By Beth Batty, Divisional Manager
The market has moved. Has your salary offer kept up?
Average pay growth across the UK has stabilised at around 3%, but that headline figure hides something important. In manufacturing, wages rose by nearly 7% in 2025. In technology and transformation, cyber security and data roles commanded salary premiums of 15 to 25% above standard rates. In engineering, one in four job adverts was for an engineering vacancy and structural skills shortages show no sign of easing.
If you are benchmarking salaries against last year's figures, or relying on gut feel, you are likely working with outdated numbers. And outdated numbers lose offers.
With 717,000 vacancies across the UK and 48% of workers open to new roles, competition for talent remains real even in a measured market. What has changed is selectivity. Employers are more deliberate. Candidates are more deliberate. And the gap between a competitive offer and an insulting one is narrower than many hiring managers think.
The Elevation 2026 Salary Survey draws on live hiring mandates placed by our specialist teams across every major discipline. Here is what the data shows across the roles we recruit most frequently.
Accountancy and Finance
Finance hiring remained resilient in 2025 despite softer overall vacancy volumes. At SME level, Finance Directors averaged £118,000 and Heads of Finance averaged £84,000. In corporate environments those figures rose to £155,000 and £100,000 respectively. Below director level, Financial Controllers averaged £65,000 at SME and £73,000 at corporate level, while Finance Business Partners sat at £52,000 and £69,000 across the same comparison.
At the transactional end, Credit Controllers averaged £32,000 and Finance Assistants £30,000. The key shift in 2025 was that over 60% of finance vacancies required experience beyond core accounting, covering commercial analysis, systems exposure or transformation experience. Professionals with those skills command premiums accordingly.
Engineering
Engineering vacancies accounted for around one in four job adverts in 2025. At SME level, Heads of Engineering averaged £90,000 and Engineering Directors £110,000. In commercial environments, Head of Engineering roles averaged £107,000. Further down the structure, Automation and Controls Engineers averaged £62,000 across both SME and commercial environments, while Process Engineers averaged £54,000 and Design Engineers £45,000 at SME level, rising to £47,500 commercially.
Private sector engineering pay growth slowed to 3.9% overall but pressure remained intense for scarce skills. Counteroffers were common in high-risk environments where knowledge transfer gaps posed an operational threat.
Technology and Transformation
UK tech employment exceeded 2.1 million people in 2025. At leadership level, CIOs averaged £225,000, CISOs averaged £140,000 and IT Directors averaged £110,000. Heads of Cybersecurity sat at the same level as IT Directors, reflecting the sustained premium on security accountability.
In specialist technical roles, Data Engineers and BI Developers averaged £65,000, with Senior Business Analysts at the same level. DevOps Engineers averaged £60,000. Across all technology disciplines, cyber security, data and transformation roles commanded premiums of 15 to 25% above comparable technical positions.
Manufacturing
Manufacturing wages rose by nearly 7% in 2025, well ahead of the broader market average of 3%. At SME level, Managing Directors averaged £110,000 and Operations Directors £115,000. Plant Managers averaged £120,000 at SME and £130,000 at corporate level. At a supervisory level, Production Managers averaged £55,000 at SME and £65,000 in corporate environments. Production Supervisors averaged £44,000 and Maintenance Managers £55,000.
36% of manufacturing vacancies were hard to fill due to skills, qualification or experience shortages. Shift and continental pattern roles attracted pay premiums of 8 to 15% above standard day rates.
Marketing
Revenue accountability intensified across marketing teams in 2025. At the top of the function, Marketing Directors averaged £108,000 at SME and £141,000 at corporate level. Digital and Online Directors averaged £113,000 and £136,000 across the same comparison. Senior Marketing Managers averaged £73,000 at SME and £85,000 corporately, while Marketing Managers sat at £51,000 and £62,000.
The most consistent finding across marketing was the premium attached to digital and analytics capability. Roles requiring data, analytics or digital expertise commanded 10 to 20% higher salaries than generalist equivalents at the same level.
People and HR
At the most senior level, Chief People Officers averaged £170,000 and HR Directors £120,000. Heads of HR averaged £85,000, with Employee Relations Managers at £75,000 and HR Managers at £60,000. HR Business Partners averaged £70,000 and HR Advisors and Officers averaged £35,000.
Employee relations and change-focused roles accounted for over 40% of HR vacancies in 2025. Specialist reward, organisational development and workforce planning expertise remained selectively competitive throughout the year.
Procurement and Supply Chain
Supply Chain Directors averaged £110,000 at SME and £140,000 at corporate level. Heads of Procurement averaged £80,000 and £105,000 across the same comparison. Category Managers sat at £55,000 and £70,000, Senior Buyers at £50,000 and £57,500, and Buyers at £37,000 and £43,000. S&OP remained one of the most in-demand skill sets in the market throughout 2025.
Across every discipline, premiums attach to specific characteristics rather than job titles. Transformation accountability consistently commanded more than operational equivalents. Professionals who could evidence ownership of ERP transitions, digital programmes or post-acquisition integration were priced accordingly. Regulatory exposure carried weight in finance, HSEQ, engineering and technology, where direct compliance accountability attracts meaningful premiums over comparable roles without it.
Revenue dependency, where an individual's decisions directly affect cash flow, margin or revenue performance, also attracted sharper positioning. And in manufacturing and engineering particularly, the combination of ageing talent pools and technical barriers to entry concentrated wage pressure in specific disciplines, irrespective of broader market conditions.
Losing a strong candidate to a better offer is the visible cost. The less visible costs are equally significant. A prolonged vacancy in a cash flow-critical finance role, a safety-accountable engineering position or a transformation-leading technology appointment carries operational, compliance and reputational exposure that far exceeds the difference between a competitive and an uncompetitive offer.
Senior HSEQ roles took 20 to 30% longer to fill than generalist equivalents. Executive search processes averaged four to six months from brief to appointment. When scope is clear and offers are competitive, time-to-hire compresses. When they are not, strong candidates who are weighing multiple options withdraw, often at the final stage.
If you would like a personalised salary comparison for a specific role or function, contact our team at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. We can provide tailored benchmarking that reflects your sector, location and organisational complexity.
View the full 2026 Salary Survey at: elevationrecruitmentgroup.com/salary-survey/
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