jobfacts

Managers and directors in the creative industries

SOC 2020 1255

Managers and directors in creative industries plan, organise, direct and co-ordinate the activities and resources of organisations in sectors such as arts, publishing, music, media, design and architecture.

Also calledGallery directorPublisherBooking agentProduction managerManagerFilm agentand 55 more titles
Typical full-time pay£54,8002025 Provisional
People in the job67,000across the UK
Demand for workersCritical
New adverts a month426↑ 20%on last year · 276th of 412

Pay

ONS · ASHE 2025
What full-time managers and directors in the creative industries earn, 2025
£54,800 typical£31,900lowest 10%£40,20025%n/ptop 10%
n/p: top 10% not published by ONS
Show as table
Lowest 10% earn less than£31,900
Lowest 20% earn less than£37,900
25%£40,200
Median£54,800
75%Not published
Top 20% earn more thanNot published
Top 10% earn more thanNot published
Many (30%) of managers and directors in the creative industries work for themselves. These pay figures only cover employees, so they may not reflect what self-employed managers and directors in the creative industries earn.
Typical pay by regionUK median £54,800
West Midlands!£66,200
London!£60,200
North West!£41,600
East Midlands!£33,900
North EastNot published by ONS–
Yorkshire and The HumberNot published by ONS–
East of EnglandNot published by ONS–
South EastNot published by ONS–
South WestNot published by ONS–
ScotlandNot published by ONS–
WalesNot published by ONS–
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
UK median, £54,800
West Midlands£66,200 (small sample)
London£60,200 (small sample)
North West£41,600 (small sample)
East Midlands£33,900 (small sample)
North EastNot published by ONS
Yorkshire and The HumberNot published by ONS
East of EnglandNot published by ONS
South EastNot published by ONS
South WestNot published by ONS
ScotlandNot published by ONS
WalesNot published by ONS
Typical pay over 3 years
  • 2023 £42,900
  • 2024 £44,900
  • 2025 Provisional£54,800
↑ 28% since 2023Provisional figures are revised when ONS publishes the next year’s survey.

Jobs and demand

ONS · Textkernel adverts · DfE

About 426 jobs for managers and directors in the creative industries are advertised each month. The Department for Education rates demand for workers as critical.

New job adverts a month, Jan 2017 to Aug 2026
New advertsMonth not published by ONS (1 in all)
Show as table
Aug 2026583
Jul 2026646
Jun 2026493
May 2026432
Apr 2026341
Mar 2026Not published
Feb 2026286
Jan 2026333
Dec 2025247
Nov 2025412
Oct 2025499
Sept 2025418
Aug 2025384
Jul 2025442
Jun 2025491
May 2025459
Apr 2025324
Mar 2025369
Feb 2025397
Jan 2025314
Dec 2024208
Nov 2024278
Oct 2024293
Sept 2024334
Aug 2024378
Jul 2024379
Jun 2024359
May 2024370
Apr 2024395
Mar 2024397
Feb 2024428
Jan 2024505
Dec 2023426
Nov 2023395
Oct 2023473
Sept 2023407
Aug 2023465
Jul 2023453
Jun 2023676
May 2023647
Apr 2023467
Mar 2023647
Feb 2023595
Jan 2023660
Dec 2022557
Nov 2022658
Oct 2022669
Sept 2022594
Aug 2022636
Jul 2022656
Jun 2022716
May 2022824
Apr 2022610
Mar 2022770
Feb 2022685
Jan 2022699
Dec 2021555
Nov 2021669
Oct 2021656
Sept 2021636
Aug 2021553
Jul 2021697
Jun 2021703
May 2021632
Apr 2021585
Mar 2021793
Feb 2021414
Jan 2021478
Dec 2020410
Nov 2020422
Oct 2020476
Sept 2020380
Aug 2020457
Jul 2020413
Jun 2020425
May 2020439
Apr 2020468
Mar 2020740
Feb 2020811
Jan 2020806
Dec 2019503
Nov 2019738
Oct 2019723
Sept 2019631
Aug 2019767
Jul 2019833
Jun 2019895
May 2019861
Apr 2019598
Mar 2019784
Feb 2019745
Jan 20193,198
Dec 2018472
Nov 20182,845
Oct 2018647
Sept 2018574
Aug 2018545
Jul 2018561
Jun 2018610
May 2018703
Apr 2018723
Mar 2018787
Feb 2018759
Jan 2018690
Dec 2017490
Nov 2017616
Oct 2017644
Sept 2017605
Aug 2017625
Jul 2017560
Jun 2017754
May 2017759
Apr 2017681
Mar 2017772
Feb 2017693
Jan 2017766
Is there a shortage of managers and directors in the creative industries?
Critical

The Department for Education rates demand as not high, elevated or critical, using five indicators. This is its 2025 assessment; in 2024 it was elevated.

