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 8 August 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
8 Aug 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 74 54 61
Rank change year-on-year -20 +7 +5
Contract jobs citing Service Management 824 625 577
As % of all contract jobs in the UK excluding London 3.01% 4.11% 3.15%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 3.68% 4.60% 3.79%
Number of daily rates quoted 540 367 420
10th Percentile £237 £200 £212
25th Percentile £413 £313 £425
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £519 £492 £525
Median % change year-on-year +5.44% -6.29% +10.53%
75th Percentile £610 £575 £600
90th Percentile £725 £649 £650
UK median daily rate £525 £492 £525
% change year-on-year +6.71% -6.29% +2.44%
Number of hourly rates quoted 76 71 16
10th Percentile £14.50 - £17.09
25th Percentile £16.17 £12.62 £20.31
Median hourly rate £55.00 £18.73 £27.50
Median % change year-on-year +193.65% -31.89% +29.05%
75th Percentile £85.00 £22.14 £48.75
90th Percentile £93.77 £54.01 £51.88
UK median hourly rate £57.50 £18.73 £27.50
% change year-on-year +206.99% -31.89% -43.30%

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 22,379 13,577 15,236
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK excluding London 81.65% 89.25% 83.17%
Number of daily rates quoted 13,112 8,198 9,145
10th Percentile £300 £240 £250
25th Percentile £406 £369 £388
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £475 £500
Median % change year-on-year +5.26% -5.00% -
75th Percentile £594 £575 £600
90th Percentile £688 £650 £688
UK median daily rate £525 £500 £525
% change year-on-year +5.00% -4.76% -4.11%
Number of hourly rates quoted 2,423 1,309 1,574
10th Percentile £14.11 £13.85 £13.69
25th Percentile £18.32 £17.00 £16.50
Median hourly rate £43.96 £23.10 £41.25
Median % change year-on-year +90.30% -44.00% +7.56%
75th Percentile £68.00 £46.18 £65.00
90th Percentile £82.25 £70.16 £75.00
UK median hourly rate £42.50 £25.15 £40.50
% change year-on-year +68.99% -37.90% -4.71%

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 8 August 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 8 August 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 8 August 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 +25 280 £560 +10.62% 152
North of England -35 202 £447 -0.11% 99
South West -26 121 £536 -0.69% 46
North West -34 114 £480 +3.17% 55
Midlands -42 98 £495 +2.06% 62
West Midlands -34 91 £495 -2.94% 38
Yorkshire -22 83 £443 +26.57% 33
Scotland -4 67 £500 +1.42% 21
East of England -15 43 £563 +2.27% 41
Wales -8 12 £800 +247.83% 12
Northern Ireland +12 8 - - 11
East Midlands -20 7 £450 +50.00% 25
North East -44 5 £440 +125.64% 12
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 44 (5.34%) SharePoint
2 29 (3.52%) Confluence
3 26 (3.16%) Microsoft Exchange
4 8 (0.97%) Skype for Business
5 6 (0.73%) Mattermost
6 4 (0.49%) OpenStack
7 3 (0.36%) CMS
