SALARY SURVEY 2013 - Robert Walters Singapore

TOKYOTOKYOINFORMATIONTECHNOLOGYFINANCETOKYOINFORMATIONTECHNOLOGY-FINANCEINFORMATIONTECHNOLOGY-FINANCERobertWaltersGlobalSalarySurvey2013 312OurITfinanceteamplacesITprofessionalsintopermanentandtemporarypositionswithinthefinancialservicessector,ininstitutionsincludinginvestmentbanking,brokerage,assetmanagement,wealthmanagement,realestate,insurance,retailbanking,corporatebankingandfinancialsystemvendorfirms.MarketOverviewOverallITjoblevelswithinthefinancialservicessectorremainedrelativelylow,thoughrecruitmentdidoccurinsomeareas.Inparticular,ITprofessionalswerehiredtosupportbanksintheireffortstocomplywithnewregulatorystandards.InvestmentbanksrecruitedmoreactivelythanotherfinancesectorsandcreatednewopeningsforbilingualITauditors,ITriskmanagersandITgovernanceprofessionalsatvice-presidentlevelorabove.FirmssoughtbilingualITprofessionalswhocouldinteractwithJapaneseregulatoryauthoritiesandcolleaguesoverseas.However,theseprofessionalswereinshortsupplyinthemarket.Accordingly,indemandfunctions,suchastechnologyauditprofessionals,wereespeciallysought-afterandtypicallyreceivedsalaryincreasesof10-15%whenmovingjobs.Outsideofregulatory-focusedpositions,mostrecruitmentwithintheinvestmentbankingsectorwastypicallyonareplacementbasis-asaresult,wesawdemandforapplicationsupportengineers,frontofficedevelopersandbusinessanalysts.TheseITprofessionalsthatmovedintonewcompaniestypicallyreceivedupliftsupto5%.Conversely,salariesforUNIXanddatabaseadministratorsdecreased,sometimesasmuchas25%,becauseoflimiteddemandandagradualdowngradingforthesepositionswhentheybecameavailabletoreducecosts.AnumberofinvestmentbankssoughttooffshoreandoutsourcesometechnologypositionstoSingaporeandHongKongasacost-reductionmeasure.Asaresult,recruitmentdeclinedfortechnicalfunctionsthatrequiredminimalinteractionwiththelocalbusiness.Thiswasparticularlythecaseformanytechnicaldevelopmentandinfrastructureroles,manyofwhichweretransferredtovendorcompanies.Withinsurancecompaniesalsobuildingnewcomplianceandgovernanceteams,ITprofessionalswithregulatoryexperiencewereindemandwithintheseemployers.Mostdemandwasformidtomanagement-levelprojectmanagersandbusinessanalystswithextensiveexperienceofdevelopingandimplementinggovernancestrategies.ContractContractjoblevelsinthefirsthalfoftheyearwerehigh.ThiswaspartlyduetoanumberofITprojectsfollowingtheJapanesefiscalyear,meaningmanywereeitherduetobecompletedinMarchorwerelaunchedinApril.However,firmscontinuedtofocuspurelyonbusiness-criticalrecruitmentwiththemajorityofdemandforbusinessanalystsandprojectmanagerswithstrongbusinesspartneringexperience.However,recruitmentlevelsdecreasedsignificantlyinthesecondhalfoftheyearasmanycompaniesoutsourcedoroffshoredtheirITdepartments.Duringthisperiod,thevolumeandqualityofcontractorsseekingnewjobswashigh.Asaresult,firmsup-skilledpermanentstaffwithmorestronglyqualifiedcontractors.Outlookfor2013TheITjobsmarketislikelytoremainchallengingwithinfinancialservicesin2013asinvestmentbankscontinuemovingtheirtechnicalfunctionsoffshoreortovendorcompanies.Mostrecruitmentwillbeonareplacementbasisandwheretheyarehiring,employerswillseekstrongbusinessacumencombinedwiththerequiredtechnicalability.However,theITrecruitmentmarketwithintheinsurancesectorislikelytobemoreactive.Inparticular,weanticipateincreaseddemandfrominsurancebusinessesprovidingtheirservicesonlineduetocheaperinfrastructurecosts.Asaresult,technologistswithexperienceinwebmarketing,e-businessande-commercewillbehighlysought-afterinthisspace.Despitethisactivity,salaryoffersforadministratorsanddevelopersareexpectedtodeclinein2013asfirmsseektoreducebusinessspendingforback-officefunctions.