  • Visas grantedAbove usual
  • Online job advertsUsual
  • Wage growthWell above usual
  • Pay against similar jobsWell above usual
  • Hours workedUsual
Vacancies hard to fill because of skills
15%against 27% for all jobs
Broader groupFigure for managers and proprietors in other services, which includes managers and directors in the creative industries. DfE Employer Skills Survey 2024.
Where the most jobs are advertisedadverts a quarter
London504
Manchester50
Birmingham41
Glasgow City35
Leeds27
Bristol, City of23
City of Edinburgh22
Newcastle upon Tyne16
Liverpool15
Nottingham14
London is published as one area. Averages leave out quarters ONS withheld.
Where managers and directors in the creative industries are most concentratedShare of local job adverts, compared with the UK.

Recruitment from abroad. 141 sponsored work visas were granted for this job from July 2025 to June 2026, most to people from India, United States, Nigeria, ranking it 89th of 313. Home Office

Who does it

ONS · Annual Population Survey · April 2025 to March 2026
Age of managers and directors in the creative industries
21%!
28%!
31%!
14%!
5.7%!
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
25–3421% (small sample)
35–4428% (small sample)
45–5431% (small sample)
55–6414% (small sample)
65+5.7% (small sample)
Highest qualification
Degree or equivalent70%
Higher education below degree!6.5%
A levels or equivalent!9.7%
GCSEs or equivalent!9.6%
Other qualifications–
Not published
No qualifications!1.4%
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
Degree or equivalent70%
Higher education below degree6.5% (small sample)
A levels or equivalent9.7% (small sample)
GCSEs or equivalent9.6% (small sample)
Other qualificationsNot published
No qualifications1.4% (small sample)

Main employers: specialised design activities (8.4%), architectural activities (7.5%), other professional, scientific and technical activities nec (7.2%), book publishing (5.6%).

How to get in

Hold a degree
70%
as their highest qualification
Apprenticeships
None
none leads directly into this work
Self-employed
30%
of people in the job

The work

ONS · ESCO · O*NET

Typical tasks

  • plans, organises, directs and co-ordinates the activities and resources of organisations in the creative industries, such as publishing firms, art galleries and television companies
  • liaises with clients, generates new business and promotes their organisation by attending and organising conferences, exhibits and other events
  • helps set the creative direction of their organisation and finds new talent, such as artists, writers and musicians, as well as pieces such as artworks, scripts and music
  • keeps up to date with new releases, publications and trends in relevant fields
  • establishes client's requirements and oversees the conception and development of multiple projects
  • reviews and revises creative teams' work across multiple projects
  • determines staffing, material, financial, and other short- and long-term needs

Skills

  • manage staff
  • manage budgets
  • train employees
  • delegate activities
  • write work-related reports
  • lead a team
  • set organisational policies
  • use different communication channels
  • apply grammar and spelling rules
  • build business relationships
  • establish daily priorities
  • implement marketing strategies
  • liaise with colleagues
  • liaise with managers

Knowledge

  • corporate social responsibility
  • project management
  • art history
  • copyright legislation
  • grammar
  • spelling
  • budgetary principles
  • customer relationship management

Suits people who like

  • Organising and following procedures
  • Leading and persuading

Outlook

DfE · Skills Imperative 2035
Broader groupThese projections are for other managers and proprietors, a group of 22 jobs that includes managers and directors in the creative industries.
Change in jobs, 2020 to 2035↑ 43%about 494,000 more jobs
Workers needed by 20351.3 millionincluding people replacing those who retire or leave

Sources

Pay
ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 provisional
People in the job, who does it
ONS, Annual Population Survey, April 2025 to March 2026
Job adverts
ONS, online job adverts (Textkernel), to Aug 2026
Demand, skill shortages
Department for Education and Skills England, Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey
Outlook
The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE
Routes in
National Careers Service job profiles
Apprenticeships, qualifications
Skills England occupational maps
Skills, interests
ESCO classification of the European Commission; O*NET data, U.S. Department of Labor (CC BY 4.0, modified)
Visas
Home Office, immigration system statistics

Figures as of 10 October 2026.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey: Department for Education and Skills England. Immigration system statistics: Home Office. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Source: The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE.

This service uses the ESCO classification of the European Commission.

This service includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. This service has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. CC BY 4.0 licence.

jobfacts is independent. It is not part of, affiliated with or endorsed by the Office for National Statistics, the Department for Education, Skills England, the National Careers Service, the Home Office, the European Commission or the U.S. Department of Labor.