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 17 June 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
17 Jun 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 80 53 57
Rank change year-on-year -27 +4 +8
Contract jobs citing Service Management 692 558 657
As % of all contract jobs in the UK excluding London 2.69% 4.17% 3.08%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 3.29% 4.60% 3.73%
Number of daily rates quoted 459 327 479
10th Percentile £212 £208 £255
25th Percentile £386 £338 £425
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £501 £525
Median % change year-on-year -0.20% -4.57% +10.53%
75th Percentile £588 £600 £608
90th Percentile £650 £688 £703
UK median daily rate £520 £500 £525
% change year-on-year +4.00% -4.76% +2.44%
Number of hourly rates quoted 60 48 14
10th Percentile £16.09 - £12.53
25th Percentile £19.27 £12.62 £14.39
Median hourly rate £60.00 £21.28 £18.36
Median % change year-on-year +181.95% +15.90% -18.04%
75th Percentile £83.81 £23.92 £25.06
90th Percentile £115.08 £33.75 £28.23
UK median hourly rate £60.00 £21.71 £19.00
% change year-on-year +176.37% +14.26% -46.10%

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 21,011 12,123 17,607
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK excluding London 81.73% 90.55% 82.58%
Number of daily rates quoted 12,498 7,478 10,307
10th Percentile £301 £235 £250
25th Percentile £404 £369 £375
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £475 £500
Median % change year-on-year +5.26% -5.00% -
75th Percentile £588 £575 £600
90th Percentile £688 £650 £688
UK median daily rate £513 £508 £525
% change year-on-year +0.99% -3.33% -4.55%
Number of hourly rates quoted 2,229 957 2,205
10th Percentile £14.25 £14.17 £12.50
25th Percentile £19.33 £16.95 £15.50
Median hourly rate £44.50 £25.15 £38.12
Median % change year-on-year +76.94% -34.02% +17.29%
75th Percentile £68.00 £58.27 £61.60
90th Percentile £81.05 £75.00 £72.90
UK median hourly rate £43.96 £26.27 £37.34
% change year-on-year +67.37% -29.66% +6.69%

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 17 June 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 17 June 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 17 June 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
North of England -18 202 £494 +5.78% 91
South East +26 200 £538 +32.72% 109
North West -13 113 £517 +7.60% 44
South West -33 111 £500 -11.11% 40
Yorkshire -24 82 £456 -3.95% 40
Midlands -45 78 £474 -7.96% 47
West Midlands -41 66 £475 -11.63% 33
Scotland -25 50 £500 -2.44% 12
East of England -22 42 £475 -13.64% 37
East Midlands -18 12 £200 -54.13% 14
Wales -7 11 £800 +188.29% 8
North East -29 7 £440 +125.64% 9
Northern Ireland +6 4 - - 19
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 37 (5.35%) SharePoint
2 29 (4.19%) Microsoft Exchange
3 22 (3.18%) Confluence
4 11 (1.59%) Skype for Business
5 6 (0.87%) Mattermost
