A restoration COO runs everything the crews do: emergency calls, drying and mold jobs, and rebuilds after water, fire and smoke damage. The COO sets the job rules, the safety plan and the schedules, so crews pass inspections and every job file holds up when the insurer checks it.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Responsible for overseeing all day-to-day restoration tasks, ensuring strict adherence to industry compliance standards while driving operational efficiency and continuous improvement within the organization. Acts as a strategic leader partnering with executive management to optimize processes and support sustainable growth.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Lead and manage all restoration operations to ensure timely and high-quality service delivery.
Implement and enforce compliance protocols to meet local, state, and federal regulations.
Develop, refine, and monitor best practices and operational procedures across restoration projects.
Collaborate closely with key stakeholders to align restoration efforts with business objectives.
Drive and measure efficiency improvements and process optimizations throughout the operations team.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Oversee daily project schedules, ensuring all restoration activities are executed effectively.
Conduct routine operational reviews and quality assessments on restoration sites.
Facilitate cross-departmental meetings to address operational challenges and share success strategies.
Review and analyze performance data to identify areas for improvement and implement corrective actions.
Engage with field teams and customers as needed to foster strong, customer-centric relationships.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Project Completion Rate: 95% of projects completed on schedule.
Compliance Score: Maintain a compliance rating of 100% on inspections.
Customer Satisfaction Rating: Achieve >4.8 stars based on client feedback.
Operational Efficiency: Increase capacity efficiency by at least 10% annually.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Operations Management, or a related field.
Minimum of 8 years in a senior operations leadership role within the home services or restoration industry.
Demonstrated expertise in operational planning and process optimization.
Advanced leadership, communication, and problem-solving skills.
Proficiency in data analysis and operational performance metrics.
6. Preferred Experience
Experience in the restoration contractors industry with a strong track record of managing complex operations.
Prior leadership experience collaborating with multifunctional teams in a growth-oriented environment.
Familiarity with industry-specific technologies and digital tools.
Exposure to crisis management and disaster recovery operations.
Expertise in managing multi-disciplinary project teams.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to travel to various restoration sites as required.
Occasional lifting of materials up to 25 lbs for operational oversight purposes.
Capability to work in diverse environments, including outdoor sites and operational venues.
Comfortable working in varying weather conditions during site visits.
Adequate stamina for extended on-site inspections.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Typical work hours: Monday – Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
Availability for occasional extended hours during critical restoration projects.
Travel requirements to multiple regional job sites as needed.
Participation in after-hours on-call support during major restoration events.
Work predominantly in a corporate office environment with periodic field site engagement.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Salary range: $150,000 – $180,000 USD per annum.
Annual performance-based bonus structure.
Comprehensive Health, Dental, and Vision insurance plans.
401k plan with company match.
Additional fringe benefits including paid time off and professional development opportunities.
10. Company Culture and Overview
Our company is dedicated to excellence, innovation, and a culture that fosters professional growth.
We empower our team through collaboration and continuous learning, ensuring every employee reaches their highest potential.
Our inclusive and supportive environment encourages new ideas, celebrates diversity, and drives success through teamwork.
We pride ourselves on our strong community presence, commitment to quality, and focus on customer satisfaction.
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
Restoration crews walk into flooded basements, burned kitchens and moldy crawl spaces, often at night, and every step they take ends up in a file an insurer reviews. That shapes how a COO writes procedures and safety rules.
Drying follows a written standard
Water jobs are judged against ANSI/IICRC S500, the trade's water damage standard. It's an industry standard, not a law. The 2021 edition is current, and a new one is being written. The COO turns it into your own steps: when techs take moisture readings, when fans come off, and what proof goes in the file. The standard also says fixing the leak itself is the owner's job, not the restorer's. Source: IICRC: ANSI/IICRC S500 water damage restoration standard.
The water category sets the scope
Category 3 water is badly contaminated, like sewage, and it means more tear-out and more protective gear. The standard lists seawater flooding and rising river water as Category 3. In February 2026 the S500 group said wind-driven rain and storm water that comes in from above are not Category 3 by default. The restorer has to inspect the site and decide. The COO makes sure techs write down why they picked a category, because the adjuster will ask. Source: IICRC S500 Consensus Body: Category of water damage and weather-related events (2026).
Mold, sewage and soot call for respirators
Crews tear out moldy drywall, clean up sewage and scrub soot. When workers need respirators to stay safe, OSHA requires a written plan. It has to include medical checks, fit tests for tight masks, and training. The COO owns that plan and makes sure each site has the right gear before work starts. Source: OSHA: Respiratory protection standard, 29 CFR 1910.134.
Old homes bring lead rules, even in an emergency
Tear-out in most homes built before 1978 can stir up lead paint. Under EPA's lead rule, an emergency such as a burst pipe can skip the pamphlet step. Some other steps can be skipped only as far as the emergency needs. Cleaning, a certified renovator's cleaning check, and records still apply, and the planned rebuild later is not an emergency. The COO keeps the firm certified, keeps certified renovators on staff, and flags old homes at the first call. Source: eCFR: 40 CFR Part 745 Subpart E, residential property renovation (lead).
