How to hire a functional manager

Functional manager hiring summary. Here are some key points about hiring functional managers in the United States:

In the United States, the median cost per hire a functional manager is $1,633.
It takes between 36 and 42 days to fill the average role in the US.
Human Resources use 15% of their expenses on recruitment on average.
On average, it takes around 12 weeks for a new functional manager to become settled and show total productivity levels at work.

How to hire a functional manager, step by step

To hire a functional manager, you need to identify the specific skills and experience you want in a candidate, allocate a budget for the position, and advertise the job opening to attract potential candidates. To hire a functional manager, you should follow these steps:

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

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

What does a functional manager do?

A functional manager handles resources in a certain department like IT, engineering, PR, or marketing. Generally, they direct the technical work of employees from that functional part who are working on the project. They share responsibility with the project manager for directing the work of employees. They assign specific employees to the team and discuss with the project manager regarding resources to improved staff utilization. In addition, they also participate in the initial planning until activities are assigned and recommend possible changes to the project, including corrective actions.

Learn more about the specifics of what a functional manager does

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Identify your hiring needs

Before you start hiring a functional 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?

A functional manager's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, functional 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 functional manager salaries for various positions.

Type of Functional Manager	Description	Hourly rate
Functional Manager	Computer and information systems managers, often called information technology (IT) managers or IT project managers, plan, coordinate, and direct computer-related activities in an organization. They help determine the information technology goals of an organization and are responsible for implementing computer systems to meet those goals.	$42-70
Vice President Of Information Technology	A Vice President Of Information Technology supervises an organization's technology initiatives, IT changes, and updates to all projects. They also identify and propose new information technologies and systems to improve business processes and decision-making.	$52-111
Operations Superintendent	Operations Superintendent plans and oversees the daily operations of an organization. They have the authority to set objectives and guidelines, establish budgets and schedules, delegate tasks among staff, and develop strategies to optimize operations and meet project requirements... Show more	$34-72

Create an ideal candidate profile
Common skills:
- Professional Development
- Customer Service
- ERP
- Business Process
- HR
- Project Management
- Subject Matter Expertise
- Logistics
- Operational Improvement
- E-Business
- BI
- Performance Appraisals
- Gap Analysis
- Sap Functional
Check all skills
Responsibilities:
- Manage product and solution infrastructure with continuous deployments, and engineering requirements to support product releases and solutions.
- Verify installations ability to load new DoD supply chain system.
- Train unit point of contacts on SharePoint procedures on a quarterly basis.
- Integrate the necessary architecture that would consistently work with web services systems, external systems.
- Lead program engineer defining vehicle architecture for new segment entries as well as in cycle product updates.
- Develop a data parsing routine in Java in order to validate record data integrity and continuity of data feed.
More functional manager duties

Make a budget

Including a salary range in your functional manager job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A functional manager can vary based on:

Location. For example, functional managers' average salary in north dakota is 37% less than in california.
Seniority. Entry-level functional managers 40% less than senior-level functional managers.
Certifications. A functional manager with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a functional manager's salary.

Average functional manager salary

$113,849yearly

$54.74 hourly rate

Entry-level functional manager salary

$88,000 yearly salary

Updated December 15, 2025

Average functional manager salary by state

Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
1	California	$148,254	$71
2	Washington	$127,370	$61
3	Arizona	$122,664	$59
4	New Hampshire	$122,231	$59
5	Texas	$119,197	$57
6	Michigan	$113,469	$55
7	Georgia	$113,228	$54
8	Connecticut	$112,774	$54
9	New Jersey	$111,982	$54
10	Oregon	$108,422	$52
11	Ohio	$105,468	$51
12	New York	$105,295	$51
13	Pennsylvania	$102,830	$49
14	Illinois	$101,063	$49
15	District of Columbia	$100,898	$49
16	Kansas	$100,685	$48
17	Tennessee	$100,429	$48
18	Mississippi	$99,963	$48
19	Virginia	$99,917	$48
20	Massachusetts	$99,784	$48

