Service Management Contract Job Trends in the UK excluding London

Service Management
UK > UK excluding London

The table below provides summary statistics and contractor rates for jobs advertised in the UK excluding London requiring Service Management skills. It covers contract job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 4 July 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
4 Jul 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 81 55 56
Rank change year-on-year -26 +1 +8
Contract jobs citing Service Management 742 570 665
As % of all contract jobs in the UK excluding London 2.81% 4.01% 3.14%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 3.42% 4.46% 3.80%
Number of daily rates quoted 492 337 482
10th Percentile £213 £200 £228
25th Percentile £400 £308 £425
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £510 £496 £525
Median % change year-on-year +2.72% -5.52% +10.53%
75th Percentile £598 £588 £602
90th Percentile £650 £688 £687
UK median daily rate £523 £497 £525
% change year-on-year +5.23% -5.33% +0.96%
Number of hourly rates quoted 66 55 18
10th Percentile £15.00 - £13.65
25th Percentile £16.17 £12.62 £17.02
Median hourly rate £57.50 £20.83 £23.37
Median % change year-on-year +176.04% -10.87% +9.67%
75th Percentile £83.75 £22.35 £42.81
90th Percentile £102.75 £33.75 £49.13
UK median hourly rate £60.00 £20.83 £26.00
% change year-on-year +188.05% -19.88% -26.24%

All Process & Methodology Skills
UK excluding London

Service Management falls under the Processes and Methodologies category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract job vacancies requiring process or methodology skills in the UK excluding London.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for process or methodology skills 21,670 12,786 17,522
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK excluding London 81.97% 89.84% 82.84%
Number of daily rates quoted 12,830 7,820 10,327
10th Percentile £300 £235 £250
25th Percentile £405 £366 £381
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £475 £500
Median % change year-on-year +5.26% -5.00% -
75th Percentile £590 £575 £600
90th Percentile £680 £650 £688
UK median daily rate £515 £505 £525
% change year-on-year +1.98% -3.81% -4.55%
Number of hourly rates quoted 2,287 1,083 2,147
10th Percentile £14.25 £14.14 £12.50
25th Percentile £19.33 £16.95 £15.62
Median hourly rate £44.50 £24.66 £38.12
Median % change year-on-year +80.45% -35.31% +8.91%
75th Percentile £68.00 £53.00 £61.60
90th Percentile £81.05 £72.50 £73.75
UK median hourly rate £43.96 £25.15 £37.50
% change year-on-year +74.79% -32.93% -

Service Management
Job Vacancy Trend in the UK excluding London

Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings citing Service Management relative to all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK excluding London.

Service Management job vacancy trend in the UK excluding London

Service Management
Daily Rate Trend in the UK excluding London

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK excluding London citing Service Management.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK excluding London citing Service Management

Service Management
Daily Rate Histogram in the UK excluding London

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Service Management in the UK excluding London over the 6 months to 4 July 2026.

Daily rate histogram for Service Management in the UK excluding London

Service Management
Hourly Rate Trend in the UK excluding London

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK excluding London citing Service Management.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK excluding London citing Service Management

Service Management
Hourly Rate Histogram in the UK excluding London

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Service Management in the UK excluding London over the 6 months to 4 July 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for Service Management in the UK excluding London

Service Management
Contract Job Locations in the UK excluding London

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing Service Management within the UK excluding London region over the 6 months to 4 July 2026. The 'Rank Change' column provides an indication of the change in demand within each location based on the same 6 month period last year.

Location Rank Change
on Same Period
Last Year
Matching
Contract
IT Job Ads
Median
Daily Rate
Past 6 Months
Median Daily Rate
% Change
on Same Period
Last Year
Live
Jobs
South East +28 222 £538 +43.33% 123
North of England -21 205 £475 +2.43% 95
South West -31 120 £513 -8.89% 49
North West -23 115 £513 +4.17% 49
Midlands -45 85 £475 -2.06% 56
Yorkshire -24 83 £450 +5.88% 37
West Midlands -47 75 £477 -6.01% 37
Scotland -19 57 £500 - 17
East of England -29 42 £513 -6.82% 29
Wales -10 13 £800 +188.29% 8
East Midlands -17 10 £315 -27.75% 19
North East -34 7 £440 +125.64% 11
Northern Ireland +5 5 - - 7
Service Management
UK

Service Management
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the UK excluding London by Category

The following tables expand on the one above by listing co-occurrences grouped by category. They cover the same employment type, locality and period, with up to 20 co-occurrences shown in each category:

