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 7 October 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
7 Oct 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 63 56 67
Rank change year-on-year -7 +11 -2
Contract jobs citing Service Management 960 631 493
As % of all contract jobs in the UK excluding London 3.39% 4.01% 2.84%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 4.18% 4.50% 3.40%
Number of daily rates quoted 647 374 334
10th Percentile £270 £185 £200
25th Percentile £436 £293 £350
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £531 £481 £501
Median % change year-on-year +10.39% -3.85% -1.86%
75th Percentile £625 £556 £600
90th Percentile £725 £617 £650
UK median daily rate £525 £488 £515
% change year-on-year +7.69% -5.34% -1.90%
Number of hourly rates quoted 71 82 14
10th Percentile £14.50 £12.62 £21.99
25th Percentile £15.00 £13.86 £26.25
Median hourly rate £35.53 £21.06 £40.50
Median % change year-on-year +68.75% -48.01% +84.89%
75th Percentile £83.75 £33.75 £48.75
90th Percentile £92.00 £60.00 £52.63
UK median hourly rate £45.27 £21.71 £36.00
% change year-on-year +108.50% -39.69% -19.33%

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 22,953 14,021 14,491
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK excluding London 81.04% 89.18% 83.43%
Number of daily rates quoted 12,781 8,433 8,180
10th Percentile £300 £225 £240
25th Percentile £409 £367 £380
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £475 £500
Median % change year-on-year +5.26% -5.00% -
75th Percentile £600 £575 £600
90th Percentile £688 £669 £688
UK median daily rate £525 £500 £525
% change year-on-year +5.00% -4.76% -2.78%
Number of hourly rates quoted 2,870 1,523 1,069
10th Percentile £13.50 £14.13 £15.00
25th Percentile £16.62 £17.14 £18.50
Median hourly rate £38.13 £22.32 £43.00
Median % change year-on-year +70.85% -48.10% +1.18%
75th Percentile £65.88 £40.46 £66.61
90th Percentile £77.50 £66.40 £73.75
UK median hourly rate £37.87 £25.15 £41.50
% change year-on-year +50.56% -39.40% -2.92%

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 7 October 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 7 October 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 7 October 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 +13 306 £575 +28.64% 296
North of England -14 274 £480 +5.96% 226
North West -9 161 £483 +5.92% 122
Midlands -28 126 £525 +3.96% 139
West Midlands -14 119 £525 +1.94% 86
Yorkshire -9 107 £456 +8.96% 85
Scotland +23 100 £574 +24.00% 78
South West -38 97 £550 - 107
East of England +7 65 £550 +1.76% 112
Wales -6 13 £800 +247.83% 13
Northern Ireland +10 8 - - 15
East Midlands -31 7 £206 -34.83% 51
North East -42 6 £600 +207.69% 20
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 61 (6.35%) SharePoint
2 39 (4.06%) Confluence
3 37 (3.85%) Microsoft Exchange
4 15 (1.56%) Skype for Business
5 4 (0.42%) CMS
5 4 (0.42%) IBM Transformation Extender
6 3 (0.31%) IIS
6 3 (0.31%) OpenStack
7 2 (0.21%) Apache
7 2 (0.21%) Tomcat
8 1 (0.10%) CICS
8 1 (0.10%) Documentum
8 1 (0.10%) Mattermost
Applications
1 61 (6.35%) Microsoft Office
2 22 (2.29%) Microsoft Excel
3 12 (1.25%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 5 (0.52%) Chatbot
4 5 (0.52%) Microsoft Project
5 2 (0.21%) MS Visio
5 2 (0.21%) Spreadsheet
6 1 (0.10%) Maple
Business Applications
1 43 (4.48%) Remedy ITSM
2 8 (0.83%) Dynamics CRM
3 5 (0.52%) ContrOCC
3 5 (0.52%) SAP S/4HANA
4 4 (0.42%) Workday HCM
5 3 (0.31%) NEC Housing
5 3 (0.31%) SystmOne
6 2 (0.21%) Oracle EBS
6 2 (0.21%) Primavera
6 2 (0.21%) Remedy AR System
6 2 (0.21%) Salesforce CRM
6 2 (0.21%) SAP CX
6 2 (0.21%) Teamcenter
7 1 (0.10%) Cloudability
7 1 (0.10%) SAP Oil and Gas
Cloud Services
1 156 (16.25%) Azure
2 110 (11.46%) Microsoft 365
3 79 (8.23%) Entra ID
4 63 (6.56%) AWS
5 49 (5.10%) Power Platform
6 37 (3.85%) SaaS
7 28 (2.92%) Azure DevOps
8 27 (2.81%) GCP
9 22 (2.29%) OneDrive
10 16 (1.67%) Azure Monitor
11 13 (1.35%) Dynamics 365
12 10 (1.04%) GitHub
13 9 (0.94%) IaaS
13 9 (0.94%) Microsoft Copilot
13 9 (0.94%) Power Automate
13 9 (0.94%) Serverless
14 8 (0.83%) Azure Functions
14 8 (0.83%) Azure Sentinel
