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.
