2015 practitioners' survey: Salaries by work and job roles

10th April 2015


Related Topics

Related tags

  • Training ,
  • CPD ,
  • Qualifications ,
  • Skills ,
  • Knowledge Centre

Author

Mark Morant

Salaries by work and job roles

Our survey sample covers IEMA members across the whole range of responsibility levels, but the largest group (31.2%) is employed as project or middle managers. Overall, more than three-fifths (62.3%) perform a management role in some form.

Figure 5 Salary by seniority

Job role

Mean salary

Median salary

Director / Chief executive

£51,878

£45,000

Associate / Partner

£44,791

£45,000

Senior manager

£54,969

£50,000

Project / Middle manager

£41,277

£38,975

Senior officer

£39,128

£36,000

Specialist / Technical role

£35,777

£35,000

Officer

£29,107

£28,000

Junior / Graduate role

£23,279

£23,000

Figure 5 shows that the earnings trajectory rises fairly steeply as higher levels of responsibility are reached. The findings on seniority show healthy pay progression between each level, with professionals moving from a project or middle management position to a senior manager role seeing a median increase in salary of £11,025, for example. The median salary for a junior or graduate position is £23,000, but environment and sustainability professionals can expect their salary to increase to a median £28,000 if they progress to an officer role.

Figure 6 Seniority of role

The annual median salary for senior managers is £50,000. At director/chief executive level, annual salaries fall back somewhat to a median of £45,000. This reflects the fact that many practitioners at this level will be self-employed or directors of small companies. The mean measure, however, which puts greater weight on a small number of high earners, puts the average income of directors at £51,878, above the average for associate/partner level (£44,791) but not for senior managers (£54,969), reflecting the significantly higher earnings enjoyed by some members of this group.

It is perhaps more surprising that salaries for associates or partners appear to be lower than those for senior managers. However, this may be due to the fact that the sample of practitioners at this level is smaller than for other roles at 3.6%. It may also be a reflection of the fact that some associate roles are also likely to be performed on a self-employed basis.


Read the full 2015 pracitioners’ survey results:


Transform articles

Career profile Amber Rochette. GradIEMA

Sustainability consultant at Sustainit, currently working towards PIEMA

28th September 2023

Read more

IEMA’s regional volunteers talk about making a difference worldwide as they build partnerships and share knowledge in a bid to create a sustainable economy

26th September 2023

Read more

IEMA’s chair and CEO praised members and staff at the end of IEMA Connect 2023 during a panel discussion, where they also discussed the future of the professional body.

25th September 2023

Read more

A lack of expert staff at environmental organisations is undermining the UK’s government’s net zero and nature commitments, new research by the trade union Prospect has uncovered.

16th August 2023

Read more

IEMA CEO Sarah Mukherjee MBE talks to Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon MBE about inspiring the next generation of women in STEM careers, and how the workforce is set to change over the coming decades

3rd August 2023

Read more

Dr Rihab Khalid explains why the road to net zero must be paved with expertise in the social sciences and humanities

3rd August 2023

Read more

The UK faces a huge task upskilling the workers it needs to deliver net zero by 2050. Chris Seekings reports on the key challenges, solutions and opportunities

3rd August 2023

Read more

Head of international programmes engagement, Unicef UK; sustainability professional and chartered environmentalist

1st August 2023

Read more

Media enquires

Looking for an expert to speak at an event or comment on an item in the news?

Find an expert