6 2 (0.29%) IIS
7 1 (0.14%) Apache
7 1 (0.14%) CMS
7 1 (0.14%) JBoss
7 1 (0.14%) LiveCycle
7 1 (0.14%) OpenStack
Applications
1 49 (7.08%) Microsoft Office
2 17 (2.46%) Microsoft Excel
3 8 (1.16%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 4 (0.58%) Chatbot
4 4 (0.58%) PTC Creo
5 3 (0.43%) Microsoft Project
6 2 (0.29%) MS Visio
7 1 (0.14%) Camtasia
Business Applications
1 47 (6.79%) Remedy ITSM
2 10 (1.45%) SAP S/4HANA
3 8 (1.16%) Teamcenter
4 2 (0.29%) ContrOCC
4 2 (0.29%) Oracle Applications
4 2 (0.29%) Primavera
5 1 (0.14%) NetSuite
5 1 (0.14%) SAP HR
5 1 (0.14%) SAP Payroll
Cloud Services
1 98 (14.16%) Azure
2 61 (8.82%) Microsoft 365
3 42 (6.07%) Power Platform
4 31 (4.48%) Entra ID
5 29 (4.19%) AWS
6 18 (2.60%) SaaS
7 17 (2.46%) OneDrive
8 16 (2.31%) Azure DevOps
9 15 (2.17%) GCP
10 9 (1.30%) PaaS
11 7 (1.01%) GitHub
11 7 (1.01%) OCI
12 6 (0.87%) Microsoft Copilot
13 5 (0.72%) Azure Machine Learning
13 5 (0.72%) Azure Synapse Analytics
13 5 (0.72%) Google App Engine
14 4 (0.58%) Azure AKS
14 4 (0.58%) IaaS
15 3 (0.43%) Azure Cosmos DB
15 3 (0.43%) Datadog
Communications & Networking
1 34 (4.91%) Firewall
2 30 (4.34%) DNS
3 24 (3.47%) LAN
4 20 (2.89%) WAN
5 19 (2.75%) DHCP
6 16 (2.31%) Network Security
6 16 (2.31%) VPN
7 14 (2.02%) BGP
8 13 (1.88%) OSPF
9 12 (1.73%) BIG-IP
9 12 (1.73%) Wi-Fi
9 12 (1.73%) Wireless
10 11 (1.59%) Cisco ISE
10 11 (1.59%) Skype
10 11 (1.59%) VLAN
11 9 (1.30%) Junos
11 9 (1.30%) TCP/IP
12 8 (1.16%) Ethernet VPN
12 8 (1.16%) VXLAN
13 4 (0.58%) SSL
Database & Business Intelligence
1 36 (5.20%) Power BI
2 13 (1.88%) SQL Server
3 6 (0.87%) PostgreSQL
4 5 (0.72%) Oracle Reports
4 5 (0.72%) Relational Database
5 3 (0.43%) Azure SQL Database
5 3 (0.43%) SQL Server Analysis Services
5 3 (0.43%) SQL Server Integration Services
5 3 (0.43%) SQL Server Reporting Services
6 2 (0.29%) MariaDB
6 2 (0.29%) Microsoft Analysis Services
6 2 (0.29%) MySQL
6 2 (0.29%) Oracle Database
7 1 (0.14%) Amazon RDS
7 1 (0.14%) DTS
7 1 (0.14%) GIS
7 1 (0.14%) InfluxDB
7 1 (0.14%) MongoDB
7 1 (0.14%) OpenStack Swift
7 1 (0.14%) Oracle Database 11g
Development Applications
1 69 (9.97%) JIRA
2 13 (1.88%) Git
3 8 (1.16%) Bitbucket
4 7 (1.01%) GitLab
4 7 (1.01%) Jenkins
5 5 (0.72%) Atlassian Bamboo
5 5 (0.72%) Browser DevTools
6 4 (0.58%) MLflow
7 3 (0.43%) Fiddler
8 2 (0.29%) Firebug
8 2 (0.29%) IntelliJ
8 2 (0.29%) ScriptRunner
9 1 (0.14%) Claude Code
9 1 (0.14%) Gemini Tracker
9 1 (0.14%) Hudson
9 1 (0.14%) IBM UrbanCode
9 1 (0.14%) MSI
9 1 (0.14%) Rational DOORS
9 1 (0.14%) Visual Studio Code
9 1 (0.14%) webpack
General
1 226 (32.66%) Social Skills
2 101 (14.60%) Finance
3 89 (12.86%) Analytical Skills
4 62 (8.96%) Public Sector
5 38 (5.49%) Legal
6 22 (3.18%) Influencing Skills
7 20 (2.89%) Documentation Skills
8 19 (2.75%) Organisational Skills
9 17 (2.46%) Military
10 16 (2.31%) Telecoms
11 15 (2.17%) Inclusion and Diversity
12 12 (1.73%) Banking
