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

6 months to
21 Aug 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 68 57 60
Rank change year-on-year -11 +3 +6
Contract jobs citing Service Management 872 625 566
As % of all contract jobs in the UK excluding London 3.16% 4.08% 3.10%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 3.90% 4.58% 3.74%
Number of daily rates quoted 589 368 408
10th Percentile £230 £195 £200
25th Percentile £413 £308 £425
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £497 £525
Median % change year-on-year +5.74% -5.43% +8.53%
75th Percentile £620 £575 £600
90th Percentile £725 £641 £650
UK median daily rate £525 £492 £525
% change year-on-year +6.71% -6.29% +1.94%
Number of hourly rates quoted 70 73 16
10th Percentile £14.50 - £17.09
25th Percentile £16.43 £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 £28.00 £48.75
90th Percentile £95.68 £33.75 £51.88
UK median hourly rate £55.00 £18.73 £27.50
% change year-on-year +193.65% -31.89% -34.33%

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 22,349 13,655 15,117
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK excluding London 81.09% 89.21% 82.85%
Number of daily rates quoted 13,030 8,232 9,022
10th Percentile £300 £238 £250
25th Percentile £406 £367 £390
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% -3.58%
Number of hourly rates quoted 2,473 1,374 1,483
10th Percentile £14.00 £13.93 £13.69
25th Percentile £17.72 £17.26 £16.30
Median hourly rate £43.96 £24.00 £41.50
Median % change year-on-year +83.17% -42.17% +12.54%
75th Percentile £68.00 £46.18 £65.00
90th Percentile £80.00 £70.00 £75.00
UK median hourly rate £42.00 £25.15 £40.50
% change year-on-year +67.00% -37.90% -1.22%

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 21 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 21 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 21 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 +17 285 £565 +13.00% 150
North of England -22 241 £475 +4.86% 95
North West -17 147 £485 +3.14% 59
South West -34 117 £551 +5.00% 37
Midlands -43 98 £500 -1.96% 70
West Midlands -36 92 £500 -4.76% 44
Yorkshire -19 87 £438 +23.24% 29
Scotland +7 82 £516 +10.67% 15
East of England -8 45 £525 -4.55% 35
Wales -10 13 £800 +247.83% 9
Northern Ireland +7 8 - - 9
North East -35 7 £500 +156.41% 7
East Midlands -30 6 £250 -16.67% 27
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 45 (5.16%) SharePoint
2 32 (3.67%) Microsoft Exchange
3 31 (3.56%) Confluence
4 15 (1.72%) Skype for Business
5 4 (0.46%) OpenStack
6 3 (0.34%) CMS
7 2 (0.23%) IIS
8 1 (0.11%) Apache
8 1 (0.11%) JBoss
8 1 (0.11%) Mattermost
Applications
1 63 (7.22%) Microsoft Office
2 19 (2.18%) Microsoft Excel
3 13 (1.49%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 5 (0.57%) Chatbot
5 3 (0.34%) Microsoft Project
6 2 (0.23%) MS Visio
6 2 (0.23%) Spreadsheet
