2022 COSC SALARY SURVEY
2022 COSC SALARY SURVEY
The scope and the seniority of a Chief of Staff can vary greatly pending on the experience of the individual, the size and funding level of the company and the requirements of the role. Does the same hold true for Chief of Staff compensation? Rather than assuming the same for the compensation, we decided to ask our 180 members about their compensation. Looking at the findings from our 2022 CoSC Salary Survey confirmed that salaries amongst startup and scaleup Chiefs of Staff vary meaningfully.
Base Salary
Chiefs of Staff at scaleups are well paid. That’s not a surprise in itself. We expected base salaries to be higher than average, and they were. The Chiefs of Staff who responded to our survey earn an average salary of £84,400 per year; the most common salary range among respondents was £50,000 to £75,000 per year (37%), as shown in Figure 1 followed by £75,000 to £100,000 earned by 29%. Looking at company funding level, Up to Seed and Series A Chiefs of Staff have a similar average salary per annum of around £77,000, while Chiefs of Staff working at Series B and post Series B scaleups earn 34% more at around £103,000 (see Figure 2).
CHIEF OF STAFF BONUSES
In general, survey respondents do not receive an annual bonus (63%) as shown in Figure 3 - but if they do, the average bonus paid out is 23% of the annual base salary. The maximum bonus paid out was 71% and the lowest was 3% of annual salary. Of the members receiving a bonus the majority (54%) are more senior Chiefs of Staff (e.g. VP/ C-level) and the remainder work as Mid-level Chiefs of Staff (e.g. Head of Ops/ Chief of Staff). No junior level Chiefs of Staff (e.g. Founders Associate) received a bonus. In terms of company funding level, the majority of those receiving a bonus work in Post Series B companies.
ABOUT Our members
The Chief of Staff Collective connects Chiefs of Staff in the startup and scaleup world to support each other through sharing knowledge, insights, pain points and opportunities. Our members are mainly Chiefs of Staff at Seed to Series B companies based in the UK, US and Germany, with London, San Francisco and Berlin being the leading cities for members (see Figures 4 and 5).
ABOUT THIS SURVEY
The 2022 CoSC Salary Survey was carried out from 17 November 2022 to 25 November 2022. The survey was conducted online anonymously and had a 20% response rate (35 members).
The survey was initiated based on the members request to paint a clearer picture of salary and bonus levels. The aim is to repeat the survey on a bi-annual basis. For the next survey due to be carried out in Q2 2023, a question about equity share in the business will be added to the survey.
Join the Chief of Staff Collective if you'd like to get access to the community and be able to contribute and take part in the next survey;
we’d love to hear from you!