8 2 (0.24%) IIS
9 1 (0.12%) Apache
9 1 (0.12%) JBoss
Applications
1 55 (6.67%) Microsoft Office
2 20 (2.43%) Microsoft Excel
3 15 (1.82%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 4 (0.49%) Chatbot
5 2 (0.24%) Microsoft Project
5 2 (0.24%) MS Visio
6 1 (0.12%) Camtasia
6 1 (0.12%) Maple
Business Applications
1 52 (6.31%) Remedy ITSM
2 5 (0.61%) ContrOCC
3 4 (0.49%) SAP S/4HANA
4 3 (0.36%) NEC Housing
4 3 (0.36%) Teamcenter
5 2 (0.24%) Oracle Applications
5 2 (0.24%) Primavera
5 2 (0.24%) Remedy AR System
6 1 (0.12%) SAP HR
6 1 (0.12%) SAP Payroll
Cloud Services
1 125 (15.17%) Azure
2 85 (10.32%) Microsoft 365
3 51 (6.19%) Entra ID
4 45 (5.46%) Power Platform
5 42 (5.10%) AWS
6 25 (3.03%) SaaS
7 20 (2.43%) Azure DevOps
7 20 (2.43%) OneDrive
8 18 (2.18%) GCP
9 11 (1.33%) Microsoft Copilot
9 11 (1.33%) OCI
10 10 (1.21%) Azure Monitor
11 9 (1.09%) GitHub
12 7 (0.85%) PaaS
13 6 (0.73%) Azure AKS
13 6 (0.73%) Google App Engine
13 6 (0.73%) IaaS
14 5 (0.61%) Azure Machine Learning
14 5 (0.61%) Azure Sentinel
14 5 (0.61%) Azure Synapse Analytics
Communications & Networking
1 47 (5.70%) Firewall
2 38 (4.61%) DNS
3 24 (2.91%) DHCP
4 23 (2.79%) LAN
4 23 (2.79%) Network Security
4 23 (2.79%) VPN
5 19 (2.31%) TCP/IP
6 18 (2.18%) WAN
7 17 (2.06%) BGP
8 15 (1.82%) OSPF
9 14 (1.70%) Wireless
10 12 (1.46%) Cisco ISE
11 11 (1.33%) BIG-IP
12 10 (1.21%) Junos
12 10 (1.21%) VXLAN
13 9 (1.09%) Ethernet VPN
13 9 (1.09%) SSH
14 8 (0.97%) Skype
15 7 (0.85%) VLAN
16 5 (0.61%) Intrusion Detection
Database & Business Intelligence
1 37 (4.49%) Power BI
2 20 (2.43%) SQL Server
3 7 (0.85%) SQL Server Integration Services
4 6 (0.73%) MySQL
5 5 (0.61%) MariaDB
5 5 (0.61%) Oracle Reports
5 5 (0.61%) PostgreSQL
5 5 (0.61%) Relational Database
5 5 (0.61%) SQL Server Reporting Services
6 4 (0.49%) Amazon RDS
6 4 (0.49%) SQL Server Analysis Services
7 3 (0.36%) Amazon Aurora
7 3 (0.36%) Azure SQL Database
8 2 (0.24%) Microsoft Analysis Services
8 2 (0.24%) Oracle Database
9 1 (0.12%) Data Warehouse
9 1 (0.12%) DTS
9 1 (0.12%) EDRMS
9 1 (0.12%) OpenStack Swift
9 1 (0.12%) Oracle Database 11g
Development Applications
1 76 (9.22%) JIRA
2 17 (2.06%) Git
3 13 (1.58%) Bitbucket
4 12 (1.46%) Atlassian Bamboo
5 10 (1.21%) Jenkins
6 7 (0.85%) GitLab
7 5 (0.61%) Browser DevTools
8 4 (0.49%) MLflow
8 4 (0.49%) Rational DOORS
8 4 (0.49%) webpack
9 3 (0.36%) Fiddler
9 3 (0.36%) Gradle
9 3 (0.36%) Maven
10 2 (0.24%) Firebug
10 2 (0.24%) IntelliJ
10 2 (0.24%) Sonatype Nexus
11 1 (0.12%) Gemini Tracker
11 1 (0.12%) Hudson
11 1 (0.12%) IBM UrbanCode
11 1 (0.12%) Visual Studio Code
General
1 310 (37.62%) Social Skills
2 121 (14.68%) Analytical Skills
3 116 (14.08%) Finance
4 84 (10.19%) Public Sector
5 37 (4.49%) Influencing Skills
6 32 (3.88%) Legal
7 31 (3.76%) Documentation Skills
8 25 (3.03%) Military
9 22 (2.67%) Organisational Skills
10 20 (2.43%) Telecoms
11 17 (2.06%) Aerospace
12 15 (1.82%) Banking
12 15 (1.82%) Inclusion and Diversity