7 1 (0.11%) Maple
Business Applications
1 47 (5.39%) Remedy ITSM
2 5 (0.57%) ContrOCC
3 4 (0.46%) SAP S/4HANA
4 3 (0.34%) NEC Housing
4 3 (0.34%) Workday HCM
5 2 (0.23%) Oracle Applications
5 2 (0.23%) Oracle EBS
5 2 (0.23%) Primavera
5 2 (0.23%) Remedy AR System
5 2 (0.23%) Teamcenter
6 1 (0.11%) Cloudability
6 1 (0.11%) Salesforce CRM
6 1 (0.11%) SAP CX
6 1 (0.11%) SAP HR
6 1 (0.11%) SAP Payroll
Cloud Services
1 140 (16.06%) Azure
2 96 (11.01%) Microsoft 365
3 62 (7.11%) Entra ID
4 51 (5.85%) AWS
5 46 (5.28%) Power Platform
6 26 (2.98%) SaaS
7 20 (2.29%) OneDrive
8 19 (2.18%) Azure DevOps
8 19 (2.18%) GCP
9 12 (1.38%) Microsoft Copilot
10 11 (1.26%) Azure Monitor
11 9 (1.03%) GitHub
12 8 (0.92%) OCI
13 6 (0.69%) Azure AKS
13 6 (0.69%) IaaS
13 6 (0.69%) PaaS
14 5 (0.57%) Azure Machine Learning
14 5 (0.57%) Azure Sentinel
14 5 (0.57%) Azure Synapse Analytics
14 5 (0.57%) Rubrik
Communications & Networking
1 44 (5.05%) Firewall
2 38 (4.36%) DNS
3 31 (3.56%) VPN
4 26 (2.98%) DHCP
4 26 (2.98%) Network Security
5 22 (2.52%) LAN
5 22 (2.52%) TCP/IP
6 18 (2.06%) WAN
7 15 (1.72%) Skype
8 14 (1.61%) Wireless
9 12 (1.38%) VLAN
10 11 (1.26%) BGP
11 10 (1.15%) SSH
11 10 (1.15%) Wi-Fi
12 9 (1.03%) OSPF
13 7 (0.80%) Cisco ISE
13 7 (0.80%) Intrusion Detection
14 5 (0.57%) BIG-IP
14 5 (0.57%) Software-Defined Networking
14 5 (0.57%) VXLAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 38 (4.36%) Power BI
2 20 (2.29%) SQL Server
3 7 (0.80%) SQL Server Integration Services
4 6 (0.69%) MySQL
5 5 (0.57%) MariaDB
5 5 (0.57%) Oracle Reports
5 5 (0.57%) PostgreSQL
5 5 (0.57%) SQL Server Reporting Services
6 4 (0.46%) Amazon RDS
6 4 (0.46%) Relational Database
6 4 (0.46%) SQL Server Analysis Services
7 3 (0.34%) Amazon Aurora
7 3 (0.34%) Azure SQL Database
8 2 (0.23%) Looker
8 2 (0.23%) Microsoft Analysis Services
8 2 (0.23%) Oracle Database
9 1 (0.11%) Data Warehouse
9 1 (0.11%) DTS
9 1 (0.11%) EDRMS
9 1 (0.11%) Oracle Database 11g
Development Applications
1 73 (8.37%) JIRA
2 16 (1.83%) Git
3 14 (1.61%) Bitbucket
4 13 (1.49%) Atlassian Bamboo
5 11 (1.26%) Jenkins
6 5 (0.57%) Browser DevTools
6 5 (0.57%) GitLab
7 4 (0.46%) MLflow
7 4 (0.46%) webpack
8 3 (0.34%) Fiddler
8 3 (0.34%) Gradle
8 3 (0.34%) Maven
8 3 (0.34%) Rational DOORS
9 2 (0.23%) Firebug
9 2 (0.23%) IntelliJ
9 2 (0.23%) Sonatype Nexus
10 1 (0.11%) Artifactory
10 1 (0.11%) Hudson
10 1 (0.11%) IBM UrbanCode
10 1 (0.11%) Visual Studio Code
General
1 336 (38.53%) Social Skills
2 138 (15.83%) Analytical Skills
3 125 (14.33%) Finance
4 88 (10.09%) Public Sector
5 40 (4.59%) Documentation Skills
6 39 (4.47%) Influencing Skills
7 30 (3.44%) Legal
8 29 (3.33%) Organisational Skills
9 22 (2.52%) Military
10 21 (2.41%) Telecoms
11 18 (2.06%) Banking
12 17 (1.95%) Presentation Skills
13 16 (1.83%) Inclusion and Diversity
14 15 (1.72%) Aerospace
15 14 (1.61%) Local Government
16 4 (0.46%) Law
16 4 (0.46%) Retail
