdivision and the survey buyers answer after closing. List in the ad which reports the GM is expected to own.
Residential developer 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 · Rebalancing subdivisions
One subdivision is far behind its build target while another is ahead. Walk me through how you rebalance.
A strong answer: Finds the cause, moves superintendents or trades if that fixes it, checks sales and closing commitments, and resets targets honestly.
Behavioral · Target versus quality
Tell me about a time you had to choose between hitting a build target and protecting quality.
A strong answer: Explains the facts, why they chose as they did, how they told leadership, and what happened.
Consider the template's figures a sketch. Set your own from your subdivisions' recent results and the approvals in your pipeline, and agree on them with the COO.
Build Target Achievement
Compare the milestones planned for each subdivision, such as plat recording, lot completions, starts and closings, with what happened. Report misses by cause.
Project Budget Adherence
Track each subdivision's cost to complete every month from signed contracts and purchase orders, not only paid invoices. A rising forecast flags trouble while there is still time to act.
Safety Compliance
Put each subdivision's recordable incidents beside its site audit scores, so warning signs show before someone gets hurt. Compare subdivisions and superintendents, and follow up where audits slip.
Customer Satisfaction Rating
Survey every buyer the same way at closing and again after warranty visits, and report scores by subdivision and by superintendent.
Career path
Project managerRuns one subdivision's budget, schedule and trades.
Land development managerTakes new phases through engineering, approvals and site work.
General managerAnswers for several subdivisions and the people running them.
Should a GM change floor plans partway through a subdivision?
Sometimes, but carefully. Buyers who already closed compare their homes with the ones going up next door, and appraisers compare them too. Add new plans or options at a phase break, price them against what already sold, and brief the sales team before the change goes public. Check the covenants first, since some limit house styles or sizes.
How much does a residential developer general manager make?
General and operations managers who work for residential builders and remodelers earned a median of $105,010 a year ($50.48 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $72,790 and $156,380 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and bonus terms.
How many subdivisions can one general manager run?
It depends on how far apart they are and what stage each is in. A subdivision in approvals and site work takes a different kind of time than one closing homes every week. A GM with strong project managers can cover more. Watch for warning signs: missed meetings with towns, stale lot boards, and buyer complaints that wait days for an answer.
Who should speak for the developer at planning board hearings?
Usually the engineer presents the plans and the GM or CEO speaks for the company. The GM should know every promise made at a hearing, because those promises often become conditions the crews must follow. Keep a written log of commitments for each subdivision and share it with the project managers and superintendents.
How do the GM template's standing, weather and 25-pound lines play out on site?
These lines ship word for word. They cover tasks like walking a subdivision's streets and lots in any season, standing through a site meeting or a buyer's walkthrough, and carrying plan sets, sample boards or a box of signs between the truck and the model home. Have candidates explain how they would handle these tasks, and talk about accommodations if a candidate raises one.
