13 jobs in South Africa that pay over R1.5 million in 2022

Specialist professional recruitment firm Robert Walters has published its annual salary survey for 2022, showing what skilled professionals in South Africa can expect to earn in 2022.
Although South Africa has one of the highest unemployment rates globally, Robert Walters said it had seen a steady increase in recruitment in several sectors in 2021, most noticeably senior management positions.
Robert Walters’s data shows that the top earners are group/regional CFOs at finance companies who can expect to earn up to R2.6 million annually. By comparison, other finance directors in these companies can expect to earn upwards of R1.5 million.
While the salary data is very comprehensive, it is important to note that it is primarily focused on professionals. This means that specific sectors such as airline pilots, engineers, medical personnel and government officials do not feature in the report.
These salaries are typically reported for professionals with in excess of 10+ years of working experience in their respective fields and do not account for bonuses and other rewards and incentives.
# | Job name | Sector | Annual salary |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Group CFO | Banking & Financial Services | R2 million – R2.6 million |
2 | HR Director/Executive | Human Resources | R1.8 million – R3.2 million |
3 | Group Treasury Manager | Accounting & Finance | R1.8 million – R2.5 million |
4 | CFO/Financial Director (SME) | Accounting & Finance | R1.8 million – R2.4 million |
5 | Group Tax Manager | Accounting & Finance | R1.7 million – R2.2 million |
6 | CA (SA) | Accounting & Finance | R1.6 million – R2.2 million |
7 | Private Equity/Corporate Finance | Banking & Financial Services | R1.5 million – R2 million |
8 | Head of Anti-Money Laundering | Banking & Financial Services | R1.4 million – R1.8 million |
9 | Finance Director (Large Firm) | Accounting & Finance | R1.4 million – R1.7 million |
10 | Head of Internal Audit | Banking & Financial Services | R1.4 million – R2 million |
11 | Relationship Manager/Banker | Banking & Financial Services | R1.3 million – R2 million |
12 | Strategy Consultant | Banking & Financial Services | R1.3 million – R1.8 million |
13 | HR Manager/ Head of HR | Human Resources | R1.2 million – R1.8 million |
Top earners’ pay at South African companies is expected to face increased scrutiny in 2022 as the government pushes forward on the Companies Amendment Bill of 2021.
First mooted in 2018, the bill proposes substantial changes to the South African Companies Act, including further disclosures around executive pay. A key focus of the new bill is ‘wage ratios’, with companies expected to be more transparent on the difference between the lowest- and highest-paid earners.
Data published by professional services company PwC in August showed that the average total guaranteed package (TGP) for chief executives across the JSE was R5.17 million.
The median pay for chief financial officers was R3.34 million, and the median pay for executive directors was R3.32 million.