Average Assistant Shipping Manager Salary in Kenya for 2026
An assistant shipping manager in Kenya earns about 1,645,600 KES a year. That's 7% below the national average of 1,765,300 KES.
Pay ranges widely from country to country and from role to role. The lowest reported salaries in Kenya sit around 807,900 KES a year, while the very top stretches to 2,566,100 KES. Everything on this page is in Kenyan shilling (KES, symbol Sh), which lets you compare numbers like-for-like without worrying about exchange rates.
The numbers here are pulled together from official government wage data, large independent salary surveys, and aggregated worker-reported pay. Most reported salaries include the benefits that are common in Kenya, such as housing or transport allowances, which is worth keeping in mind if you're comparing against a country where those are usually paid on top.
How much does an assistant shipping manager make in Kenya?
A typical assistant shipping manager working in Kenya brings home around 137,133 KES a month before tax. Entry-level pay starts near 807,900 KES, and the top of the ladder reaches roughly 2,566,100 KES for the most experienced and specialised people in the role.
The wide gap between low end and top end reflects how much pay can vary inside the same job title. A junior assistant shipping manager working at a small local employer earns very different money from a senior at a multinational. Skills, employer, city and years in the seat all push the number around.
How assistant shipping manager pay ranges in Kenya
A good way to think about salary in Kenya is to look at the distribution rather than the headline average. Half of all assistant shipping managers in Kenya earn less than 1,678,300 KES a year, and the other half earn more. That middle number is the median, and it is usually more useful than the average for answering "is my pay normal here".
Looking at the quartiles fills in the picture. A quarter of earners take home less than 1,117,800 KES (the 25th percentile), and a quarter clear 2,161,200 KES (the 75th percentile). The middle 50% of assistant shipping managers sit somewhere inside that band, which is where the typical reader of this page probably lives.
The very lowest reported salaries sit around 807,900 KES. The highest stretch to 2,566,100 KES, though only a small fraction of earners ever reach that level. If you are deciding whether your own offer or current pay is reasonable, work out which of those four bands you would fall into and use that as your reference point.
Assistant shipping manager pay by experience in Kenya
Years of experience is the single biggest lever on pay for an assistant shipping manager in Kenya, ahead of education and almost any other single factor. The longer you have been in the role, the more your employer can trust you to handle complexity, mentor others and act independently, all of which command higher pay. The chart below shows how the typical assistant shipping manager salary changes as you move through the career ladder.
- 0-2 Years957,800 KES
- 2-5 Years+28% from previous1,224,800 KES
- 5-10 Years+38% from previous1,693,600 KES
- 10-15 Years+24% from previous2,100,900 KES
- 15-20 Years+7% from previous2,242,500 KES
- 20+ Years+7% from previous2,401,300 KES
The single largest jump on the ladder is from 2 - 5 Years to 5 - 10 Years, where pay rises by about 38%. That is the point at which a assistant shipping manager typically goes from "competent in the role" to "the person other people in the team learn from", and the market pays well for that step.
Assistant shipping manager pay by education in Kenya
Education sits alongside experience as one of the biggest factors driving assistant shipping manager pay in Kenya. Higher qualifications consistently pull higher salaries, but the size of the gap tends to be smallest at junior levels and widens as people move up. Two people in the same role with the same years of experience but different degrees can end up earning very different money once they reach mid-career.
Below is the average assistant shipping manager salary in Kenya broken down by the highest level of education a worker has completed.
- High School1,195,600 KES
- Certificate or Diploma+15% from previous1,369,700 KES
- Bachelor's Degree+35% from previous1,846,200 KES
- Master's Degree+25% from previous2,314,800 KES
Assistant shipping manager gender pay gap in Kenya
The gender pay gap is a stubborn feature of almost every labour market, and Kenya is no exception. Male assistant shipping managers in Kenya earn an average of 1,703,200 KES a year, while female assistant shipping managers earn around 1,560,800 KES. That works out to a 9% gap in favour of men, even when comparing people doing the same work.
A pay gap of this size has a real long-term cost. Over a typical thirty-year career it can add up to several years of pay, and it compounds through pensions, retirement contributions and bonus-linked stock. Some of the gap is explained by women being more likely to work part-time, take career breaks, or be steered toward lower-paying specialisations. Some of it is straightforward unequal pay for the same job, which is harder to defend.
Assistant Shipping Manager gender pay gap
8%
Men earn this much more than women on average in Kenya.
