Senior HR Manager

Salary band

Base salary, gross annual

25th percentile

€58,200

Median

€65,600

75th percentile

€78,400

For reference: the statutory minimum wage in Germany has stood at €13.90 gross per hour since January 1, 2026 — roughly €2,410 gross a month for a full-time role at 40 hours/week. (BMAS: Mindestlohn steigt zum 1. Januar 2026 auf 13,90 Euro)

Gross fixed salary per year for a Senior HR Manager or senior HR Business Partner (5 to 8 years of HR experience, generally with depth in one sub-function such as recruiting, comp and ben, or labor law) at a German SMB, one step below full Head of People ownership. This level typically reports into a Head of People, HR Director, or the managing directors directly, owns a slice of the HR function rather than all of it, and does not sit on the executive committee. Stuttgart pulls the range up; Munich and Cologne track close to the national median; Berlin trends slightly below. A bonus of 5 to 15 percent of fixed salary is more common at this level than a full variable-comp structure or equity.

Sources: Stepstone Gehaltsdaten Senior HR-Manager:in Deutschland 2026; Kienbaum HR-Vergütungsstudie 2025