Painter / Working Foreman

Job Description

Job Description

Painter / Working Foreman — Schools (Part-Time / Variable Hours)

Great Lakes Environmental Service, Inc. — Whitmore Lake, MI 

$23–$30/hour, depending on experience and certifications

About the role:

We're looking for an experienced painter to take over our long-running account with a large local school district located in Dearborn. This is not a job where someone hands you a work order. You'll drive the district, walk buildings with engineers and principals, identify patch/repair/paint work that needs doing, scope it, and then do the work. On smaller jobs you'll work solo. On larger ones — a gym, a stairwell, a full corridor — you'll run a small crew of laborers as the working foreman.

The person who held this role was with us 13 years. We're looking for someone who can own the relationship the same way.

What you'll do

• Meet with building engineers and principals to identify patch, repair, and painting needs
• Perform surface prep, patching, and interior/exterior painting
• Plaster repair— these are old buildings with a lot of original plaster. Skim coating, cracks, keying, and blending into existing surfaces
• Drywall patching and finishing
• Lead a small crew of laborers on larger projects: assign tasks, keep the job moving, maintain quality
• Submit daily reports to the office covering work completed, hours, materials, and job status
• Feed new work back to estimating— when the customer brings up a new item, you're the one who gathers the details (location, scope, measurements, conditions, access) and gets it to our estimator so we can quote it
• Work around school schedules — some evenings, weekends, and school breaks
• Fill in with demolition, abatement support, or general labor when painting work is slow (not required)

Hours:

This position is  not full-time year-round . Workload follows the school calendar:

• Summer, spring break, and winter break: often 40 hours/week
• During the school year: lighter and more variable, with night/weekend work when buildings are empty
• Additional hours available on our demolition and general labor crews if you want them

Good fit for someone who wants steady, long-term work with flexible volume — not someone who needs a guaranteed 40 every week.

Requirements:

• Proven painting experience including prep, patching, and finish work
• Ability to work independently and communicate professionally with school staff
• Comfortable with basic reporting — daily paperwork, photos, measurements, and clear notes
• Valid driver's license and reliable transportation
• Able to lift 50 lbs and work from ladders and lifts
• Must pass a background check (required for school building access)

Preferred but not required:

• Plaster repair experience— genuinely valuable here and hard to find
• Asbestos and/or lead certifications— this work comes up regularly in older buildings
• Prior experience in occupied schools or other public facilities
• Experience leading a small crew

We'll train the right person!

If you're a strong painter who's short on plaster experience, or you don't hold asbestos/lead certification yet, we'll put you through training. We'd rather invest in someone with the right work ethic and customer instincts than hold out for a perfect resume.

Pay

$23–$30/hour. The top of that range is for someone who brings plaster skills, certifications, and foreman experience on day one. Certain projects fall under prevailing wage.

Why us:

Great Lakes Environmental Service is an established abatement, remediation, and demolition contractor. Our people stay. If you do good work and handle customers well, there's steady work here for as long as you want

Great Lakes Environmental Service was founded in 1999 by Russ Cleary, who ran a successful abatement company through the late 1980s and 1990s — among the first in an industry that really began in 1986.

The company started in asbestos abatement and grew into demolition, which is now the higher-volume side of the business. Today it's run by the next generation — Josh and Ryan — with Scott handling operations, contracts, notifications, and billing.

That continuity is the difference: estimators who price jobs accurately, a crew that works clean inside occupied and high-end buildings, and an owner-led team that handles the compliance and follow-through behind every project.

Company Description

Great Lakes Environmental Service was founded in 1999 by Russ Cleary, who ran a successful abatement company through the late 1980s and 1990s — among the first in an industry that really began in 1986.\r\n\r\nThe company started in asbestos abatement and grew into demolition, which is now the higher-volume side of the business. Today it's run by the next generation — Josh and Ryan — with Scott handling operations, contracts, notifications, and billing.\r\n\r\nThat continuity is the difference: estimators who price jobs accurately, a crew that works clean inside occupied and high-end buildings, and an owner-led team that handles the compliance and follow-through behind every project.