With the local economy expected to show an uptick in activity in 2018, data collected by three separate sources, including two recruitment agencies and a salary comparison and career resource group, shows which jobs pay the best salaries in South Africa.
Specialist recruitment firm Michael Page recently published its salary survey, showing what skilled professionals could expect to earn in 2018. Its salary information is based on an extensive recruitment database, which covers more than 1,536 job roles, and over 100,000 candidates.
It says that local demand for skilled professionals in the workplace remains high, particularly in the financial services sector, in all roles from bankers and accountants to IT and support.
These are some of the best paid jobs, according to Michael Page:
| Job | Sector | Average | Top |
|---|---|---|---|
| Group regional CFO | Finance and Accounting | R4.8 million | R6.0 million |
| Finance director | Finance and Accounting | R2.8 million | R3.5 million |
| Finance Manager | Finance and Accounting | R1.0 million | R1.2 million |
| Chief audit officer | Finance and Accounting | R2.1 million | R2.5 million |
| Head of internal audit | Finance and Accounting | R1.3 million | R1.4 million |
| Tax director | Finance and Accounting | R2.2 million | R2.6 million |
| Tax manager | Finance and Accounting | R1.3 million | R1.6 million |
| Manufacturing director | Engineering and Manufacturing | R1.6 million | R1.9 million |
| Project director | Engineering and Manufacturing | R1.3 million | R1.8 million |
| Factor/Plant manager | Engineering and Manufacturing | R1.1 million | R1.4 million |
| Regulatory affairs manager | Engineering and Manufacturing | R1.3 million | R1.7 million |
| R&D NPD director | Engineering and Manufacturing | R1.2 million | R1.6 million |
| Vice-president of HR / chief HR officer | Human Resources | R2.9 million | R3.2 million |
| HR director | Human Resources | R1.8 million | R2.0 million |
| Head of learning development/director | Human Resources | R1.2 million | R1.4 million |
| Head of talent acquisition/director | Human Resources | R1.1 million | R1.3 million |
| General counsel | Legal | R1.5 million | R3.0 million |
| Partner Top SA | Legal | R1.3 million | R2.0 million |
| Partner (Boutique) | Legal | R1.0 million | R1.5 million |
| Partner (International) | Legal | R1.3 million | R2.5 million |
| Vice-president of procurement | Procurement | R2.1 million | R2.4 million |
| Vice-president of supply chain | Supply Chain and Logistics | R2.4 million | R2.8 million |
| General manager | Sales and Marketing | R1.8 million | R2.5 million |
| Vice-president of sales | Sales and Marketing | R1.8 million | R2.5 million |
| Chief information officer (CIO) | Technology | R1.6 million | R2.0 million |
| Chief information officer (CTO) | Technology | R1.4 million | R1.8 million |
| IT director | Technology | R1.6 million | R2.0 million |
| Head of IT | Technology | R1.6 million | R1.8 million |
| IT Applications director | Technology | R1.3 million | R1.6 million |
| Head of project management office | Technology | R1.4 million | R2.0 million |
| Chief enterprise architect | Technology | R1.3 million | R1.8 million |
A separate report from Robert Walters shows how much salaries are expected to increase for skilled professionals in the finance and legal industries.
According to the group’s survey, general salaries in South Africa are expected to increase by 5% on average in 2018 – a modest rise in line with inflation.
However, professionals with highly sought-after skillsets can expect to see rises of between 12% and 15%, with finance professionals enjoying the strongest average salary growth at 7%, with legal professionals seeing an average of 5% increases.
These are some of the best paid jobs, according to Robert Walters:
| Job | Sector | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finance Director (Large Firm) | Accounting | R125 000 – R250 000 | R1.5 million – R3.0 million |
| Chief Financial Officer (JSE Top 200) | Accounting | R150 000 – R250 000 | R1.8 million – R3.0 million |
| CFO/FD (SME) | Accounting | R100 000 – R150 000 | R1.2 million – R1.8 million |
| Group Tax Manager | Taxation/Treasury | R83 000 – R166 000 | R1.0 million – R2.0 million |
| Director | Legal | R166 000 | R2.0 million |
| Partner (7 – 10 years’ PQE) | Legal | R916 000 – R116 000 | R1.1 million – R1.4 million |
| 10+ years’ PQE | Legal – in-house for financial services | R116 000 | R1.4 million |
| Business Unit CFO – Retail Banking | Financial services | R83 000 – R125 000 | R1.0 million – R1.5 million |
| Business Unit CFO – Insurance | Financial services | R108 000 – R166 000 | R1.3 million – R2.0 million |
| Business Unit CFO – Investment Banking | Financial services | R166 000+ | R2.0 million+ |
Data from salary comparison and career resource group Salary Explorer lists 22 jobs in South Africa that draw in a total package over R1 million a year.
The group’s data represents a combination of user-reported data and salary information from various recruitment agencies, companies and employers.
According to Salary Explorer, the average annual salary in South Africa is R337,000 before taxes – or just over R28,000 a month.
The bulk of R1 million-plus jobs in South Africa are in the management and executive category, with chief investment officers ranking at the top with an average salary of R1.68 million a year.
This is followed by a legal services director (R1.55 million) and an IT director (R1.49 million).
| Job | Sector | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chief Investment Officer | Executive and Management | R140 400 | R1 684 800 |
| Legal Services Director | Legal | R129 333 | R1 552 000 |
| IT Director | Information Technology | R124 375 | R1 492 500 |
| Financial Systems Manager | Information Technology | R120 000 | R1 440 000 |
| Surgeon – Neurology | Health and Medical | R120 000 | R1 440 000 |
| Senior Sales Executive | Sales Retail and Wholesale | R119 000 | R1 428 000 |
| Assistant to CEO | Executive and Management | R117 019 | R1 404 229 |
| Corporate Director | Executive and Management | R115 000 | R1 380 000 |
| Market Segmentation Director | Marketing | R108 333 | R1 300 000 |
| Top R&D Executive | Business Planning | R108 333 | R1 300 000 |
| Director | Executive and Management | R103 125 | R1 237 500 |
| Program Director | Information Technology | R100 000 | R1 200 000 |
| Finance Executive | Accounting and Finance | R97 500 | R1 170 000 |
| Executive Human Capital Management | Human Resources | R95 500 | R1 146 000 |
| Managing Director | Executive and Management | R94 712 | R1 136 545 |
| Chief Executive Officer | Executive and Management | R90 140 | R1 081 683 |
| Project Director | Engineering | R90 000 | R1 080 000 |
| Demand Planning Manager | Purchasing and Inventory | R90 000 | R1 080 000 |
| Physician – Anesthesiology | Health and Medical | R88 528 | R1 062 336 |
| Senior Electrical Engineer | Engineering | R88 000 | R1 056 000 |
| Chief Financial Officer | Executive and Management | R87 677 | R1 052 000 |
| Inventory Manager | Sales Retail and Wholesale | R85 000 | R1 020 000 |
Read: These are the jobs young South Africans most want to get into
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