Chief Operating Officer
Operators who systemize job flow, tighten margins, and build repeatable production capacity across branches.
Leaders Who Weather Any Storm
Vanguard Elite Recruiting is a retained search firm placing COOs, VPs, and general managers inside restoration companies. Confidential outreach, rigorous vetting, and leaders who stay.
27 Days
Average End-to-End Placement Time
300+
Restoration Leaders Placed Nationwide
Placements
Executive seats we fill for restoration firms
Water, fire, mold, reconstruction, and large-loss operators — from $5M single-branch shops to national platforms.
VP of Operations
Field-hardened leaders who own cycle time, crew productivity, and multi-market P&L accountability.
VP of Business Development
Rainmakers with existing TPA, carrier, and property-management relationships that convert on day one.
General Manager
Branch leaders who can run a location end-to-end and hold gross margin under storm-season pressure.
Director of Large Loss
Commercial and catastrophe specialists who can command seven-figure projects without losing control.
CFO / Controller
Finance leadership fluent in WIP, job costing, and preparing a restoration business for exit.
Our Process
A search run like a campaign, not a job posting
- 01
Calibration
We map your org chart, comp bands, and culture, then define exactly what winning looks like in the first 12 months.
- 02
Direct Outreach
We approach passive operators already producing results at competing firms. No job boards, no inbound noise.
- 03
Vetting
Structured interviews, scorecards, and backchannel references from people who actually worked alongside them.
- 04
Close & Onboard
We manage offer strategy, counteroffer risk, and the first 90 days so the hire sticks.
Why Vanguard
We only recruit inside restoration
Generalist recruiters send you résumés. We send you operators who already know Xactimate, TPA scorecards, storm surge staffing, and what a healthy job margin looks like in your market.
- Retained search with a 12-month replacement guarantee
- Confidential replacements for underperforming leadership
- Compensation benchmarking across your region
- Direct access to talent inside your competitors
"We had burned two COO hires in three years. Vanguard brought us a shortlist of four operators — all of them could have done the job. Our production capacity is up 40% since."
27
Days average time to placement
94%
Placements retained past year one
300+
Restoration leaders placed
Insights
Notes from inside the restoration talent market
What a COO actually costs in 2026
Base, bonus, and equity ranges for restoration operators across the top 30 metros.
Why storm-season hires fail
The three onboarding mistakes that cost restoration firms their best operators in year one.
Building a bench before the exit
How PE-backed platforms structure leadership depth 18 months ahead of a sale.
Tell us the seat you need filled
A 20-minute calibration call is enough for us to tell you whether the market has your person — and what they cost.