Operations Manager Salary in South East
Official ONS earnings for South East, covering 17,000 jobs.
Median salary — South East
£76,511
gross, per year, all employees
▲ 2.3% change on the previous year
Mean
£88,632
Jobs measured
17,000
What a typical operations manager takes home
On the median of £76,511, 2026/27 tax year, England, Wales and Northern Ireland rates, no pension or student loan.
Take-home a month
£4,578
Take-home a year
£54,934
Income Tax
£18,036
National Insurance
£3,541
What most operations managers actually earn
Half of operations managers in South East earn between £43,253 and £98,065. Earning above £98,065 puts you in the top quarter of the profession.
ONS suppresses the detailed spread for this occupation at regional level, so this range describes the wider “Functional Managers and Directors” group in South East.
The full pay range
Each bar is the salary at that percentile — the 25th means a quarter of operations managers earn less than this.
Where this figure comes from
- ONS occupation group
- Functional managers and directors n.e.c.
- SOC 2020 code
- 1139
- Measure
- Gross annual pay, all employees
- Edition
- ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 provisional
ONS publishes a sampling error of 18.0% for this figure and asks that anything above 10% is treated as imprecise — too few people in this region answered the survey for this occupation. The figure is shown because it is the one ONS published, but it is not firm enough to rank South East against anywhere else, so this page doesn't.
ONS doesn't measure “operations manager” as its own category. These figures are for the wider group “Functional managers and directors n.e.c.”, which includes this role alongside others. ONS measures a residual group - functional managers and directors it does not name separately.
Source: Office for National Statistics, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Figures are estimates from a survey of PAYE jobs and are not financial advice.
Operations Manager salary FAQs
What is the average Operations Manager salary in South East?
The median is £76,511 a year and the mean is £88,632, according to the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. Those cover all employees; ASHE publishes no full-time split at regional level.
How much does a operations manager earn per hour?
Across the UK the median hourly rate is £39.24 excluding overtime, or £41.56 for full-time employees. ASHE publishes hourly pay by occupation nationally only, so there is no separate rate for South East.
What is a good Operations Manager salary?
Half of operations managers earn between £43,253 and £98,065. Anything above £98,065 is in the top quarter for the role.
What is the starting salary for a operations manager?
ASHE does not record experience, so there is no official starting salary. What it does show is that the lowest-paid 10% of operations managers earn under £25,953 and the lowest quarter under £43,253 — the range a new entrant is most likely to be offered.
Do operations managers in South East earn more than the UK average?
The median in South East is £76,511 against £69,996 across the UK, 9.3% higher. ONS marks the South East figure as imprecise, so treat the gap as indicative.
Has operations manager pay gone up in the last year?
ASHE puts the year-on-year change in the median at +2.3% for this occupation in South East. That compares the latest survey with the one before it and is not adjusted for inflation.
How many operations managers are there in South East?
ASHE counts around 17,000 employee jobs in “Functional managers and directors n.e.c.” (SOC 1139) in South East. Self-employed work is not included.
Is this figure official?
Yes. It comes from the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, an accredited official statistic based on employer PAYE records.
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