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

 ·9 Jan 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.


Read: Here’s how much money lawyers earn in South Africa

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