How to hire an agency manager

How to hire an agency manager, step by step

Here's a step-by-step agency manager hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write an agency manager job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new agency manager
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does an agency manager do?

Post an agency manager job for free, promote it for a fee

Post free

1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring an agency manager, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   An agency manager's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, agency managers from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   This list presents agency manager salaries for various positions.

   Type of Agency Manager	Description	Hourly rate
   Agency Manager		$13-50
   Communications Project Manager	A communications project manager is in charge of overseeing the development of internal and external communication materials. Their responsibilities typically revolve around performing research and analysis to identify client or company needs, developing effective communication strategies, coordinating different teams to ensure the quality and accuracy of projects, setting objectives and goals, and managing schedules and budgets... Show more	$28-58
   Deputy Program Manager	A deputy program manager is responsible for planning productive and engaging activities that would develop active group coordination and efficiency, helping each participant to reach maximum potential and personal goals. Deputy program managers handle the business development activities from conceptualization to execution, identifying resources and materials, finalizing participants, and allocating adequate budget to support the program objectives... Show more	$38-79

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Insurance Products
   • Training Programs
   • Lead Generation
   • Customer Satisfaction
   • Performance Reviews
   • Field Training
   • Financial Services
   • Insurance Policies
   • Payroll
   • Business Development
   • Life Insurance
   • Medicare
   • Casualty Insurance
   • Insurance Carriers

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage agency expenses, including conducting payroll and equipment/material purchases.
   • Confer with clients in order to provide marketing and technical advice to increase recognition, branding and ROI.
   • Specialize in life, health, and annuities.
   • Post billing and run various reports and invoices for active agencies.
   • Incorporate, license, organize, and run a commercial collection agency.
   • Handle hiring, training, recruiting and development of all brokerage agents production.

   More agency manager duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your agency manager job description helps attract top candidates to the position. An agency manager salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for an agency manager in Alabama may be lower than in New York, and an entry-level agency manager usually earns less than a senior-level agency manager. Additionally, an agency manager with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average agency manager salary

   $55,080yearly

   $26.48 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level agency manager salary

   $28,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 29, 2026

   Average agency manager salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	New York	$78,105	$38
   2	New Jersey	$77,668	$37
   3	Delaware	$71,741	$34
   4	Illinois	$71,315	$34
   5	Maryland	$67,539	$32
   6	California	$64,615	$31
   7	Idaho	$62,014	$30
   8	Michigan	$60,626	$29
   9	Minnesota	$57,933	$28
   10	Pennsylvania	$57,685	$28
   11	Oregon	$56,926	$27
   12	District of Columbia	$56,660	$27
   13	Nevada	$56,289	$27
   14	North Carolina	$55,942	$27
   15	Tennessee	$55,270	$27
   16	Georgia	$54,710	$26
   17	Texas	$51,147	$25
   18	Nebraska	$50,661	$24
   19	Louisiana	$50,636	$24
   20	Alabama	$50,005	$24

   Average agency manager salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Cadence Design Systems	$117,076	$56.29
   2	Morgan Stanley	$111,853	$53.78	21
   3	Perficient	$105,100	$50.53	8
   4	JPMorgan Chase & Co.	$98,015	$47.12	377
   5	Siemens	$86,740	$41.70	26
   6	Deloitte	$86,594	$41.63	127
   7	AmerisourceBergen	$85,398	$41.06
   8	Sprinklr	$84,214	$40.49
   9	Western & Southern Financial Group	$83,420	$40.11	1
   10	Siemens Healthineers	$82,464	$39.65
   11	Mcgriff, Seibels & Williams	$80,395	$38.65
   12	Gallagher	$79,814	$38.37
   13	COUNTRY Financial	$79,745	$38.34
   14	Combined Insurance	$77,880	$37.44
   15	Liberty HomeCare and Hospice	$74,964	$36.04
   16	Centene	$73,726	$35.45	6
   17	UniVista Insurance	$72,333	$34.78
   18	Horace Mann	$71,958	$34.60
   19	Colonial Life	$69,412	$33.37
   20	AdRoll	$68,125	$32.75

4. Writing an agency manager job description

   A good agency manager job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of an agency manager job description:

   Agency manager job description example

   Since 1986 we have been supporting our neighbors struggling with food insecurity in southwestern Wisconsin. From adding new programs to new buildings and building expansions, our focus on helping people make ends meet and live healthier lives has never changed.

   Vision - Everyone in our Community has enough nutritious food to thrive.

   Mission - Second Harvest exists to end hunger in southwestern Wisconsin.

   Values - Integrity | Trust | Humility | Inclusion | Equity | Innovation

   The Agency Relations Manager will lead and support the strategy, development and implementation of all agency related initiatives and food distribution efforts for Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin (SHFB) partner agencies to support individuals experiencing food insecurity in their communities. The Agency Relations Manager leads a team of outposted and in office employees who are responsible for creating and maintaining a strong partnership between SHFB and our partner agencies; achieving network capacity goals for their assigned service areas; and ensuring compliance as required by the contract with Feeding America. The Agency Relations Manager will work closely with the Director of Partnerships & Programs to ensure agency partnership integrity, consistency, prioritization of equity in all work, and ensuring outstanding customer service.

   Qualifications include experience building, leading, managing and training professional staff, related project or program management, and demonstrated experience with data collection, relationship building, reporting and program evaluation. Experience working with community-based nonprofit organizations, knowledge of and experience with private and public food assistance resources or other food distribution systems, lived experience with the impacts of systemic racism or marginalization, and a Bachelor's Degree in a related field are preferred.

   To perform this job successfully, the individual should have intermediate knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite, CRM's, and have the ability to quickly learn and effectively use internal software programs.

   Salary Range: $58,700 - $70,400 based on experience.

   Benefit Package includes:

   Health Insurance | Dental Insurance | Vision Insurance | 401(k) Retirement Plan with 5% match

   Short Term Disability Insurance | Long Term Disability Insurance | Life and AD&D Insurance

   Generous Paid Time Off starting at 23 days per year | 13 Paid Holidays per year

   To ensure consideration, please apply by Friday, October 28, 2022.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find agency managers for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any agency managers they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level agency managers with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your agency manager job on Zippia to find and recruit agency manager candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit agency managers, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new agency manager

   Once you've decided on a perfect agency manager candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new agency manager. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

   Sign up to download full list

   Sign up

How much does it cost to hire an agency manager?