A residential developer HR manager hires and keeps the crews, site leaders, sales and office staff the company needs as it grows. They plan hiring around each new phase, run onboarding and benefits, handle conflicts, and keep pay and training records in line with labor law.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, residential builders and remodelers · BLS, May 2025
Responsible for strategically managing all aspects of HR operations to support residential construction and development initiatives. Drives hiring excellence, ensures labor compliance, and fosters a vibrant company culture. Serves as a key partner to leadership in promoting organizational growth and sustainable workforce engagement.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Develop and implement effective recruitment strategies that align with the company’s growth objectives.
Oversee labor compliance initiatives, ensuring all practices adhere to local, state, and federal regulations.
Manage employee relations, performance evaluations, and benefits administration.
Collaborate with senior leadership to shape and promote a positive organizational culture.
Design and execute training programs aimed at talent development and retention.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Conduct daily screenings of job applications and coordinate interviews with suitable candidates.
Monitor labor compliance issues and update management on any potential risks.
Facilitate onboarding processes and orientation programs for new hires.
Coordinate with department heads to address employee queries and resolve workplace conflicts.
Maintain HR records, ensuring accuracy and confidentiality at all times.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Time-to-Fill Positions: ≤ 45 days.
New Hire Retention Rate: ≥ 90% after the first 12 months.
Labor Compliance Adherence: 100% compliance across all projects.
Employee Engagement Score: > 85% positive feedback in annual surveys.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or related field.
Minimum of 5 years of HR management experience, preferably within the construction or development sector.
Strong communication, negotiation, and conflict resolution skills.
Proficiency in HRIS systems and common office software applications.
6. Preferred Experience
Experience working within residential builders or developers is highly desirable.
Proven track record of managing workforce expansion and labor compliance in regulated environments.
Previous involvement in strategic HR planning and organizational development initiatives.
Familiarity with unionized labor environments and related collective bargaining agreements.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to occasionally lift office supplies and manage physical documentation (up to 20 lbs.).
Willingness to travel between job sites if necessary.
Comfort with extended periods of desk work and use of computer equipment.
Ability to navigate a dynamic work environment that may occasionally involve site visits.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Typical work hours: Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
Occasional extended hours may be required during peak project periods.
On-site visits at various residential development locations as needed.
Minimal travel expected; primarily office-based with field interactions.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Salary range: $80,000 - $100,000 USD per year based on experience and qualifications.
Performance-based bonus opportunities available.
Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance plans provided.
401(k) plan with company matching, paid time off, and additional fringe benefits.
10. Company Culture and Overview
At [INSERT COMPANY NAME HERE], we pride ourselves on cultivating a collaborative and growth-oriented environment that empowers every team member to succeed.
We believe in continuous learning, open communication, and the provision of opportunities that encourage professional and personal development.
Our commitment to building sustainable living spaces extends to our internal practices, promoting innovation, respect, and excellence in all endeavors.
Join our team and become a part of a company that values each individual and fosters a culture where everyone is instrumental to our success.
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
Every HR manager hires, pays and protects the company. A developer adds crews that grow and shrink with each phase, trades that may or may not count as employees, and training records for job sites.
Nebraska presumes construction workers are employees
Nebraska's Employee Classification Act presumes that a person doing construction labor for a contractor is an employee. To be treated as independent, the worker must pass three tests. They meet the state's unemployment-law test. They registered as a contractor before starting. And they have their own unemployment tax rate or an exemption. Before anyone works as an independent framer or laborer, HR checks all three and keeps the proof. Source: Nebraska Revised Statute 48-2903, Employee Classification Act presumption.
Paydays for New Hampshire crews
New Hampshire requires wages within 8 days after the work week ends for weekly pay, or within 15 days for every-other-week pay, on paydays set in advance. Paying less often takes a written petition to the labor commissioner and still means at least once a month. Set field payroll to fit before the first New Hampshire crew starts. Source: New Hampshire RSA 275:43, weekly or biweekly payment of wages.
Fall protection training needs a signed record
OSHA requires construction employers to train each worker who might face a fall hazard. The proof is a written certification record. It must name the worker, list when the training happened, and carry the trainer's or employer's signature. A trained worker who shows they don't understand must be retrained. At a developer that covers framers on second floors, roofers and siding crews. HR keeps the records by name and date. Source: eCFR: 29 CFR 1926.503, fall protection training requirements.
Hire ahead of the next phase
Crew needs jump when a new phase opens and its first foundations go in. Ask the COO for the start schedule each quarter. Open recruiting for laborers, framers and site leaders before the phase's first lot is ready, so new hires are trained when the work arrives.
