Markets data
Finance

South African salaries in 2019: what top professionals earn

 ·16 Apr 2019

Specialist recruitment firm Michael Page has published its latest salary survey, showing what skilled professionals in 180 different jobs in South Africa can expect to earn in 2019.

According to the recruitment specialists, the South African labour market has once again experienced an unpredictable year.

“Despite a short recovery observed in South Africa in the first half of 2018 and the emergence from a recession with a +2.2% GDP growth in the third quarter, the official unemployment rate is back at its 2017 level,” the group said.

The country also faces weak investment and consumer confidence, along with continued limited household spending and private investment – though Michael Page said that it expects a positive economic impact on the GDP growth and the unemployment rate for 2019 due to various stimulus packages and investment drives.

Outlook for South Africa’s job market sectors

While the majority of sectors remain under pressure, positive development will come from the Banking & Financial Services, IT and Transportation sectors, Michael Page said.

“As a result of limited household spending and private investment over the last 3 years, local and international organisations continue to be cautious when expanding into the African markets.

Despite organisations’ reservations, our specialised Rest of Africa (RoA) recruitment teams have managed to improve year-on-year results by 63%. The RoA region has also created a significant demand for recruitment services in South Africa, with many head offices based mainly in Johannesburg or Cape Town,” it said.

Salaries and bonuses have tended to follow a consistent pattern over the past 5 years, with steady increases to reflect inflationary pressures.

“In the current market, there are a number of candidates with niche skill sets or relevant experience who are able to command higher salaries, due to a low supply of talent,” it said.

The tables below outline the salary ranges and averages for South African professionals across all sectors.

The averages represent annual salaries, in thousands of rands (R’000). Sectors marked with a * show the salary ranges for large companies.

Finance and Accounting*

From Average To
Senior Finance
Group / Regional CFO 3 500 4 750 6 000
Finance Director 2 000 2 750 3 500
Financial Controller 890 945 1 000
Controlling Roles
Credit Manager 700 800 900
Finance Manager 850 1 025 1 200
Senior FP&A Analyst 700 800 900
Finance Analyst / Associate 550 625 700
Financial Accountant CA (SA) 650 700 750
Head: Finance Shared Service 1 600 1 700 1 800
Finance Shared Service Manager 800 1 000 1 200
Financial Planning & Analysis Manager 900 1 050 1 200
Financial Accountant (Standard) 500 550 600
Audit
SME: Chief Audit Officer 1 750 2 125 2 500
SME: Head of Internal Audit 1 100 1 250 1 400
SME: Audit Manager 850 925 1 000
SME: Senior (Internal) Auditors 700 800 900
SME: Internal Auditors 450 550 650
Tax
Tax Director 1 800 2 300 2 800
Senior Tax Manager 1 400 1 600 1 800
Tax Manager 900 1 150 1 400
Tax Accountant 500 650 800
Senior (Internal) Auditor 900 1 050 1 200
Other
Head of Treasury 1 000 1 200 1 400
Treasury Manager 750 925 1 100
General Manager: Finance 1 400 1 600 1 800
Senior Plant Controller 1 400 1 600 1 800
Plant Controller 800 1 000 1 200
Commercial Manager 800 1 000 1 200
Factory Finance Manager 900 1 150 1 400

Information Technology*

From Average To
Executive / Leadership
Chief Information Officer (CIO) 1 400 1 650 2 200
Chief Technology Officer (CTO) 1 100 1 450 1 800
Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) 1 400 1 500 1 600
IT Director 1 400 1 650 2 200
Head of IT 1 400 1 650 2 000
IT Manager 900 1 300 1 400
IT Security
IT Security Manager 1 100 1 300 1 600
IT Security Engineer 900 950 1 000
IT Security Analyst 500 450 600
Applications
IT Applications Director 1 100 1 400 1 700
Business Applications Manager 1 000 1 200 1 500
Applications Developer 400 700 1 400
Technical / Functional Consultant 700 900 1 200
Business Analysis and Project Management
Head of Project Management Officer 1 300 1 500 2 000
Business Intelligence Manager 1 200 1 500 1 600
IT Business Partner 900 1 000 1 400
Programme Manager 1 100 1 400 1 700
IT Project Manager 800 950 1 200
Senior IT Business Analyst 500 800 1 200
Business Analyst 400 600 900
BI Analyst 500 650 900
Architecture
Chief Enterprise Architect 1 200 1 400 2 000
Senior Information Architect 1 100 1 300 1 700
Enterprise Architect 800 1 000 1 500
Information Architect 800 850 1 200
Networking
Network Architect 800 900 1 200
Network Manager 800 900 1 300
Network Engineer 300 400 800
Network Administrator 300 350 600
Data / Database Administration
Data Architect 1 200 1 200 1 700
Database Administrator 700 850 950
Database Developer 500 750 900
Data Analytics Manager 1 200 1 400 1 600
Data Scientist 800 1 200 1 600
Data Analyst 400 500 800
Technical Services
Technical Support Manager 500 700 800
IT Support Engineer 300 500 600
Application Support Analyst 500 600 800

Engineering and Manufacturing

From Average To
Manufacturing Director 1 400 1 600 2 300
Factory / Plant Manager 900 1 200 1 600
Production Manager 750 950 1 200
Production Engineer 550 700 900
Quality Manager (QA / QC) 600 750 950
Quality Engineer (QA / QC) 500 600 700
Maintenance Manager 850 950 1 100
Maintenance Engineer 550 750 900
HSE Manager 600 750 950
HSE Engineer 550 750 900
R&D / NPD Director 1 400 1 700 1 900
R&D / NPD Manager 750 900 1 200
R&D / NPD Engineer 650 700 950
Regulatory Affairs Director 1 200 1 400 1 700
Regulatory Affairs Manager / Associate 600 850 1 100
Regulatory Affairs Engineer 550 750 800
Continuous Improvement Engineer 700 800 900
Project Director 1 600 1 700 2 000
Project Manager 750 850 1 100
Project Engineer 650 700 850
Design Manager 550 650 750