17 3 (0.34%) Financial Institution
17 3 (0.34%) Manufacturing
17 3 (0.34%) Publishing
Job Titles
1 103 (11.81%) Analyst
2 100 (11.47%) Lead
3 69 (7.91%) Service Manager
4 68 (7.80%) Senior
5 63 (7.22%) Architect
6 48 (5.50%) Service Analyst
7 43 (4.93%) IT Manager
8 35 (4.01%) Support Engineer
9 33 (3.78%) Consultant
10 32 (3.67%) Service Architect
11 30 (3.44%) Project Manager
12 29 (3.33%) Delivery Manager
13 23 (2.64%) Infrastructure Engineer
13 23 (2.64%) IT Analyst
13 23 (2.64%) Network Engineer
14 20 (2.29%) 2nd Line Support
14 20 (2.29%) Developer
14 20 (2.29%) IT Services Manager
15 19 (2.18%) Technical Leader
15 19 (2.18%) Transition Manager
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 33 (3.78%) Terraform
2 31 (3.56%) REST
3 11 (1.26%) SOAP
4 10 (1.15%) SAML
5 7 (0.80%) Middleware
5 7 (0.80%) OAuth
6 6 (0.69%) XML
7 5 (0.57%) .NET
7 5 (0.57%) ARM Templates
7 5 (0.57%) OpenID
7 5 (0.57%) Web Services
8 4 (0.46%) AngularJS
8 4 (0.46%) Node.js
8 4 (0.46%) OAuth2
8 4 (0.46%) Oracle Fusion
8 4 (0.46%) React
8 4 (0.46%) Redux
8 4 (0.46%) RESTful
9 3 (0.34%) Elastic Stack
9 3 (0.34%) Spring Boot
Miscellaneous
1 79 (9.06%) Onboarding
2 41 (4.70%) CMDB
3 40 (4.59%) Management Information System
4 32 (3.67%) Product Ownership
5 27 (3.10%) PKI
6 25 (2.87%) Data Centre
7 24 (2.75%) Enterprise Software
8 20 (2.29%) Data Protection Act
9 19 (2.18%) Clustering
10 17 (1.95%) Operational Technology
11 16 (1.83%) Hybrid Cloud
12 15 (1.72%) Analytical Mindset
13 13 (1.49%) Self-Motivation
14 12 (1.38%) Security Operations Centre
15 10 (1.15%) Cyber Threat
16 9 (1.03%) Cloud Native
16 9 (1.03%) NHS
16 9 (1.03%) Virtual Team
17 8 (0.92%) Replication
18 7 (0.80%) SCADA
Operating Systems
1 199 (22.82%) Windows
2 58 (6.65%) Windows Server
3 48 (5.50%) Linux
4 44 (5.05%) Windows 10
5 17 (1.95%) Windows 7
6 13 (1.49%) Unix
7 9 (1.03%) Android
7 9 (1.03%) Apple iOS
7 9 (1.03%) Mac OS
8 4 (0.46%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
9 3 (0.34%) Windows Server 2012
10 2 (0.23%) Solaris
10 2 (0.23%) Windows XP
11 1 (0.11%) Rocky
11 1 (0.11%) Ubuntu
11 1 (0.11%) Windows Server 2008
11 1 (0.11%) Windows Server 2016
11 1 (0.11%) Windows Server 2019
11 1 (0.11%) zOS
Processes & Methodologies
1 500 (57.34%) ITIL
2 381 (43.69%) ITSM
3 235 (26.95%) Stakeholder Management
4 234 (26.83%) Continuous Improvement
5 210 (24.08%) Service Delivery
6 171 (19.61%) Problem-Solving
7 170 (19.50%) Agile
8 135 (15.48%) Change Management
9 134 (15.37%) Stakeholder Engagement
10 101 (11.58%) Customer Service
11 98 (11.24%) Incident Management
12 93 (10.67%) Cybersecurity
13 82 (9.40%) DevOps
14 76 (8.72%) Service Design
15 75 (8.60%) Project Delivery
16 69 (7.91%) Roadmaps
17 63 (7.22%) Risk Management
18 61 (7.00%) Decision-Making
19 60 (6.88%) Data Protection
20 59 (6.77%) CI/CD
Programming Languages
1 89 (10.21%) PowerShell
2 58 (6.65%) Python
