MCIPS boosts the salaries of procurement and supply professionals in MENA and significantly increases their attractiveness to employers.
Key findings
- The average salary for a procurement and supply professional in MENA is $70,333.
- For those awarded a pay rise, the average salary increase is 12.7%.
- MCIPS earn almost twice as much as their non-MCIPS peers – $116,998 compared with $62,253.
- 57% of employers in MENA would prefer to recruit a candidate who either has MCIPS or is studying towards it.
- 60% of respondents expect to move to a new employer in the next 12 months – the highest percentage of any region.
Salaries
In MENA, salaries for procurement and supply professionals have slightly fallen since last year. The average salary is $70,333, down from $72,561 in 2024. This could reflect the sluggish economic growth in the region. According to the World Bank, MENA grew at a modest 1.9% in 2024.1
Out of all regions, MENA respondents were least likely to have received a salary increase in the last 12 months. Less than half (48%) reported having an increase. Those who did get a raise were well rewarded, however. The average salary increase is 12.7%.
MCIPS is very highly valued in MENA, with those holding the designation earning almost twice as much as their non-MCIPS peers – $116,998 compared with $62,253. Moreover, the average MCIPS salary has increased from last year, when it stood at $106,424. Respondents with MCIPS are also more likely to have received a salary increase than those without.
Over half of employers (57%) in MENA would prefer to recruit a candidate who either has MCIPS or is studying towards it, the highest percentage of any region other than Sub-Saharan Africa.
Bonuses
Nearly two-thirds of respondents in MENA (62%) report being eligible for a bonus – the same as in 2024. The gender gap on bonuses is small, with 63% of men entitled to a bonus, and 60% of women.
MCIPS are more likely than non-MCIPS to be entitled to a bonus – 71% compared with 63%. A high proportion of respondents in both the private sector (65%) and the public sector (61%) are eligible for a bonus.
Benefits
The top three benefits received by procurement and supply professionals in MENA are private medical insurance (62%), life assurance/death-in-service benefits (33%) and flexible working hours (28%). Yet the benefit that respondents would most like to receive is support for study/career development (cited by 43%).
Working from home is a less common benefit in MENA compared with the UK, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Less than a quarter of respondents (24%) can work from home.
Career mobility
Procurement and supply professionals in MENA are more likely to be looking for a new role than their peers in any other region. Three in five (60%) respondents expect to move to a new employer in the next 12 months – the same percentage as in 2024. This is probably linked to the fact that procurement and supply professionals are less likely than their peers in other regions to have received a pay rise in the past year.
Unsurprisingly, salary is the most important factor when considering a new job, cited by 85%. Respondents also highly value career progression opportunities (83%) and organisations that are well known for their ethical practices (75%).
The main reasons why respondents in MENA are likely to stay with their current employer are that they enjoy their job and a lack of opportunity (both cited by 32%).
Work-life balance has improved for 41% of MENA respondents over the past 12 months.
Talent shortage
Like other regions, MENA is wrestling with talent shortages. In fact, the problem has become even more pronounced since last year. Around two-thirds (67%) of employers have struggled to find the right talent in the past 12 months, up from 63% in 2024. The biggest obstacles to hiring are a lack of technical skills/evidence of formal procurement training (56%) and a lack of soft skills/business skills (51%).
Skills
Negotiation skills are deemed most important for procurement and supply professionals in MENA, cited by 55%. They are the most important skills for every level other than Influencing, where influencing skills come top. (For more on how the different levels are defined, see About the research.) Supplier relationship management skills (47%) and communication skills (38%) also make the top three.
For MENA employers, negotiation skills top the list of key skills needed by procurement and supply professionals (cited by 54%). Communication skills (50%) and sourcing skills (38%) also rank highly.
Respondents believe integrity and trust (56%), communication skills (45%) and commitment and work ethic (44%) will be the most important skills and characteristics for procurement and supply leaders over the next 10 years.
Perceptions of procurement
Perceptions of procurement are very positive in MENA. Nearly three-quarters (74%) of respondents say that procurement is very much valued within their organisation. Furthermore, 77% agree that the perception of procurement has improved over the last 12 months. A similar figure (75%) say that procurement and supply is involved from the start of a project.
The vast majority of respondents in MENA (88%) believe that procurement and supply chain qualifications will become more valued over the next 10 years.
Procurement and supply is seen as a force for social good in MENA, in terms of its ability to influence equality, diversity and inclusion (ED&I) as well as environmental, social and governance issues. More than four out of five respondents (83%) agree that a career in procurement and supply can enable positive social change. Three out of five (60%) say it offers a career path for people from disadvantaged social backgrounds.
- Middle East and North Africa Economic Update – April 2025, World Bank Group, April 2025 ↩︎