What Is an IT Director or VP of IT Salary?

An IT Director or VP of IT supervises technology, teams and suppliers. They focus on delivery of IT services to support and improve a company.

What is an IT Director/VP of IT Salary in the US?

Surveys by recruitment companies indicate an IT Director or VP of IT salary as high as $280,000 per year.

The lower end of the IT Director salary is usually due to experience, but where they work also has an effect. IT Director or VP of IT salaries in the Northeast tend to be higher, but they can earn excellent salaries in other cities across the US.

With all these factors – experience, geography, the quality of the candidate and the needs of the business – it can be complicated to assess the right salary for an IT Director or VP of IT.

How to determine an IT Director’s salary?

When we are selecting IT Directors, we look at the following indicators to benchmark their experience and value which helps in determining their salary:

1. Does the IT Director or VP of IT understand the business well, as opposed to just the technology? Do they have strong connections with other business leaders? When they introduce changes to a company, does it drive improvements across a range of areas and activities? Similarly, do they focus on improving key business activities that drive business performance – not just activities more narrowly related to IT or technology?

2. Do they introduce best practice or simply good practice? For example, do they stay informed about the most recent cybersecurity tactics and products? Are they knowledgeable and experienced in modern automation tools to remove repetitive business administration tasks?

3. Do they have excellent team leadership and management skills? Can they grow a high-performing, loyal, and cost-effective internal team? Similarly do they effectively negotiate price, contract and service management arrangements with suppliers?

Ultimately, the position of IT Director is extremely important and can have a huge impact on a business. The IT Director’s salary needs to reflect that. (For more information about the role itself, see our explanation here.)

We interview, screen, select and develop more executive-level IT leaders than any other organization. We’re always happy to discuss the recruitment process or any other IT challenges or opportunities.

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