3 42 (4.82%) SQL
4 31 (3.56%) Bash
5 22 (2.52%) JavaScript
6 17 (1.95%) VBScript
7 15 (1.72%) VB
8 11 (1.26%) Java
9 6 (0.69%) Bicep
10 5 (0.57%) Shell Script
11 4 (0.46%) C
11 4 (0.46%) C#
11 4 (0.46%) PL/SQL
11 4 (0.46%) T-SQL
11 4 (0.46%) TypeScript
12 3 (0.34%) Groovy
12 3 (0.34%) Lua
12 3 (0.34%) Perl
13 2 (0.23%) Apex Code
14 1 (0.11%) Go
Qualifications
1 398 (45.64%) Security Cleared
2 247 (28.33%) SC Cleared
3 129 (14.79%) DV Cleared
4 92 (10.55%) Degree
5 36 (4.13%) ITIL Certification
6 27 (3.10%) BPSS Clearance
7 25 (2.87%) PMP
8 24 (2.75%) PMI Certification
9 21 (2.41%) Cisco Certification
10 18 (2.06%) Computer Science Degree
11 16 (1.83%) Microsoft Certification
12 15 (1.72%) CISSP
12 15 (1.72%) DBS Check
12 15 (1.72%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
13 13 (1.49%) CISM
14 11 (1.26%) A+ Certification
14 11 (1.26%) CCNP
15 10 (1.15%) Azure Certification
15 10 (1.15%) CCNA
16 8 (0.92%) BC Cleared
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 66 (7.57%) SLA
2 31 (3.56%) ISO/IEC 20000
3 29 (3.33%) Data Quality
4 26 (2.98%) ISO/IEC 27001
5 22 (2.52%) NCSC
5 22 (2.52%) QA
6 21 (2.41%) GRC
6 21 (2.41%) PMO
7 15 (1.72%) ISO 9001
8 12 (1.38%) GDPR
9 9 (1.03%) COBIT
9 9 (1.03%) Disclosure Scotland
9 9 (1.03%) NIST
10 7 (0.80%) Cyber Essentials
10 7 (0.80%) Government Security Classifications
11 6 (0.69%) ISO 31000
11 6 (0.69%) ISO/IEC 27005
12 5 (0.57%) Accessibility
12 5 (0.57%) ISO 22301
12 5 (0.57%) JSP 440
System Software
1 101 (11.58%) Active Directory
2 56 (6.42%) VMware Infrastructure
3 22 (2.52%) VMware ESXi
4 17 (1.95%) Docker
5 16 (1.83%) BitLocker
5 16 (1.83%) VMware NSX
6 15 (1.72%) Hyper-V
7 11 (1.26%) vCloud
7 11 (1.26%) Virtual Desktop
8 10 (1.15%) vSphere
9 5 (0.57%) Virtual Machines
10 4 (0.46%) NFS
11 3 (0.34%) Citrix Hypervisor
11 3 (0.34%) Firmware
11 3 (0.34%) Microsoft Virtual Server
11 3 (0.34%) Virtual Servers
11 3 (0.34%) XenApp
11 3 (0.34%) XenDesktop
12 2 (0.23%) GPFS
12 2 (0.23%) KVM
Systems Management
1 51 (5.85%) SCCM
2 45 (5.16%) Microsoft Intune
3 31 (3.56%) Ansible
4 17 (1.95%) SCOM
5 15 (1.72%) Kubernetes
6 14 (1.61%) vCenter Server
7 12 (1.38%) Single Sign-On
8 6 (0.69%) Jamf Pro
8 6 (0.69%) Progress Chef
9 4 (0.46%) PowerCLI
9 4 (0.46%) Puppet
9 4 (0.46%) vMotion
10 3 (0.34%) Cisco Prime
10 3 (0.34%) Dell DRAC
10 3 (0.34%) NetBackup
10 3 (0.34%) Systems Management Server (SMS)
10 3 (0.34%) vRealize
11 2 (0.23%) Grafana
11 2 (0.23%) Nagios
11 2 (0.23%) SysTrack
Vendors
1 219 (25.11%) ServiceNow
2 194 (22.25%) Microsoft
3 78 (8.94%) VMware
4 50 (5.73%) Remedy
5 34 (3.90%) BMC
6 33 (3.78%) Cisco
7 23 (2.64%) Oracle
8 18 (2.06%) Atlassian
9 17 (1.95%) CyberArk
10 14 (1.61%) Dynatrace
11 13 (1.49%) SAP
11 13 (1.49%) SolarWinds
11 13 (1.49%) Splunk
12 12 (1.38%) IBM
12 12 (1.38%) Palo Alto
13 11 (1.26%) Citrix
14 10 (1.15%) Qualys
15 9 (1.03%) Juniper
16 8 (0.92%) Apple
16 8 (0.92%) IFS