A restoration project manager owns each water, fire or mold claim once the emergency work is under way. They write the scope and agree it with the insurance adjuster. Then they sign off on the drying, run the rebuild to a signed certificate of completion, and keep the claim file ready for review.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
You'll own each water, fire and mold loss once the emergency crew has it stable. You write the scope in [your estimating software], get it approved by the insurance adjuster, watch the drying until it's done, and run the rebuild through to a signed certificate of completion. The property owner, the carrier and our crews all work from your plan.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Inspect each loss with the property owner and adjuster, document damage with photos and moisture readings, and split the work into mitigation and rebuild scopes.
Write line-item estimates in [your estimating software] that follow the carrier's guidelines, and send supplements with photos when hidden damage turns up.
Review moisture maps and daily drying logs from the Lead Technician / Specialist, and approve equipment pickup once materials reach the dry standard.
Settle scope and price with insurance adjusters and third-party administrators, and keep each claim file complete enough to pass an audit.
Plan the rebuild: order asbestos or lead testing where required, pull permits, order materials, and schedule our carpenters and subcontractors.
Collect deductibles, track insurance payments and mortgage-company check endorsements, and hand clean files to the Bookkeeper.
Close each job with a final walk-through, punch list and signed certificate of completion.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Call each customer on your list with what happened today and what happens next.
Review overnight drying logs and send a technician back where readings have stalled.
Meet an adjuster on site to walk a new loss or settle a disputed line item.
Add photos, signed work authorizations, change orders and adjuster emails to each claim file.
Check rebuild schedules with the Field Supervisor and move subcontractors when materials or approvals slip.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Days from mitigation complete to estimate submitted: [your target].
Estimates approved by the carrier without a reinspection: [your target].
Average drying days on water losses: [your target].
Days from first call to certificate of completion: [your target].
Insurance receivables past due: [your target].
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
[3+] years running insurance restoration jobs as a project manager, estimator or lead technician.
IICRC Water Damage Restoration Technician (WRT) certification, or the ability to earn it within [90] days of hire.
Can write a line-item insurance estimate in [your estimating software] and defend each line to an adjuster.
Understands moisture mapping, psychrometric readings and drying goals well enough to check a technician's logs.
Explains next steps calmly and clearly to people who just had a flood or fire in their home or business.
6. Preferred Experience
IICRC Applied Structural Drying (ASD), Fire and Smoke Restoration Technician (FSRT) or Applied Microbial Remediation Technician (AMRT) certification.
EPA Lead-Safe Certified Renovator (RRP) for rebuild work in older homes.
Experience with program work for carriers or third-party administrators.
Building background in framing, drywall and finish trades for the rebuild side.
Knows your state's mold remediation licensing rules, where your state has them.
7. Physical Requirements
Climb ladders, enter crawl spaces and attics, and walk wet or fire-damaged buildings to inspect losses.
Wear a fitted respirator and protective clothing on mold, soot and sewage losses.
Lift and carry moisture meters, a thermal camera and small equipment up to [30] pounds.
With or without reasonable accommodation.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Most days are spent on losses and active rebuilds across [your service area], with office time for estimates.
Office and field hours: [7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday], built around adjuster appointments.
On-call rotation for after-hours losses: [your rotation].
Storms and freezes bring long days and, at times, travel to hard-hit areas.
Homes in the middle of a loss can be wet, smoky, dusty or moldy.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Pay: [range and hourly or salary basis].
Additional pay: [overtime, bonus or incentive terms, or none].
Benefits: [health, dental, vision, retirement, paid time off, and when they start].
10. Company Culture and Overview
[Two or three sentences on what your company does, the area you serve, and the support a new project manager gets in the first 90 days.]
11. How to Apply
[Apply link or email]. Our process: [phone interview, in-person interview, and next steps]. Contact [hiring contact] if you need an accommodation during the application process.
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What's different about managing restoration projects
A construction project manager usually works from plans someone already approved. A restoration project manager writes the plan after the damage, and the insurer has to agree to it before most of the money moves.
Code upgrades may not be in the policy
Rebuilding often means meeting today's building code, not the code the house was built to. California's insurance department warns that the owner may end up paying those added costs, unless the policy covers them. That coverage usually comes as an ordinance or law endorsement. The project manager spots code items early, asks the adjuster what the policy covers, and gets the owner's OK in writing for anything the claim won't pay. Source: California Department of Insurance: Residential Property Claims Guide (revised February 2025).
Test the paint or follow the lead rule
For rebuild work that disturbs paint in a house built before 1978, EPA doesn't require a paint test. But unless you have records showing it is not lead-based paint, the lead rule's requirements apply. A certified renovator can test with an EPA-recognized kit, or a certified inspector can use an X-ray fluorescence instrument. The project manager picks a path before writing the rebuild estimate, since lead-safe work adds labor and supplies. Source: U.S. EPA: Renovation, Repair and Painting Program for contractors.