Average functional manager salary by company

Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
1	Apple	$145,962	$70.17	19
2	Accenture	$131,788	$63.36	489
3	Ultra Electronics	$128,244	$61.66
4	Systems Planning and Analysis	$123,762	$59.50	2
5	Amazon	$123,644	$59.44	328
6	Ernst & Young	$122,839	$59.06	159
7	Walgreens	$120,028	$57.71	30
8	Constellation West	$119,608	$57.50	3
9	The Computer Merchant	$118,726	$57.08
10	Intone Networks	$116,163	$55.85
11	Axtria	$113,556	$54.59
12	Teva Pharmaceuticals	$113,490	$54.56	4
13	Deloitte	$113,257	$54.45	848
14	Sparta Consulting	$113,116	$54.38
15	Prodware Solution	$113,115	$54.38
16	Technossus	$112,305	$53.99
17	Adecco	$111,998	$53.85	2
18	Sagitec Solutions LLC	$109,425	$52.61
19	Westlake Chemical	$108,790	$52.30	2
20	Capgemini	$108,366	$52.10	19

Writing a functional manager job description
A good functional 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 a functional manager job description:
Functional manager job description example
Are you ready to enhance your skills and build your career in a rapidly changing business climate? Do you appreciate working on teams, problem solving and strategizing? Do you see yourself as an integral part of a large enterprise implementation of cutting-edge cloud technology? Deloitte's Workday offering group will give you these opportunities and more.
OPEN TO ALL MAJOR CITIES!

Work you'll do

As a Workday HCM Functional Manager, you should expect to be involved in the following:

+ Act as the Functional team lead

+ Be the escalation point for critical functional issues

+ Oversee all functional work streams

+ Provide direction and guidance to functional consultants

+ Serve as the primary correspondent for client communications

The HRT team

At Deloitte Consulting LLP, helping our clients exploit new technologies like employee engagement tools, advanced workforce planning and analytics we empower HR to better support the business and create value. HR organizations now reduce costs and improve operating effectiveness through process improvements, shared services, outsourcing and employee self-service, but that's only part of the story, we help them to drive the value this delivers and help the business achieve its strategic objectives in performance and growth.

Our Workday practice is the implementation partner of choice for Workday's largest clients. We have over 1000 Workday certified professionals working on the most comprehensive and complex projects in North America and we are looking for high energy, committed and ambitious people to join our Workday community.

Qualifications

Required:

+ 6 years of consulting experience, preferably with a large consulting firm

+ Deep HR knowledge and experience

+ Demonstrated success of hands-on experience with Workday implementations

+ Superior communication skills, both written and verbal

+ Experience with excel, Visio and Power point

+ Ability to travel up to 25%, on average, based on the work you do and the clients and industries/sectors you serve

Preferred:

+ Workday HCM certified

#HRT22

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability or protected veteran status, or any other legally protected basis, in accordance with applicable law.
Post your job
To find the right functional manager for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:
- Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
- Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with functional managers they would recommend.
- Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit functional managers who meet your education requirements.
- Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.
Post your job online:
- Post your functional manager job on Zippia to find and recruit functional manager candidates who meet your exact specifications.
- Use field-specific websites.
- Post a job on free websites.
Interview candidates
To successfully recruit functional 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.
You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete the technical interview.
The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.
Send a job offer and onboard your new functional manager
Once you've selected the best functional manager candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.
It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.
After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new functional manager. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.
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.)
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How much does it cost to hire a functional manager?

Before you start to hire functional managers, it pays to consider both the one-off costs like recruitment, job promotion, and onboarding, as well as the ongoing costs of an employee's salary and benefits. While most companies that hire functional managers pay close attention to the initial cost of hiring, ongoing costs are much more significant in the long run.

You can expect to pay around $113,849 per year for a functional manager, as this is the median yearly salary nationally. This can vary depending on what state or city you're hiring in. If you're hiring for contract work or on a per-project basis, hourly rates for functional managers in the US typically range between $42 and $70 an hour.

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Updated December 15, 2025

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