A restoration general manager runs the company's daily work: the drying crews, the rebuild jobs and the office. They hold each team lead to their numbers, get stuck jobs moving, and take the customer and adjuster issues that are too big for a project manager.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Annual pay: 10th percentile $58,980, middle half $79,490 to $155,370, 90th percentile $212,470. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
Reports to
Owner or Chief Executive Officer
Department
Operations
Schedule
Weekdays plus storm weekends · A daily briefing with department heads, job site visits, and nights or weekends when a freeze or storm floods the phones
Also called
Franchise general manager · Branch manager · Division manager · Managing director
Restoration general manager job description template
This is our Role Blueprint, word for word. Replace the highlighted fields and adjust the example targets and pay to fit your company.
Oversees and directs multiple departments within restoration contracting operations to ensure consistent, high-quality service delivery. Utilizes strategic leadership to drive efficiency, track Key Performance Indicators, and guarantee quality and timely project completions. Acts as a key decision-maker to support long-term growth and operational excellence in the company.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Lead daily operations for restoration contractors ensuring projects are delivered on time and to quality standards.
Establish and track KPIs to continuously monitor departmental performance and overall company success.
Foster cross-departmental collaboration to streamline processes and improve customer satisfaction.
Implement and maintain safety, compliance, and quality assurance protocols across all projects.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Conduct daily briefings with department heads to review project statuses and operational challenges.
Monitor and analyze KPIs to identify areas for improvement and execute corrective actions as needed.
Oversee client communications to address project updates, concerns, and service improvements.
Participate in strategic planning sessions to assess market trends, operational bottlenecks, and growth opportunities.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Project Completion Rate: Achieve a 95% on-time project completion rate.
Customer Satisfaction: Maintain a customer satisfaction rating of >4.8 stars.
Employee Efficiency: Ensure departmental capacity efficiency reaches at least 90%.
Quality Assurance: Keep rework or callback percentage below 5%.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Construction Management, or a related field.
Minimum of 7 years of progressive management experience in the home services or restoration industry.
Strong leadership and team management abilities combined with effective communication skills.
Proficiency in performance tracking software, project management tools, and data analysis applications.
6. Preferred Experience
Experience in managing restoration or contracting operations within the home services sector.
Proven track record of driving operational improvements and managing cross-functional teams.
Background in budget management, safety compliance, and quality assurance best practices.
Experience working in a high-growth, performance-driven environment.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to occasionally lift up to 25 pounds during site visits or operational inspections.
Comfortable working in variable environmental conditions including sites that may be exposed to outdoor elements.
Availability to perform tasks in both office and field environments.
Capability to manage extended periods of standing, walking, and moderate physical activity.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Typical work hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
Flexibility to work extended hours or weekends based on project demands is required.
Occasional travel to job sites and project locations is expected.
On-call duties may be required during emergency restoration projects.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Salary range: $85,000 - $110,000 per year, commensurate with experience.
Eligibility for performance-based bonuses tied to departmental and company KPIs.
Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance benefits.
401(k) retirement plan with company match along with other fringe benefits.
10. Company Culture and Overview
At [INSERT COMPANY NAME HERE], we pride ourselves on fostering a supportive and growth-oriented environment that values innovative thinking and a commitment to excellence.
We empower our team members to take initiative and thrive in a dynamic, customer-focused culture.
Our inclusive environment encourages professional development and a balanced work-life alignment.
Join us to be part of a company that celebrates achievement and nurtures continuous learning.
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].
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The GM is the one person who sees the whole job list at once. In restoration, that list is full of jobs waiting on someone outside the company, families living away from home, and damage nobody could see on day one.
One loss passes through many hands
One water or fire job can move from the call taker to a drying crew, an estimator, the contents team, the adjuster and a rebuild project manager. Each handoff is a place for it to stall. The GM keeps a list of open losses and what is holding up each one, whether that's an approval, a material order or a signature, and pushes the stuck ones.
The family may be living somewhere else
When fire or flooding makes a home unlivable, families often stay in a hotel or a rental until you finish. Their patience runs out fast. The GM keeps a list of the jobs open the longest, makes sure someone calls those families each week, and steps in before a delay turns into a complaint to the insurer.
Hidden damage means a second estimate
Once walls come open, crews often find more damage than the first scope covered. The GM's standing rule: project managers stop, take photos and send a supplement to the adjuster before the extra work starts. Otherwise the company ends up fixing damage nobody agreed to pay for.
A callback can mean the job wasn't dry
In restoration, a callback can be a floor that buckled or mold that grew because drying stopped too soon. The GM checks that no job closes without final moisture readings in the file, and tracks rebuild punch lists so the last visit really is the last one.