Plan the winter slowdown in the fall
Cold months slow site work in Nebraska and New Hampshire. Decide before the first freeze who moves to interior work, who takes fewer hours, and how any layoffs and recalls will work, then tell crews early. Crews who know the plan in advance are easier to bring back when spring starts.
How much residential developer HR managers make
The closest BLS group for residential developer HR managers is human resources managers. Human resources managers who work for residential builders and remodelers earned a median of $133,790 a year ($64.32 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s below the $149,280 median for human resources managers in all industries. About 330 of the 220,660 human resources managers in that survey work for residential builders and remodelers.
A salary and a yearly performance bonus are the norm. Most BLS pay figures for HR managers in residential building sit above the template's band, which looks closer to HR specialist pay there, so that band may attract generalists more than managers.
Residential builders and remodelers
$133,790$133,790 median Middle half $104,040–$168,860 10th–90th $86,570–$206,460
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
Residential builders and remodelers
$86,570
$104,040
$133,790
$168,860
$206,460
All industries
$88,200
$111,110
$149,280
$199,290
$267,810
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
HR management experience, ideally with construction crews
Working knowledge of wage-hour rules for hourly field staff
Ease talking with a framing crew on a job site, not just in the office
Private, accurate record-keeping in an HRIS
Calm handling of complaints and terminations, with notes that hold up later
Teach these on the job
Your phase schedule and crew structure
Nebraska and New Hampshire payroll and classification rules
OSHA training records for your sites
Your HRIS and payroll system
Union agreements, if a trade you use is organized
Builders this size often keep payroll and HR records in one system, such as Paylocity, Paycor or ADP Workforce Now. Pair it with applicant tracking software and a shared folder or app where site training sign-ins land. Say which ones you use so candidates know what they'd inherit.
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 · Guiding discipline
A superintendent wants to fire a laborer on the spot for arguing with them. What do you do?
A strong answer: Gets the facts, checks policy and past discipline, considers whether the argument involved a safety complaint or other protected activity, documents, and guides a fair decision.
Behavioral · Growing without lowering standards
Tell me about a time you staffed up quickly for a new community or phase without lowering hiring standards.
A strong answer: Explains the sourcing, the structured steps they kept, how they sped up scheduling and decisions, and how new hires performed.
The template's targets show the shape, not your numbers. Base yours on last year's hires, exits and survey results, department by department.
Time-to-Fill Positions
Track how many days pass from approving an opening to a signed offer, kept separate for field crews, site leaders, sales and office roles, since each fills at its own pace.
New Hire Retention Rate
Take each month's hires and see who still draws a paycheck a year on. Break it out by crew and by supervisor to see where people leave.
Labor Compliance Adherence
Run a self-audit each quarter of eligibility forms, classification files, pay timing, overtime and training records. Count open findings and how fast each one is fixed.
Employee Engagement Score
Use one short anonymous survey every year, offered in each language your crews read. Report by group only when the group is big enough to protect who said what.
Career path
Safety and training coordinator at a site work contractorRuns sign-ins, training records and new-hire orientation.
HR managerOwns hiring, pay rules, files and staff relations across every subdivision.
Human resources director for a multi-state homebuilderSets policy across several markets and leads a team of HR staff.
Other roles in a residential builders & developers business
Can a developer use a staffing agency for laborers during a busy phase?
Yes, for short peaks. Put in the agency contract who provides site safety training and gear, who reports injuries, and who keeps the records. Treat agency laborers the same on site as your own crews, and track how many later join you as employees, since that's often the best use of the agency.
How much does a residential developer HR manager make?
Human resources managers who work for residential builders and remodelers earned a median of $133,790 a year ($64.32 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $104,040 and $168,860 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and bonus terms.
What should HR do before hiring in a second state?
Open that state's withholding and unemployment accounts first. Then set up its posters and new-hire reporting. Read its rules on paydays and worker classification before the first offer. Nebraska and New Hampshire, for example, treat both differently, so one handbook section rarely fits both states.
Does a developer's HR manager need a construction background?
It helps, but it matters less than wage-hour, classification and records skills. Someone from retail or healthcare can learn crew titles and how a house goes together in a few months. Someone who doesn't know overtime and recordkeeping rules can cost you far more in that time. Give a newcomer a superintendent to shadow for the first weeks.
What tasks match the HR template's 20-pound and site travel lines?
The lines appear word for word. For HR at a developer, that's hauling personnel files or orientation binders, driving between subdivisions, and walking a site in a hard hat to meet a crew at break time. Walk each finalist through them. If a finalist asks for an accommodation, look at what that person needs.