12 15 (1.82%) Presentation Skills
13 14 (1.70%) Local Government
14 4 (0.49%) Financial Institution
14 4 (0.49%) Law
15 3 (0.36%) Police
15 3 (0.36%) Publishing
15 3 (0.36%) Retail
Job Titles
1 95 (11.53%) Analyst
1 95 (11.53%) Lead
2 78 (9.47%) Service Manager
3 75 (9.10%) Senior
4 56 (6.80%) Architect
5 48 (5.83%) IT Manager
6 46 (5.58%) Service Analyst
7 31 (3.76%) Delivery Manager
7 31 (3.76%) Support Engineer
8 29 (3.52%) Project Manager
9 27 (3.28%) Network Engineer
10 26 (3.16%) Service Architect
11 25 (3.03%) Consultant
12 22 (2.67%) Infrastructure Engineer
13 21 (2.55%) Administrator
13 21 (2.55%) IT Services Manager
13 21 (2.55%) Service Delivery Manager
14 20 (2.43%) IT Analyst
14 20 (2.43%) Transition Manager
15 19 (2.31%) Developer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 31 (3.76%) REST
2 12 (1.46%) SOAP
3 9 (1.09%) OAuth
4 8 (0.97%) 802.1X
4 8 (0.97%) SAML
5 6 (0.73%) Middleware
6 5 (0.61%) ARM Templates
6 5 (0.61%) OpenID
6 5 (0.61%) Oracle Fusion
6 5 (0.61%) Web Services
6 5 (0.61%) XML
7 4 (0.49%) .NET
7 4 (0.49%) AngularJS
7 4 (0.49%) Node.js
7 4 (0.49%) OAuth2
7 4 (0.49%) React
7 4 (0.49%) Redux
7 4 (0.49%) RESTful
7 4 (0.49%) XMPP
8 3 (0.36%) HTML
Miscellaneous
1 73 (8.86%) Onboarding
2 38 (4.61%) Management Information System
3 37 (4.49%) CMDB
4 36 (4.37%) Product Ownership
5 31 (3.76%) PKI
6 25 (3.03%) Clustering
6 25 (3.03%) Data Centre
7 23 (2.79%) Enterprise Software
8 16 (1.94%) Data Protection Act
9 15 (1.82%) Hybrid Cloud
9 15 (1.82%) Operational Technology
10 14 (1.70%) Analytical Mindset
10 14 (1.70%) Self-Motivation
11 13 (1.58%) Virtual Team
12 10 (1.21%) Cloud Native
13 8 (0.97%) Cyber Threat
13 8 (0.97%) Replication
14 7 (0.85%) Driving Licence
14 7 (0.85%) Security Posture
14 7 (0.85%) Video Conferencing
Operating Systems
1 181 (21.97%) Windows
2 52 (6.31%) Windows Server
3 47 (5.70%) Linux
4 31 (3.76%) Windows 10
5 12 (1.46%) Unix
6 10 (1.21%) Windows 7
7 9 (1.09%) Mac OS
8 7 (0.85%) Android
8 7 (0.85%) Apple iOS
9 5 (0.61%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
10 3 (0.36%) Windows Server 2012
11 2 (0.24%) Solaris
11 2 (0.24%) Ubuntu
11 2 (0.24%) Windows XP
12 1 (0.12%) Rocky
12 1 (0.12%) Windows Server 2008
12 1 (0.12%) Windows Server 2016
12 1 (0.12%) Windows Server 2019
12 1 (0.12%) zOS
Processes & Methodologies
1 471 (57.16%) ITIL
2 373 (45.27%) ITSM
3 224 (27.18%) Continuous Improvement
4 212 (25.73%) Stakeholder Management
5 206 (25.00%) Service Delivery
6 167 (20.27%) Agile
7 163 (19.78%) Problem-Solving
8 130 (15.78%) Change Management
9 122 (14.81%) Stakeholder Engagement
10 96 (11.65%) Customer Service
11 89 (10.80%) DevOps
12 84 (10.19%) Incident Management
13 75 (9.10%) Cybersecurity
14 71 (8.62%) Project Delivery
15 66 (8.01%) Service Design
16 65 (7.89%) Roadmaps
17 59 (7.16%) Risk Management
18 58 (7.04%) Project Management
19 56 (6.80%) CI/CD
20 55 (6.67%) Computer Science
Programming Languages
