Conservation Salaries

Icon has provided minimum salary recommendations for entry-level conservation positions since 2007; the figure was updated on a regular basis in response to inflation.

As part of our ongoing work to capture labour market intelligence we carried out a salary survey to gather real-world data from Icon members in 2022. This data was used to inform a review of Icon’s policy with regard to its job advertising service. As a result, Icon’s Board of Trustees agreed to publish salary benchmarks (rather than guidelines) for early career, mid-career, and senior level positions reflecting the data gathered in the survey.

The benchmarking figures are based on the salary levels identified through Icon’s 2022 Conservation Salaries Survey. They are pitched against the level of professional knowledge of conservation and the level of personal responsibility as it relates to decision making, people management and finance that are typically associated with the different levels of roles.

Icon believes that these figures should be considered as minimum salary expectations. We would strongly advocate for fair levels of remuneration at a level that should be expected within a highly skilled and technical profession.

Please note that: 

• The benchmarking figure is based on the upper quartile of salary data for each job group. 
• Icon will update these figures every two years based on a survey of its membership.
• If jobs adverts are placed on the Icon website with salary levels that fall below the mean average, we will place a banner on the advert. The banner will read: “The salary for this role falls below the average pay for a position at this level as identified by Icon’s 2022 Conservation Salaries Survey”. A link will be placed to Icon’s 2022 Conservation Salaries Survey.
• If job adverts are advertised with a salary range, the assessment will be made based on the lower figure presented in the range.
• Each job advert will be assessed based on the tables below.

Last reviewed November 2022