Injury logs come with the job
A company that had more than 10 employees at any time last year must keep OSHA injury and illness logs, and construction and remediation don't appear on OSHA's partial exemption list. A site that had 20 to 249 employees in these industries must also send OSHA its yearly Form 300A summary online by March 2. The GM makes sure injuries get logged and the summary goes in on time. Source: eCFR: 29 CFR Part 1904, recording and reporting occupational injuries and illnesses.
How much restoration general managers make
The closest BLS group for restoration general managers is general and operations managers. General and operations managers who work for remediation companies earned a median of $108,300 a year ($52.07 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 9,490 of the 3,503,020 general and operations managers in that survey work for remediation companies.
Pay mixes a salary with KPI bonuses for the departments and the company. Weigh callbacks and customer scores alongside on-time completion, or a GM can hit the schedule by closing jobs before they're dry.
Remediation companies
$108,300$108,300 median Middle half $79,490–$155,370 10th–90th $58,980–$212,470
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
Remediation companies
$58,980
$79,490
$108,300
$155,370
$212,470
All industries
$50,090
$72,320
$105,770
$167,280
$253,390
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
Has run both the emergency side and the rebuild side, or managed the people who did
Spots a stalled job from the file alone: missing photos, an unsigned work order, no reply from the adjuster
Can give a displaced family an honest timeline, including the parts waiting on their insurer
Splits techs, trucks and drying gear between mitigation and rebuild without playing favorites
Lets department heads own their numbers and their fixes
Teach these on the job
How your carrier programs review job files
Your contents pack-out, inventory and storage process
IICRC water and mold basics, if they came from rebuild or another trade
Your subcontractors and who covers which trades
Your OSHA logs and safety meeting routine
Most of the GM's checking happens inside job files: photos and moisture maps from apps like Encircle or CompanyCam, notes and status in DASH or Albi, and the Xactimate estimate with any supplements. A candidate fluent in those can audit a file in minutes, so mention the ones you use.
Restoration general manager interview questions
They have their own page: 6 questions that test this job, what strong and weak answers sound like, and a work exercise to run with your finalists.
Read these targets as a rough draft. Reset them once you've pulled a few months of job dates, survey scores and callback counts from your own system.
Project Completion Rate
Use the dates in your job software, not memory. Count a job late when it misses the finish date you promised, then tag the ones held up by the carrier or customer so you can see what's yours to fix.
Customer Satisfaction
Ask for a rating when the drying ends and again after the final rebuild walk-through. Track it by department head, and count how many days it takes to reach each unhappy customer.
Employee Efficiency
Billable hours out of all paid hours, by department, from payroll and your job system. Check it weekly, and expect it to rise during storm work and dip when things are slow.
Quality Assurance
Count return trips to fix your own work, such as wet spots found after drying, failed inspections and rebuild punch items. Divide by jobs closed, and review each callback with the crew lead.
Career path
Project managerRuns losses from estimate to final walk-through.
Production managerRuns rebuild crews and subcontractors across many jobs.
General ManagerRuns every department, from intake to final invoice.
COO or partnerTakes over operations at a larger company, or buys into one.
Restoration general manager or COO: which one do we need?
Think about who owns sales and the office. A restoration GM usually runs everything at one company or branch: crews, rebuild, the office and often the referral calls. A COO owns field work and how it gets done, and works beside a CEO or owner who handles carriers and strategy. Pick the title that matches the job you're handing over.
How much does a restoration general manager make?
General and operations managers who work for remediation companies earned a median of $108,300 a year ($52.07 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $79,490 and $155,370 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and bonus terms.
Does a restoration general manager need IICRC certification?
IICRC certification is a trade credential, separate from any state license. IICRC is a private nonprofit that sets cleaning and restoration standards and certifies people and companies. Still, a GM who has taken its water and mold courses can check job files and coach crews with more weight. If your GM came from rebuild or another trade, pay for those courses in the first year.
How does a restoration general manager work with adjusters?
Project managers and estimators talk to adjusters every day. The GM steps in when a job is stuck, such as a fight over scope, a slow approval or a supplement that has sat for weeks. Good GMs know the local adjusters by name and keep every talk calm. They never promise a customer something only the insurer can approve.
Should a restoration general manager oversee sales too?
Often, yes. Referral partners judge you by how fast crews show up, so it helps when one person owns both the promise and the delivery. If you also have a sales manager, decide who owns the plumber and agent relationships so partners don't get two calls from you.