Application Platforms
1 40 (5.39%) SharePoint
2 29 (3.91%) Microsoft Exchange
3 23 (3.10%) Confluence
4 11 (1.48%) Skype for Business
5 6 (0.81%) Mattermost
6 3 (0.40%) OpenStack
7 2 (0.27%) IIS
8 1 (0.13%) Apache
8 1 (0.13%) CMS
8 1 (0.13%) JBoss
8 1 (0.13%) LiveCycle
Applications
1 50 (6.74%) Microsoft Office
2 17 (2.29%) Microsoft Excel
3 8 (1.08%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 4 (0.54%) Chatbot
4 4 (0.54%) PTC Creo
5 3 (0.40%) Microsoft Project
6 2 (0.27%) MS Visio
7 1 (0.13%) Camtasia
Business Applications
1 47 (6.33%) Remedy ITSM
2 10 (1.35%) SAP S/4HANA
3 8 (1.08%) Teamcenter
4 5 (0.67%) ContrOCC
5 2 (0.27%) Oracle Applications
5 2 (0.27%) Primavera
6 1 (0.13%) NetSuite
6 1 (0.13%) SAP HR
6 1 (0.13%) SAP Payroll
Cloud Services
1 108 (14.56%) Azure
2 73 (9.84%) Microsoft 365
3 44 (5.93%) Power Platform
4 35 (4.72%) Entra ID
5 34 (4.58%) AWS
6 19 (2.56%) OneDrive
7 18 (2.43%) Azure DevOps
7 18 (2.43%) GCP
7 18 (2.43%) SaaS
8 9 (1.21%) PaaS
9 7 (0.94%) Microsoft Copilot
9 7 (0.94%) OCI
10 5 (0.67%) Azure Machine Learning
10 5 (0.67%) Azure Synapse Analytics
10 5 (0.67%) Google App Engine
11 4 (0.54%) Azure AKS
11 4 (0.54%) Dynamics 365
11 4 (0.54%) GitHub
11 4 (0.54%) IaaS
12 3 (0.40%) Azure Monitor
Communications & Networking
1 32 (4.31%) Firewall
2 31 (4.18%) DNS
3 28 (3.77%) LAN
4 21 (2.83%) DHCP
4 21 (2.83%) WAN
5 16 (2.16%) VPN
6 15 (2.02%) Network Security
7 14 (1.89%) BGP
7 14 (1.89%) Wireless
8 13 (1.75%) OSPF
9 12 (1.62%) BIG-IP
9 12 (1.62%) Cisco ISE
9 12 (1.62%) Wi-Fi
10 11 (1.48%) Skype
10 11 (1.48%) VLAN
11 10 (1.35%) Junos
12 9 (1.21%) TCP/IP
12 9 (1.21%) VXLAN
13 8 (1.08%) Ethernet VPN
14 5 (0.67%) SSL
Database & Business Intelligence
1 39 (5.26%) Power BI
2 14 (1.89%) SQL Server
3 5 (0.67%) Oracle Reports
3 5 (0.67%) PostgreSQL
3 5 (0.67%) Relational Database
4 4 (0.54%) MySQL
4 4 (0.54%) SQL Server Integration Services
5 3 (0.40%) Azure SQL Database
5 3 (0.40%) MariaDB
5 3 (0.40%) SQL Server Analysis Services
5 3 (0.40%) SQL Server Reporting Services
6 2 (0.27%) Amazon RDS
6 2 (0.27%) Microsoft Analysis Services
6 2 (0.27%) Oracle Database
7 1 (0.13%) Amazon Aurora
7 1 (0.13%) DTS
7 1 (0.13%) GIS
7 1 (0.13%) InfluxDB
7 1 (0.13%) OpenStack Swift
7 1 (0.13%) Oracle Database 11g
Development Applications
1 70 (9.43%) JIRA
2 14 (1.89%) Git
3 7 (0.94%) Jenkins
4 6 (0.81%) Bitbucket
4 6 (0.81%) GitLab
5 5 (0.67%) Atlassian Bamboo
5 5 (0.67%) Browser DevTools
6 4 (0.54%) MLflow
7 3 (0.40%) Fiddler
8 2 (0.27%) Firebug
8 2 (0.27%) IntelliJ
8 2 (0.27%) Rational DOORS
8 2 (0.27%) webpack
9 1 (0.13%) Gemini Tracker
9 1 (0.13%) Gradle
9 1 (0.13%) Hudson
9 1 (0.13%) IBM UrbanCode
9 1 (0.13%) Maven
9 1 (0.13%) MSI
9 1 (0.13%) Visual Studio Code
General
1 254 (34.23%) Social Skills
2 110 (14.82%) Finance
3 102 (13.75%) Analytical Skills
4 71 (9.57%) Public Sector
5 36 (4.85%) Legal
6 26 (3.50%) Influencing Skills
7 21 (2.83%) Documentation Skills
8 20 (2.70%) Telecoms
9 19 (2.56%) Military