1 77 (9.34%) PowerShell
2 52 (6.31%) Python
3 43 (5.22%) SQL
4 30 (3.64%) Bash
5 24 (2.91%) JavaScript
6 10 (1.21%) Java
7 8 (0.97%) VB
7 8 (0.97%) VBScript
8 6 (0.73%) Bicep
9 4 (0.49%) C
9 4 (0.49%) C#
9 4 (0.49%) PL/SQL
9 4 (0.49%) Shell Script
9 4 (0.49%) T-SQL
9 4 (0.49%) TypeScript
10 3 (0.36%) Groovy
10 3 (0.36%) Lua
10 3 (0.36%) Perl
11 2 (0.24%) Apex Code
11 2 (0.24%) Search Processing Language
Qualifications
1 391 (47.45%) Security Cleared
2 239 (29.00%) SC Cleared
3 133 (16.14%) DV Cleared
4 89 (10.80%) Degree
5 36 (4.37%) ITIL Certification
6 26 (3.16%) BPSS Clearance
6 26 (3.16%) PMP
7 25 (3.03%) PMI Certification
8 24 (2.91%) Cisco Certification
9 16 (1.94%) Computer Science Degree
10 15 (1.82%) Microsoft Certification
11 13 (1.58%) DBS Check
12 12 (1.46%) CCNA
12 12 (1.46%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
13 10 (1.21%) A+ Certification
14 9 (1.09%) CCNP
14 9 (1.09%) CISM
14 9 (1.09%) CISSP
14 9 (1.09%) JNCIA
14 9 (1.09%) JNCIS
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 55 (6.67%) SLA
2 30 (3.64%) ISO/IEC 20000
3 25 (3.03%) Data Quality
4 22 (2.67%) PMO
5 20 (2.43%) ISO/IEC 27001
5 20 (2.43%) QA
6 18 (2.18%) GRC
6 18 (2.18%) NCSC
7 15 (1.82%) ISO 9001
8 12 (1.46%) GDPR
9 10 (1.21%) COBIT
10 9 (1.09%) Disclosure Scotland
11 7 (0.85%) Cyber Essentials
11 7 (0.85%) Government Security Classifications
12 6 (0.73%) ISO 31000
12 6 (0.73%) ISO/IEC 27005
13 5 (0.61%) Accessibility
13 5 (0.61%) JSP 440
13 5 (0.61%) NIST
14 4 (0.49%) GMP
System Software
1 95 (11.53%) Active Directory
2 46 (5.58%) VMware Infrastructure
3 21 (2.55%) VMware ESXi
4 16 (1.94%) Docker
5 15 (1.82%) VMware NSX
6 11 (1.33%) Hyper-V
7 10 (1.21%) vCloud
8 9 (1.09%) BitLocker
8 9 (1.09%) vSphere
9 8 (0.97%) Virtual Desktop
10 5 (0.61%) Virtual Machines
11 4 (0.49%) NFS
12 3 (0.36%) Firmware
13 2 (0.24%) GPFS
13 2 (0.24%) KVM
13 2 (0.24%) Microsoft Virtual Server
13 2 (0.24%) Virtual Servers
14 1 (0.12%) iptables
14 1 (0.12%) Oracle RAC
14 1 (0.12%) Slurm Workload Manager
Systems Management
1 42 (5.10%) Microsoft Intune
2 41 (4.98%) SCCM
3 31 (3.76%) Terraform
4 28 (3.40%) Ansible
5 15 (1.82%) SCOM
6 14 (1.70%) Kubernetes
7 13 (1.58%) vCenter Server
8 9 (1.09%) Single Sign-On
9 8 (0.97%) FortiGate
10 6 (0.73%) Jamf Pro
11 5 (0.61%) Progress Chef
12 4 (0.49%) PowerCLI
12 4 (0.49%) Puppet
12 4 (0.49%) vMotion
13 3 (0.36%) Cisco Prime
13 3 (0.36%) Dell DRAC
13 3 (0.36%) Grafana
13 3 (0.36%) NetBackup
13 3 (0.36%) Systems Management Server (SMS)
13 3 (0.36%) vRealize
Vendors
1 210 (25.49%) ServiceNow
2 167 (20.27%) Microsoft
3 65 (7.89%) VMware
4 54 (6.55%) Remedy
5 41 (4.98%) Cisco
6 31 (3.76%) BMC
7 20 (2.43%) Oracle
8 19 (2.31%) Splunk
9 18 (2.18%) Atlassian
9 18 (2.18%) SolarWinds
10 15 (1.82%) Juniper
11 14 (1.70%) Dynatrace
12 12 (1.46%) F5
13 11 (1.33%) CyberArk
13 11 (1.33%) IBM
13 11 (1.33%) SAP
14 10 (1.21%) Palo Alto
14 10 (1.21%) Qualys
15 9 (1.09%) Dell
15 9 (1.09%) IFS