Procurement*

From Average To
VP of Procurement 1 800 2 300 2 800
Procurement Director 1 600 1 800 2 000
Head of Procurement 1 200 1 400 1 600
Procurement Manager 700 950 1 200
Category Manager 900 1 050 1 200
Category Specialist 900 1 050 1 200
Buyer / Procurement Specialist / Purchasing Officer 550 650 750
Assistant Buyer 400 450 500

Human Resources

From Average To
Generalist
VP HR / Chief HR Officer 2 500 2 900 3 200
HR Director 1 500 1 900 2 200
Head of HR 1 400 1 800 2 000
Regional HR Manager / HR Business Partner 750 900 1 300
HR Manager 800 1 000 1 200
HR Officer 400 450 500
Learning and Development / Training
Head of Learning Development / Director 1 000 1 200 1 400
Learning & Development / Training Manager 700 850 1 000
Learning & Development / Training Officer 400 450 500
Reward
Head of Reward / C&B 1 000 1 200 1 400
Compensation & Benefits Manager 700 850 1 000
Compensation & Benefits Officer / Analyst 400 500 600
Recruitment / Talent Acquisition
Head of Talent Acquisition / Director 1 000 1 200 1 500
Talent Acquisition Manager 700 900 1 100
Talent Acquisition Specialist 450 600 700

Legal

From Average To
In House
Junior Counsel 400 500 700
Legal Counsel 700 900 1 00
Senior Legal Counsel 1 000 1 200 1 500
GC 1 500 1 800 5 000
Legal Secretary 300 450 500
Top SA
Candidate Attorney 300 350 400
Associate 500 600 700
Senior Associate 750 900 1 200
Partner 1 400 2 000 4 000
Legal Secretary 300 450 500
Boutique Law Firm
Candidate Attorney 250 300 350
Associate 400 500 600
Senior Associate 700 900 1 000
Partner 1 000 1 800 3 000
Legal Secretary 150 200 300
International Law Firm
Candidate Attorney 300 350 400
Associate 500 600 700
Senior Associate 750 900 1 200
Partner 1 500 2 000 5 000
Legal Secretary 300 450 500
Company Secretary
Group Company Secretary 1 500 1 800 3 000
Company Secretary 1 000 1 200 1 500
Assistant Company Secretary 600 750 900
Legal Compliance
Head of Compliance 1 600 2 000 3 000
Senior Compliance Manager 1 000 1 200 1 500
Compliance Manager 600 700 900

Supply Chain and Logistics*

From Average To
VP of Supply Chain 2 000 2 900 3 800
Supply Chain / Logistics Director 1 600 2 200 2 800
Supply Chain Manager 900 1 150 1 400
Demand Planning Manager 600 900 1 200
Customer Service Manager 750 925 1 100
Distribution Manager 580 665 750
Supply Planning Manager 550 700 850
Logistics Manager 700 900 1 100
Fleet / Transportation Manager 550 625 700
Warehouse Manager 550 725 900
Demand / Supply / Inventory Planner 480 540 600
Logistics Executive / Coordinator / Specialist 350 385 420
Warehouse Supervisor 240 320 400
Supply Chain Coordinator 240 295 350

Sales and Marketing (Consumer)

From Average To
Sales
VP of Sales 1 200 1 700 2 600
General Manager 1 700 2 200 2 600
Head of Sales / Sales Director 1 200 1 500 2 000
Regional Sales Manager / GCC Sales Manager 1 000 1 300 1 500
Country Manager 1 500 1 700 2 200
Key Account Manager / National Account Manager 900 1 200 1 500
Key Account Executive 700 1 000 1 200
Marketing
CMO 1 800 1 500 2 500
Head of Marketing / Marketing Director 1 500 1 500 2 000
Marketing Manager / Group Product Manager / Category Manager 1 100 1 300 1 500
Senior Brand Manager 800 900 1 100
Brand Manager 600 750 900
Assistant Brand Manager / Marketing Executive 500 650 800
Trade Marketing
Head of Trade Marketing 1 000 1 300 1 500
Trade Marketing Manager (Regional Role) 800 1 000 1 200
Marketing Manager (Regional Role) 1 100 1 300 1 500
Trade Marketing Manager (Country Specific) 800 900 1 100
Trade Marketing Executive 600 750 800
Consumer Insights
Consumer Insights Director 900 1 200 1 500
Consumer Insights Manager 600 800 1 000
Consumer Insights Executive 500 650 800

Sales and Marketing (B2B)

From Average To
Sales
General Manager 1 700 2 200 2 800
Head of Sales / Sales Director 1 200 1 500 1 800
Regional Sales Manager 1 200 1 500 1 800
Business Development Manager 900 1 200 1 500
Project Sales Manager 800 1 000 1 200
Key Account Manager / Area Sales 700 900 1 200
Business Development Executive 800 1 000 1 200
Sales Engineer / Specification Specialist 800 1 000 1 200

Read: This is the average salary in South Africa

Show comments

Poll

What kind of meat do you eat the most?

View results

Loading ... Loading ...

Newsletter

Subscribe to our daily newsletter