10 18 (2.43%) Organisational Skills
11 15 (2.02%) Inclusion and Diversity
12 14 (1.89%) Aerospace
13 12 (1.62%) Banking
13 12 (1.62%) Presentation Skills
14 11 (1.48%) Local Government
15 9 (1.21%) Retail
16 5 (0.67%) Financial Institution
17 3 (0.40%) Publishing
18 1 (0.13%) Games
18 1 (0.13%) Manufacturing
Job Titles
1 94 (12.67%) Analyst
2 92 (12.40%) Service Manager
3 79 (10.65%) Lead
4 58 (7.82%) Senior
5 46 (6.20%) Architect
6 45 (6.06%) IT Manager
6 45 (6.06%) Service Analyst
7 29 (3.91%) Delivery Manager
7 29 (3.91%) Project Manager
8 25 (3.37%) Network Engineer
9 23 (3.10%) IT Analyst
10 22 (2.96%) Consultant
10 22 (2.96%) IT Services Manager
11 21 (2.83%) Service Delivery Manager
11 21 (2.83%) Support Engineer
12 19 (2.56%) Administrator
12 19 (2.56%) Service Transition Manager
12 19 (2.56%) Transition Manager
13 17 (2.29%) Designer
13 17 (2.29%) Infrastructure Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 21 (2.83%) REST
2 9 (1.21%) OAuth
2 9 (1.21%) SOAP
3 8 (1.08%) 802.1X
4 5 (0.67%) OpenID
4 5 (0.67%) Oracle Fusion
4 5 (0.67%) SAML
4 5 (0.67%) XML
5 4 (0.54%) Middleware
5 4 (0.54%) OAuth2
5 4 (0.54%) Software Packaging
5 4 (0.54%) XMPP
6 3 (0.40%) .NET
6 3 (0.40%) CSS
6 3 (0.40%) Elastic Stack
6 3 (0.40%) FIDO
6 3 (0.40%) Flash
6 3 (0.40%) HTML
6 3 (0.40%) JSON
6 3 (0.40%) Microsoft Graph
Miscellaneous
1 54 (7.28%) Onboarding
2 45 (6.06%) CMDB
3 38 (5.12%) Product Ownership
4 29 (3.91%) Management Information System
5 28 (3.77%) Data Centre
6 26 (3.50%) PKI
7 22 (2.96%) Clustering
8 18 (2.43%) Virtual Team
9 17 (2.29%) Enterprise Software
10 15 (2.02%) Data Protection Act
11 12 (1.62%) Analytical Mindset
11 12 (1.62%) Operational Technology
12 11 (1.48%) Driving Licence
12 11 (1.48%) Self-Motivation
13 8 (1.08%) Cyber Threat
13 8 (1.08%) PMI
13 8 (1.08%) Replication
13 8 (1.08%) Security Posture
14 6 (0.81%) Distributed Systems
14 6 (0.81%) Smartphone
Operating Systems
1 168 (22.64%) Windows
2 37 (4.99%) Linux
2 37 (4.99%) Windows 10
3 31 (4.18%) Windows Server
4 15 (2.02%) Windows 7
5 11 (1.48%) Unix
6 9 (1.21%) Mac OS
7 5 (0.67%) Android
7 5 (0.67%) Apple iOS
7 5 (0.67%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
8 3 (0.40%) Windows XP
9 2 (0.27%) Solaris
9 2 (0.27%) Ubuntu
10 1 (0.13%) Rocky
10 1 (0.13%) Windows Server 2008
10 1 (0.13%) Windows Server 2012
10 1 (0.13%) Windows Server 2016
10 1 (0.13%) Windows Server 2019
10 1 (0.13%) zOS
Processes & Methodologies
1 423 (57.01%) ITIL
2 329 (44.34%) ITSM
3 192 (25.88%) Continuous Improvement
4 180 (24.26%) Stakeholder Management
5 160 (21.56%) Service Delivery
6 146 (19.68%) Agile
7 145 (19.54%) Problem-Solving
8 113 (15.23%) Stakeholder Engagement
9 105 (14.15%) Change Management
10 84 (11.32%) Customer Service
11 72 (9.70%) DevOps
12 64 (8.63%) Incident Management
13 63 (8.49%) Problem Management
14 60 (8.09%) Configuration Management
14 60 (8.09%) Cybersecurity
14 60 (8.09%) Roadmaps
15 59 (7.95%) Project Delivery
