This high-paying job is in huge demand in South Africa – with the private sector paying 10% more than government

Procurement professionals in South Africa are being paid, on average, 10% more in the private sector than they would in the public sector, according to the latest CIPS Procurement Salary Guide for 2022.

Malcolm Harrison, CEO of the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS), said that procurement and supply professionals have become more in demand as the world came to note the importance of stable supply chains over the last two years.

Procurement professionals have played a vital role in keeping organisations moving during the pandemic, and this has not gone unnoticed, with the perception of the job becoming increasingly more positive, the group said.

Salaries for procurement and supply professionals reflect a substantial pay rise with marked differences between those in the private sector and those in public.

According to CIPS, those in the public sector earn R605,000 a year on average, compared to R668,000 in the private sector.

The report also showed that more than half of procurement professionals received a pay rise in the last 12 months, with the majority of raises settling at 7.2%.

“Such buoyancy and resilience in salaries is encouraging and bodes well, reflecting the increasing status and value of the procurement function,” said CIPS.

Salaries for procurement professionals show substantial differences between the positions within a company.

Advanced professionals can pull salaries as high as R1.5 million a year, while standard professionals are pushing R1 million.

Managerial positions draw as much as R755,000 a year, while those working in operations draw salaries of R447,000 on average.

CIPS said that the breakdown of average salaries by job level suggests one of the biggest salary-increasing career moves is the transition from Professional to Advance Professional level, with a 56% (R528,000) salary change.

Procurement professionals also receive bonuses on average 16.5% of their salary, far higher than the 8.6% reported last year. “Bonuses received were especially high in the private sector at 18%, while lower in the public sector (12%),” said CIPS.

Regarding benefits, on top of a flat salary, procurement professionals also receive medical insurance. 41% of professionals receive private medical insurance, while 36% receive support for further study/career development, reported CIPS.

Key skills

As procurement professionals’ roles continue to evolve, so do the skills needed to progress, with technical skills alongside soft skills becoming key attributes of employees in the industry, says the CIPS.

Across all job levels within the profession, CIP reported that the top three most important skills include:

• Negotiation
• Supplier relationship management
• Sourcing

Soft skills allow procurement professionals to engage with clients and other people. According to CIP, this is reflected in the widespread agreement on some of the common skills needed throughout the procurement profession.

Supplier relationship management is key at all levels of job skills.

“This should be no surprise: developing relationships with key suppliers drives efficiencies and sustainability – it is also linked to managing risk in the supply chain, which is a key challenge,” added the CIPs.

Procurement professionals in higher positions, such as upper managerial or advanced professional sectors, require leadership skills on top of the original three.

Read: The ugly truth lurking inside South Africa’s latest jobs data