ESG jobs in Singapore pay better than you think

ESG finance people, we’ve noted, aren’t sticking around.

There might be a lot of reasons for that – burnout, we’ve definitely found, for example. Or maybe the pay, in London at least? But in Singapore that isn't the issue.

Why? Because, ESG pays incredibly well in Singapore. So says Page Executive, the executive search firm, which states that salaries for ESG professionals in Singapore’s banking and finance sector range from SG$65k to SG$400k (US$48k to US$297k).

A tight labor market seems to be driving that. Gabriel Nam, who authored the report, notes “slightly bigger team” sizes and “more resources available” have contributed to a Singaporean ESG talent crunch. “Hiring managers are generally happy to look at non-FI [finance] candidates,” Nam notes.

The two best paid jobs are “Chief Sustainability Officer” and “Head of Sustainable Finance/Investing”, which give a clue as to their earnings potential. It’s worth noting again that the pay figures are for salary only, and for a lot of those titles (especially the ones that start with “head”) in finance see chunky bonuses at the end of the year.

Singapore’s tightening job market for ESG people has been long time coming but firms are unprepared nonetheless. It's the same in Hong Kong. South China Morning Post reported in May that ESG professionals switching jobs within Hong Kong could see a 30% salary bump – and those moving to the city from abroad could expect an even higher increase.

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