Senior Appointments
The appointments that set the tone for a business. Confidential, retained work with leaders who are already running successful towers and are rarely on the market.
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Six to eight weeks from brief to a shortlist of three to four.
Senior appointments are the smallest number of searches we run and the ones with the longest shadow. A General Manager or Construction Manager sets the standard for how a builder tenders, staffs, programs and settles. Get it right and the next three years look different.
These people are almost never applying for anything. They are two years into a tower, they are well paid, and their next move is a decision about ownership, autonomy and the pipeline they will inherit — not about a job advertisement. That is why this work is confidential and retained.
We approach directly, we talk about the business honestly, and we bring you a small number of people who have genuinely considered the move. Where a search touches a competitor's leadership team, we agree the boundaries with you in writing before we start.
What each appointment actually carries
General Manager
Full P&L accountability for a construction business or division — tendering strategy, resourcing, client relationships and delivery outcomes across a portfolio of towers.
$400k – $650k+ package, plus profit share or equity
Construction Manager
Oversight of several concurrent projects and the site leadership running them. Owns program discipline, subcontractor performance and the escalation calls that keep a job out of dispute.
$300k – $420k package
Operations Manager
The connective role between site and head office — plant, labour, systems, safety performance and the practical resourcing of the build calendar.
$250k – $340k package
Executive / Director
Board-adjacent appointments: Delivery Director, Development Director, or a founder's successor in a private builder. Often involves succession, equity and a long runway.
Negotiated individually
Package guidance reflects South East Queensland high-rise residential builders and is indicative only. Structure, vehicle, bonus and profit share vary considerably.
Evidence before introduction
Completed towers, not attended ones
We establish which projects they personally carried, at what stage they joined, and what condition the job was in when they left it.
Commercial outcome
Final account against budget, variation recovery, and whether the project finished in dispute. References confirm the numbers.
The team they built
Senior people are judged by who stayed. We ask where their site managers and CAs went next, and we speak to them.
Motivation and risk
Restraint clauses, unvested entitlements, notice periods and family circumstances are dealt with in the first conversation, not the last.
The senior tier in South East Queensland is small and largely accounted for. Most credible candidates are mid-tower and will only move at a structural milestone — topping out, practical completion, or the close of a financial year. Searches at this level typically need a six to ten week runway.
Contact Stuart Murray