Base Salary

Chiefs of Staff at scale-ups tend to be well paid, and this still holds true. Despite the economic situation, Chief of Staff salaries continue to be higher than average. The Chiefs of Staff who responded to our survey earn an average salary of £101,577 per year, more than 20% higher than the average salary that was reported in 2022 (£84,400). Looking by company funding level, Chiefs of Staff working at companies up to Seed stage - surprisingly - had a higher average salary per annum than Series A. Chiefs of Staff working at later-stage funded companies (Private Equity, public or other) have the highest average salary of around £119,000 (see Figure 1).

BONUSES

As in 2022, it is more common for Chiefs of Staff not to receive an annual bonus as shown in Figure 2. However, in 2022, 27% received an annual bonus compared to 2024 when more than 45% received a bonus (see Figure 2). The average bonus paid out is reported to be 22% of the annual base salary, pretty much in line with 2022 (23%). However, the average annual bonus paid as a percentage of the annual salary varies greatly amongst respondents, with a wide range between the minimum (1%) and the maximum bonus paid (close to 130%).

EQUITY STAKES

Following requests from our members, we added a new question to this year's survey about equity stakes in the business. Interesting to see, and as shown in Figure 3, is that the majority of the Chiefs of Staff have an equity stake in the business they work for (56%). The stake varies from 0.001% up to 1.3% (excluding co-founders).

ABOUT Our members

The Chief of Staff Collective connects Chiefs of Staff mainly in the startup and scaleup world to support each other through sharing knowledge, insights, pain points and opportunities. Our members are mainly mid-level Chiefs of Staff at Seed to Series B. The majority of our members are UK-based (66%) followed by the US (18%). Other countries that are represented in our member base are Germany, Netherlands, France, Canada, Australia and others. The most prominent city in terms of location of our members is London followed by Berlin, New York and San Francisco.

ABOUT THIS SURVEY

The 2024 CoSC Salary Survey was carried out from 17 January to 31 January 2024. The survey was conducted online anonymously and had a 14% response rate (68 members). 

The first CoSC Salary Survey was performed in 2022 based on our members’ request to paint a clearer picture of salary and bonus levels. This is the second survey performed and the aim is to do a refresh of the results every second year, at the minimum.

If you are a Chief of Staff but not yet a part of CoSC, please join and contribute with your salary insights
(and receive a more comprehensive report of the survey results!)