Business losses bring asbestos rules
EPA's asbestos rule (NESHAP) covers remodeling and tear-down work in commercial buildings. At the very least, the site needs a thorough inspection first. Any tear-down, and remodeling that disturbs more than a set amount of asbestos, also need notice to the agency in charge, often a state office. Houses with four or fewer units generally fall outside this EPA rule, but OSHA's asbestos rule for construction still covers crews working in them. The COO makes sure no one opens walls in a shop or office before that inspection. Source: U.S. EPA: Asbestos NESHAP.
How much restoration chief operating officers make
The closest BLS group for restoration chief operating officers is chief executives. Chief executives who work for remediation companies earned a median of $215,510 a year ($103.61 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s about the same as the $213,990 median for chief executives in all industries. About 170 of the 204,350 chief executives in that survey work for remediation companies.
The template sets base pay and a performance bonus paid once a year. Drying equipment use, audit findings closed and on-time job completion make fair bonus measures here, since the COO controls them directly.
Remediation companies
$215,510$215,510 median Middle half $104,400–$564,570 10th–90th $69,990–$642,050
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
Remediation companies
$69,990
$104,400
$215,510
$564,570
$642,050
All industries
$75,700
$129,540
$213,990
$356,200
$507,730
BLS doesn’t publish pay for restoration contractors on their own. These figures cover remediation and other waste management services, 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
Years on water, fire or mold jobs, then years leading the crews on them
Can read a drying log and tell on a site walk whether a step got skipped
Turns the S500 into short job steps that a first-month tech can use
Owns safety for respirators, lead and asbestos, not just a binder
Can shift crews, subcontractors and equipment within hours when a catastrophe hits
Teach these on the job
Which jobs each carrier program sends and what it wants in the file
How your equipment is tagged, tracked and billed
Where your mold, lead and asbestos testing partners fit into a job
Which rebuild subs you use, and how they get booked and paid
IICRC courses in water damage and mold, if they don't hold them yet
The COO plans around field gear (moisture meters, thermal cameras, air movers, dehumidifiers and air scrubbers) and the software that logs it: DASH or Albi for jobs, Encircle or CompanyCam for photos and readings, and Xactimate for scopes. If your fleet isn't tagged and tracked yet, mention it, since setting that up is often a new COO's first project.
Think of these targets as a sketch, not a contract. Pull a year of job dates, audit results and survey scores first, then set goals the COO can move.
Project Completion Rate
Jobs done by the date given to the customer and carrier, split into mitigation, contents and rebuild. Record why each late job slipped, such as a slow approval, a back-ordered material or a short crew.
Compliance Score
Combine your own site safety audits with outside reviews: OSHA visits, license checks and carrier file audits. Track every finding until it is closed, not just the score on the day.
Customer Satisfaction Rating
Closing surveys on every job. Tag each low score with its main complaint, like a slow start, dust and odor, or a rebuild that dragged, and fix the problem that comes up most.
Operational Efficiency
Revenue for each hour your field crews are paid, plus the share of drying equipment out on jobs instead of on the shelf. Look at it quarterly, next to last year's matching quarter, since storms skew the numbers.
Career path
Lead technicianRuns drying and mold jobs on site and trains helpers.
Operations managerRuns mitigation crews, the equipment fleet and the daily schedule.
Chief Operating OfficerOwns every field department, from the first night of a loss to the final walk-through.
That's set state by state. New York licenses mold assessors, mold remediation contractors and abatement workers. It also bars one person from doing both the assessment and the cleanup on the same property. Texas issues mold licenses and registrations through its Department of Licensing and Regulation. Check each state's rules before you take a mold job there.
How much does a restoration chief operating officer make?
Chief executives who work for remediation companies earned a median of $215,510 a year ($103.61 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $104,400 and $564,570 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and bonus terms.
Do we have to treat every older home as having lead paint?
Under EPA's rule, paid work in most pre-1978 housing follows lead-safe steps unless the parts you'll disturb are shown to be free of lead paint. To show that, a certified renovator can use an EPA-recognized test kit or send paint chips to an EPA-recognized lab. A certified inspector or risk assessor can also put a finding in writing. Very small repairs have a narrow exception, but it doesn't cover tearing out painted surfaces. Some states run the program themselves, so check whether yours does.
How much drying equipment should a restoration company own?
Enough to cover a normal busy month, with a plan to rent or borrow for a catastrophe. Track how many days each unit spends on jobs. Units that sit on the shelf most of the year tie up cash, and running short means turning down losses or leaving jobs wet longer.
When is a restoration company big enough for a COO?
Watch for these signs. The drying manager and the rebuild manager keep pulling the same techs onto their jobs. Carriers keep sending job files back. Or you've opened a second office. A COO sets one standard for every team and every office, so the owner stops playing referee.
What does a restoration COO do during a catastrophe?
They decide which jobs go first. They call in subcontractors or crews from out of town, bring in extra drying gear, and set up a short-term base if crews travel. They also keep job files complete while the work piles up, because files written in a rush are the ones adjusters cut later.