Keep the part that failed
When a supply line, water heater or appliance caused the loss, the insurer may try to recover its costs from the maker or installer. That is subrogation, and a part tossed in the dumpster can end it. The project manager has crews bag and label the failed part, photographs it in place, and asks the adjuster before it is released or thrown out. IICRC's fire course covers the same care with evidence. Source: IICRC: Fire and Smoke Restoration Technician (FSRT).
Business losses can involve more than one policy
When a shop or office floods, the building owner's policy and the tenant's policy may each cover part of the job. The lease says who is responsible for what. The project manager finds out early who signs, who pays for the walls, and who pays for the tenant's build-out and stock. Business owners also want to reopen fast, so some of the work may run after hours.
How much restoration project managers make
The closest BLS group for restoration project managers is construction managers. Construction managers who work for remediation companies earned a median of $105,980 a year ($50.95 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s below the $114,990 median for construction managers in all industries. About 1,530 of the 380,360 construction managers in that survey work for remediation companies.
The template leaves pay open. If you pay a profit share on closed jobs, figure it after the last insurance payment clears, since a late cut to a supplement can shrink a job's margin.
Remediation companies
$105,980$105,980 median Middle half $82,860–$136,190 10th–90th $67,050–$166,710
All industries
$114,990$114,990 median Middle half $88,550–$151,640 10th–90th $69,690–$189,440
$50k$75k$100k$125k$150k$175k$200k$225k
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
$67,050
$82,860
$105,980
$136,190
$166,710
All industries
$69,690
$88,550
$114,990
$151,640
$189,440
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.
Skills to hire for, and what you can teach
Hire for these
Has written and defended insurance estimates for water and fire losses
Checks a technician's moisture readings and drying logs and questions numbers that look off
Keeps many claim files moving without letting one go quiet
Writes a scope the crew, the adjuster and the owner all read the same way
Knows framing, drywall and finish work well enough to scope a rebuild
Teach these on the job
Each carrier's and third-party administrator's estimating guidelines
Your estimate templates and the way your reviewers want lines written
IICRC drying, fire or mold courses beyond WRT
EPA lead-safe renovator certification for older homes
Your rebuild subcontractors and how they schedule
Restoration estimates are often written in Xactimate, so find out whether a candidate has built estimates in it or only read them. Day to day they also use your job software, a moisture meter, a thermal camera, and a room-sketch or 3D scanning tool to measure losses.
Restoration project 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.
Every target is left blank in the template. Base them on jobs you closed over the past year, with water, fire and mold set separately, since a fire rebuild runs far longer than a dry-out.
Days from mitigation complete to estimate submitted
Count days from the date drying equipment came off to the date the estimate went to the carrier. Long gaps usually trace to missing photos or readings, so check those first.
Estimates approved by the carrier without a reinspection
Of the estimates sent each month, track how many the carrier approved without sending someone back out. Keep the reason for each reinspection and look for repeats.
Average drying days on water losses
For water jobs only, average the days from first equipment set to pickup. Split by job size or class of loss, so one large commercial dry-out doesn't hide slow work elsewhere.
Days from first call to certificate of completion
Measure from the first call to the signed certificate. Flag jobs waiting on the owner, the adjuster or a permit apart from jobs waiting on your own crews.
Insurance receivables past due
Total money owed by carriers past your terms, sorted by project manager. Review the list weekly with the bookkeeper and note what each claim is waiting on.
Career path
Lead technicianLearns drying, readings and the claim file on site.
EstimatorWrites scopes and supplements for other project managers.
Project ManagerOwns claims from scope to certificate of completion.
The project manager, whenever the timing allows. Adjusters often settle scope on site, and the person who will defend the estimate should hear their concerns firsthand. On a night call the lead technician may meet a field adjuster first. In that case, brief the project manager the same day so nothing promised on site gets lost.
How much does a restoration project manager make?
Construction managers who work for remediation companies earned a median of $105,980 a year ($50.95 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $82,860 and $136,190 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and bonus terms.
Should one person write the estimates and manage the job?
The template gives both to the project manager, which keeps one person answerable for the number and the result. Splitting them helps when a project manager carries too many files to write clean estimates fast. If you split, decide who owns supplements, since that's where an estimator and a project manager tend to point at each other.
How many claims can a restoration project manager handle?
There's no set number. A small water job closes fast, while a fire rebuild can stay open for months and take far more time. Watch for warning signs instead of a set count: estimates going out late, owners calling the office for updates, and insurance receivables getting older. When those show up, add help before the files go stale.
What's a good way to train a new restoration project manager?
Start them on small water losses, and have an experienced project manager check every estimate before it goes out. Have them spend a week riding along with a lead technician to learn your drying habits, and sit in on adjuster meetings. Add fire and mold once their water files come back clean. Watch time to estimate from the start; most other problems show up there first.