13 11 (1.59%) Aerospace
14 10 (1.45%) Presentation Skills
15 9 (1.30%) Retail
16 7 (1.01%) Local Government
17 4 (0.58%) Financial Institution
18 3 (0.43%) Publishing
19 1 (0.14%) Games
19 1 (0.14%) Manufacturing
Job Titles
1 89 (12.86%) Service Manager
2 88 (12.72%) Analyst
3 65 (9.39%) Lead
4 54 (7.80%) Senior
5 45 (6.50%) Architect
6 44 (6.36%) IT Manager
7 40 (5.78%) Service Analyst
8 28 (4.05%) Delivery Manager
8 28 (4.05%) Project Manager
9 24 (3.47%) Network Engineer
10 23 (3.32%) Consultant
10 23 (3.32%) IT Analyst
11 22 (3.18%) Support Engineer
12 21 (3.03%) Hardware Engineer
12 21 (3.03%) IT Services Manager
13 20 (2.89%) Service Delivery Manager
14 19 (2.75%) Service Transition Manager
14 19 (2.75%) Transition Manager
15 17 (2.46%) Administrator
15 17 (2.46%) Designer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 21 (3.03%) REST
2 9 (1.30%) OAuth
2 9 (1.30%) SOAP
3 8 (1.16%) 802.1X
4 5 (0.72%) OpenID
4 5 (0.72%) Oracle Fusion
4 5 (0.72%) SAML
5 4 (0.58%) OAuth2
5 4 (0.58%) Software Packaging
5 4 (0.58%) XML
5 4 (0.58%) XMPP
6 3 (0.43%) CSS
6 3 (0.43%) FIDO
6 3 (0.43%) Flash
6 3 (0.43%) HTML
6 3 (0.43%) Microsoft Graph
6 3 (0.43%) Middleware
7 2 (0.29%) .NET
7 2 (0.29%) ADO
7 2 (0.29%) Web Services
Miscellaneous
1 44 (6.36%) CMDB
1 44 (6.36%) Onboarding
2 34 (4.91%) Product Ownership
3 28 (4.05%) Data Centre
4 25 (3.61%) PKI
5 22 (3.18%) Management Information System
6 21 (3.03%) Clustering
7 18 (2.60%) Enterprise Software
8 17 (2.46%) Virtual Team
9 15 (2.17%) Data Protection Act
10 12 (1.73%) Driving Licence
11 11 (1.59%) Operational Technology
11 11 (1.59%) Self-Motivation
12 9 (1.30%) Analytical Mindset
13 7 (1.01%) PMI
13 7 (1.01%) Replication
13 7 (1.01%) Security Posture
14 6 (0.87%) Cloud Native
14 6 (0.87%) Cyber Threat
14 6 (0.87%) Smartphone
Operating Systems
1 154 (22.25%) Windows
2 36 (5.20%) Linux
2 36 (5.20%) Windows 10
3 33 (4.77%) Windows Server
4 15 (2.17%) Windows 7
5 11 (1.59%) Unix
6 7 (1.01%) Mac OS
7 5 (0.72%) Android
7 5 (0.72%) Apple iOS
7 5 (0.72%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
8 3 (0.43%) Windows XP
9 2 (0.29%) Solaris
9 2 (0.29%) Ubuntu
10 1 (0.14%) Rocky
10 1 (0.14%) Windows Server 2008
10 1 (0.14%) Windows Server 2012
10 1 (0.14%) Windows Server 2016
10 1 (0.14%) Windows Server 2019
10 1 (0.14%) zOS
Processes & Methodologies
1 380 (54.91%) ITIL
2 307 (44.36%) ITSM
3 167 (24.13%) Continuous Improvement
4 160 (23.12%) Stakeholder Management
5 135 (19.51%) Agile
6 130 (18.79%) Service Delivery
7 129 (18.64%) Problem-Solving
8 98 (14.16%) Stakeholder Engagement
9 93 (13.44%) Change Management
10 74 (10.69%) Customer Service
11 73 (10.55%) DevOps
12 59 (8.53%) Problem Management
13 58 (8.38%) Configuration Management
14 55 (7.95%) Incident Management
15 52 (7.51%) Cybersecurity
16 51 (7.37%) Project Delivery
16 51 (7.37%) Roadmaps
17 41 (5.92%) Data Protection
18 40 (5.78%) Decision-Making