16 48 (6.47%) Decision-Making
17 47 (6.33%) Risk Management
18 45 (6.06%) Data Protection
Programming Languages
1 64 (8.63%) PowerShell
2 43 (5.80%) Python
3 39 (5.26%) SQL
4 20 (2.70%) JavaScript
5 15 (2.02%) Bash
6 11 (1.48%) VB
6 11 (1.48%) VBScript
7 6 (0.81%) Java
8 4 (0.54%) C#
8 4 (0.54%) Perl
8 4 (0.54%) PL/SQL
8 4 (0.54%) T-SQL
9 3 (0.40%) Shell Script
10 2 (0.27%) Apex Code
10 2 (0.27%) C
10 2 (0.27%) Search Processing Language
10 2 (0.27%) TypeScript
11 1 (0.13%) Bicep
11 1 (0.13%) Go
11 1 (0.13%) Lua
Qualifications
1 340 (45.82%) Security Cleared
2 217 (29.25%) SC Cleared
3 122 (16.44%) DV Cleared
4 65 (8.76%) Degree
5 37 (4.99%) ITIL Certification
6 24 (3.23%) Cisco Certification
7 18 (2.43%) PMI Certification
8 17 (2.29%) BPSS Clearance
9 16 (2.16%) Computer Science Degree
9 16 (2.16%) PMP
10 14 (1.89%) Microsoft Certification
11 13 (1.75%) CCNA
12 12 (1.62%) A+ Certification
13 10 (1.35%) CCNP
14 9 (1.21%) DBS Check
14 9 (1.21%) JNCIA
14 9 (1.21%) JNCIP
14 9 (1.21%) JNCIS
14 9 (1.21%) Network+ Certification
15 8 (1.08%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 48 (6.47%) SLA
2 30 (4.04%) Data Quality
3 22 (2.96%) ISO/IEC 27001
3 22 (2.96%) PMO
4 20 (2.70%) ISO/IEC 20000
5 17 (2.29%) QA
6 16 (2.16%) NCSC
7 13 (1.75%) GDPR
7 13 (1.75%) GRC
8 11 (1.48%) ISO 9001
9 9 (1.21%) COBIT
10 7 (0.94%) Government Security Classifications
11 6 (0.81%) Cyber Essentials
11 6 (0.81%) Disclosure Scotland
11 6 (0.81%) ISO 31000
11 6 (0.81%) ISO/IEC 27005
12 5 (0.67%) Accessibility
13 4 (0.54%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
13 4 (0.54%) GMP
13 4 (0.54%) NIST
System Software
1 86 (11.59%) Active Directory
2 37 (4.99%) VMware Infrastructure
3 16 (2.16%) VMware ESXi
4 12 (1.62%) BitLocker
5 10 (1.35%) Docker
6 7 (0.94%) VMware NSX
6 7 (0.94%) vSphere
7 6 (0.81%) vCloud
8 5 (0.67%) Virtual Machines
9 4 (0.54%) Hyper-V
9 4 (0.54%) NFS
10 3 (0.40%) Firmware
10 3 (0.40%) Virtual Desktop
11 2 (0.27%) GPFS
11 2 (0.27%) KVM
12 1 (0.13%) iptables
12 1 (0.13%) Oracle RAC
12 1 (0.13%) Samba
12 1 (0.13%) Slurm Workload Manager
Systems Management
1 43 (5.80%) SCCM
2 35 (4.72%) Microsoft Intune
3 20 (2.70%) Ansible
4 12 (1.62%) Terraform
5 9 (1.21%) Kubernetes
5 9 (1.21%) SCOM
6 8 (1.08%) FortiGate
6 8 (1.08%) Jamf Pro
6 8 (1.08%) Single Sign-On
6 8 (1.08%) vCenter Server
7 4 (0.54%) PowerCLI
7 4 (0.54%) Progress Chef
7 4 (0.54%) vMotion
8 3 (0.40%) Cisco Prime
8 3 (0.40%) Dell DRAC
8 3 (0.40%) Grafana
8 3 (0.40%) Puppet
8 3 (0.40%) Systems Management Server (SMS)
8 3 (0.40%) vRealize
9 2 (0.27%) Nagios
Vendors
1 177 (23.85%) ServiceNow
2 137 (18.46%) Microsoft
3 49 (6.60%) Remedy
3 49 (6.60%) VMware
4 34 (4.58%) Cisco
5 25 (3.37%) BMC
6 19 (2.56%) SolarWinds
7 18 (2.43%) Splunk
8 17 (2.29%) Oracle
9 16 (2.16%) SAP
10 13 (1.75%) HP
11 12 (1.62%) Dell
11 12 (1.62%) F5
11 12 (1.62%) Juniper
12 10 (1.35%) Atlassian
12 10 (1.35%) Canon
12 10 (1.35%) Dynatrace
12 10 (1.35%) Qualys
13 9 (1.21%) IBM
13 9 (1.21%) IFS