Pay raises for an assistant shipping manager in Kenya
Most countries hand out at least some kind of pay raise every year, typically when an employee's contract is reviewed or as a cost-of-living adjustment to keep wages roughly in step with inflation. The rhythm and size of those raises varies hugely between industries.
A typical worker doing this role in Kenya sees a raise of about 6% every 31 months, which works out to roughly 2% on an annual basis. That figure is the typical underlying rate; in years where inflation runs high you can usually expect a bit more, and in flat-economy years a bit less.
Across all jobs in Kenya, the national average raise is around 4% every 29 months.
By industry
Industries with the highest pay raises in Kenya:
- Banking
- Energy
- Information Technology
- Healthcare
- Travel
- Construction
- Education
By experience level
Experienced workers tend to see larger raises. Retaining a senior is cheaper than replacing them, so employers fight harder for them.
- Junior Level3% - 5%
- Mid-Career
- Senior Level
- Top Management
Assistant shipping manager bonus rates in Kenya
Bonuses are the other half of total compensation, and they vary a lot between jobs and industries. Some roles are paid almost entirely in base salary; others lean heavily on bonus structures tied to revenue, project completion or company performance. Whether a job pays a bonus, how big it is, and how often it lands all factor into whether the headline salary is actually a good offer.
38% of assistant shipping managers in Kenya reported a bonus of some kind in the past twelve months. That makes an assistant shipping manager a low-bonus role overall, which is useful context when you're weighing up a job offer where the base is below market.
Among those who did receive a bonus, the size of the payment varied substantially. Reported bonuses ranged from 3% to 6% of base salary. The remaining 62% of assistant shipping managers reported no bonus at all over the same period.
Which careers pay bonuses in Kenya
Revenue-facing roles tend to pay the biggest bonuses. Operational and support roles tend toward smaller, more predictable ones.
- Finance
- Architecture
- Sales
- Business Development
- Marketing / Advertising
- Information Technology
- Healthcare
- Insurance
- Customer Service
- Human Resources
- Construction
- Transport
- Hospitality
Assistant shipping manager: public vs private sector pay
Public-sector pay in Kenya is about 14% more than private-sector pay for similar work. The private sector typically offers stronger upside and bigger bonuses; the public sector typically offers better benefits and stability.
Public vs private pay gap
12%
Public-sector workers earn this much more than private-sector workers in Kenya on average.
Assistant shipping manager salary by city in Kenya
Assistant shipping manager pay is not even across Kenya. The chart below shows the highest-paying cities in the dataset, followed by the full location table.
- Nairobi
- Mombasa
- Kisumu
| Location | Type | Average | Median | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nairobi | City | 1,811,000 KES | 1,703,200 KES | 958,700-2,748,900 KES |
| Mombasa | City | 1,632,100 KES | 1,765,300 KES | 747,400-2,593,900 KES |
| Kisumu | City | 1,524,300 KES | 1,583,700 KES | 728,500-2,389,200 KES |
Assistant Shipping Manager in Kenya: FAQs
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How much does an assistant shipping manager make per month in Kenya?
An assistant shipping manager in Kenya earns about 137,133 KES a month before tax, based on an annual average of 1,645,600 KES.
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What's the salary range for an assistant shipping manager in Kenya?
Entry-level assistant shipping managers in Kenya start near 807,900 KES. Top-end pay reaches around 2,566,100 KES. The middle 50% of earners sit between 1,117,800 and 2,161,200 KES.
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Is the median assistant shipping manager salary in Kenya higher or lower than the average?
The median is 1,678,300 KES, higher than the average of 1,645,600 KES. Half of assistant shipping managers in Kenya earn below the median, half earn above it.
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What's the gender pay gap for assistant shipping managers in Kenya?
Men working as an assistant shipping manager in Kenya earn around 9% more than women on average (1,703,200 vs 1,560,800 KES a year).
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Do assistant shipping managers in Kenya get bonuses?
About 38% of assistant shipping managers in Kenya reported a bonus in the past 12 months. Reported bonuses ranged from 3% to 6% of base salary.
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Do assistant shipping managers earn more in the public or private sector in Kenya?
In Kenya, the public sector pays an assistant shipping manager about 14% more on average. Public-sector pay tends to be steadier; private-sector pay tends to offer bigger upside.
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How often do assistant shipping managers in Kenya get a pay raise?
An assistant shipping manager in Kenya sees a raise of around 6% every 31 months, equivalent to roughly 2% a year.