18 40 (5.78%) Risk Management
Programming Languages
1 59 (8.53%) PowerShell
2 36 (5.20%) SQL
3 33 (4.77%) Python
4 20 (2.89%) JavaScript
5 11 (1.59%) Bash
5 11 (1.59%) VB
5 11 (1.59%) VBScript
6 4 (0.58%) C#
6 4 (0.58%) Java
6 4 (0.58%) PL/SQL
7 3 (0.43%) Perl
7 3 (0.43%) T-SQL
8 2 (0.29%) Apex Code
8 2 (0.29%) Search Processing Language
8 2 (0.29%) Shell Script
9 1 (0.14%) Bicep
9 1 (0.14%) C
9 1 (0.14%) REXX
9 1 (0.14%) Scala
9 1 (0.14%) VBA
Qualifications
1 315 (45.52%) Security Cleared
2 206 (29.77%) SC Cleared
3 111 (16.04%) DV Cleared
4 60 (8.67%) Degree
5 34 (4.91%) ITIL Certification
6 24 (3.47%) Cisco Certification
7 17 (2.46%) PMI Certification
8 16 (2.31%) PMP
9 15 (2.17%) BPSS Clearance
9 15 (2.17%) Computer Science Degree
10 14 (2.02%) CCNA
11 13 (1.88%) Microsoft Certification
12 10 (1.45%) A+ Certification
13 9 (1.30%) CCNP
13 9 (1.30%) JNCIA
13 9 (1.30%) JNCIP
13 9 (1.30%) JNCIS
13 9 (1.30%) Network+ Certification
14 8 (1.16%) DBS Check
15 7 (1.01%) Master's Degree
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 43 (6.21%) SLA
2 29 (4.19%) Data Quality
3 21 (3.03%) PMO
4 17 (2.46%) ISO/IEC 27001
5 15 (2.17%) NCSC
5 15 (2.17%) QA
6 13 (1.88%) GRC
6 13 (1.88%) ISO/IEC 20000
7 12 (1.73%) GDPR
8 9 (1.30%) COBIT
8 9 (1.30%) Cyber Essentials
9 7 (1.01%) Government Security Classifications
10 6 (0.87%) ISO 31000
10 6 (0.87%) ISO/IEC 27005
11 5 (0.72%) Accessibility
12 4 (0.58%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
12 4 (0.58%) Disclosure Scotland
12 4 (0.58%) GMP
12 4 (0.58%) ISO 9001
12 4 (0.58%) NIST
System Software
1 79 (11.42%) Active Directory
2 33 (4.77%) VMware Infrastructure
3 15 (2.17%) VMware ESXi
4 12 (1.73%) BitLocker
5 9 (1.30%) Docker
6 7 (1.01%) VMware NSX
7 6 (0.87%) vCloud
7 6 (0.87%) vSphere
8 4 (0.58%) NFS
8 4 (0.58%) Virtual Machines
9 3 (0.43%) Firmware
9 3 (0.43%) Virtual Desktop
10 2 (0.29%) GPFS
10 2 (0.29%) Hyper-V
10 2 (0.29%) KVM
11 1 (0.14%) iptables
11 1 (0.14%) Oracle RAC
11 1 (0.14%) Samba
11 1 (0.14%) Slurm Workload Manager
Systems Management
1 34 (4.91%) SCCM
2 29 (4.19%) Microsoft Intune
3 19 (2.75%) Ansible
4 10 (1.45%) Kubernetes
4 10 (1.45%) Terraform
5 8 (1.16%) FortiGate
5 8 (1.16%) Single Sign-On
5 8 (1.16%) vCenter Server
6 6 (0.87%) Jamf Pro
6 6 (0.87%) SCOM
7 4 (0.58%) Grafana
7 4 (0.58%) PowerCLI
7 4 (0.58%) Progress Chef
7 4 (0.58%) vMotion
8 3 (0.43%) Cisco Prime
8 3 (0.43%) Dell DRAC
8 3 (0.43%) Puppet
8 3 (0.43%) Systems Management Server (SMS)
8 3 (0.43%) vRealize
9 2 (0.29%) Nagios
Vendors
1 164 (23.70%) ServiceNow
2 120 (17.34%) Microsoft
3 51 (7.37%) Remedy
4 46 (6.65%) VMware
5 36 (5.20%) Cisco
6 23 (3.32%) BMC
7 20 (2.89%) HP
8 18 (2.60%) Oracle
9 17 (2.46%) Splunk
10 16 (2.31%) SAP
11 15 (2.17%) SolarWinds
12 13 (1.88%) Dell
13 12 (1.73%) Atlassian
13 12 (1.73%) F5
14 11 (1.59%) Canon
14 11 (1.59%) Juniper
15 9 (1.30%) Dynatrace
15 9 (1.30%) IFS
15 9 (1.30%) Qualys
16 8 (1.16%) Extreme Networks