15 7 (0.73%) Azure ExpressRoute
15 7 (0.73%) Google Workspace
Communications & Networking
1 44 (4.58%) DNS
2 41 (4.27%) Firewall
3 39 (4.06%) VPN
4 32 (3.33%) DHCP
5 31 (3.23%) Network Security
6 26 (2.71%) TCP/IP
7 21 (2.19%) LAN
8 16 (1.67%) Skype
8 16 (1.67%) WAN
9 13 (1.35%) Wi-Fi
10 12 (1.25%) SSH
11 11 (1.15%) VLAN
12 8 (0.83%) BGP
12 8 (0.83%) Wireless
13 7 (0.73%) Intrusion Detection
13 7 (0.73%) NetScaler
14 6 (0.63%) OSPF
14 6 (0.63%) Software-Defined Networking
15 5 (0.52%) MPLS
15 5 (0.52%) Wireshark
Database & Business Intelligence
1 30 (3.13%) Power BI
2 24 (2.50%) SQL Server
3 20 (2.08%) Metadata
4 7 (0.73%) Looker
5 6 (0.63%) MySQL
5 6 (0.63%) SQL Server Integration Services
6 5 (0.52%) BigQuery
6 5 (0.52%) MariaDB
7 4 (0.42%) Amazon RDS
7 4 (0.42%) Relational Database
8 3 (0.31%) Amazon Aurora
8 3 (0.31%) Oracle Reports
8 3 (0.31%) SQL Server Reporting Services
9 2 (0.21%) EDRMS
9 2 (0.21%) Oracle Database
9 2 (0.21%) PostgreSQL
9 2 (0.21%) SQL Server Analysis Services
10 1 (0.10%) InfluxDB
10 1 (0.10%) Microsoft Analysis Services
10 1 (0.10%) Oracle Database 11g
Development Applications
1 71 (7.40%) JIRA
2 22 (2.29%) Git
3 9 (0.94%) Atlassian Bamboo
3 9 (0.94%) Bitbucket
3 9 (0.94%) Jenkins
4 4 (0.42%) Browser DevTools
4 4 (0.42%) webpack
5 3 (0.31%) GitLab
5 3 (0.31%) Gradle
5 3 (0.31%) Maven
5 3 (0.31%) Rational DOORS
6 2 (0.21%) Fiddler
6 2 (0.21%) Firebug
6 2 (0.21%) Sonatype Nexus
7 1 (0.10%) Claude Code
7 1 (0.10%) Gemini Tracker
7 1 (0.10%) IBM UrbanCode
7 1 (0.10%) MLflow
7 1 (0.10%) Snyk
7 1 (0.10%) Visual Studio Code
General
1 394 (41.04%) Social Skills
2 160 (16.67%) Analytical Skills
3 139 (14.48%) Finance
4 103 (10.73%) Public Sector
5 51 (5.31%) Organisational Skills
6 48 (5.00%) Documentation Skills
7 41 (4.27%) Influencing Skills
8 35 (3.65%) Aerospace
9 27 (2.81%) Legal
10 25 (2.60%) Inclusion and Diversity
11 22 (2.29%) Banking
12 19 (1.98%) Military
13 18 (1.88%) Presentation Skills
13 18 (1.88%) Telecoms
14 17 (1.77%) Local Government
14 17 (1.77%) Manufacturing
15 5 (0.52%) Law
15 5 (0.52%) Retail
16 3 (0.31%) Police
17 2 (0.21%) Automotive
Job Titles
1 107 (11.15%) Lead
2 104 (10.83%) Analyst
3 85 (8.85%) Architect
4 69 (7.19%) Senior
5 58 (6.04%) Service Manager
6 51 (5.31%) Delivery Manager
7 42 (4.38%) Consultant
7 42 (4.38%) Service Analyst
7 42 (4.38%) Support Engineer
8 40 (4.17%) Developer
9 35 (3.65%) Service Architect
10 31 (3.23%) IT Manager
11 29 (3.02%) Project Manager
12 27 (2.81%) Administrator
13 26 (2.71%) Desktop Engineer
13 26 (2.71%) Technical Leader
14 25 (2.60%) Change Manager
15 23 (2.40%) 2nd Line Support
16 22 (2.29%) Desktop Support
16 22 (2.29%) Service Delivery Manager
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 41 (4.27%) Terraform
2 31 (3.23%) REST
3 19 (1.98%) Middleware
4 17 (1.77%) XML
5 12 (1.25%) JSON
6 10 (1.04%) Web Services
7 9 (0.94%) SAML
8 8 (0.83%) ARM Templates
8 8 (0.83%) SOAP
8 8 (0.83%) XSLT
9 6 (0.63%) .NET
9 6 (0.63%) LDAP
9 6 (0.63%) OAuth
10 5 (0.52%) SailPoint
11 4 (0.42%) AngularJS
11 4 (0.42%) Node.js
11 4 (0.42%) OpenID
11 4 (0.42%) React
11 4 (0.42%) Redux
11 4 (0.42%) RESTful
Miscellaneous
1 89 (9.27%) Onboarding
2 68 (7.08%) Management Information System
3 57 (5.94%) CMDB
4 40 (4.17%) Enterprise Software
5 37 (3.85%) Data Centre
6 28 (2.92%) PKI
7 26 (2.71%) Data Protection Act
8 23 (2.40%) Hybrid Cloud
8 23 (2.40%) Product Ownership
9 16 (1.67%) Security Operations Centre
10 14 (1.46%) Cyber Threat
11 13 (1.35%) Analytical Mindset
11 13 (1.35%) Operational Technology
11 13 (1.35%) Self-Motivation
11 13 (1.35%) Virtual Team
12 12 (1.25%) Security Posture
13 10 (1.04%) Clustering
14 9 (0.94%) Taxonomies
15 8 (0.83%) Cloud Native
15 8 (0.83%) Cyber Defence
Operating Systems
1 219 (22.81%) Windows
2 62 (6.46%) Linux
3 60 (6.25%) Windows Server
4 46 (4.79%) Windows 10
5 17 (1.77%) Unix
5 17 (1.77%) Windows 7
6 13 (1.35%) Android
6 13 (1.35%) Apple iOS
6 13 (1.35%) Mac OS
7 7 (0.73%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
8 3 (0.31%) AIX
8 3 (0.31%) Solaris
8 3 (0.31%) SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
9 2 (0.21%) Windows Server 2012
9 2 (0.21%) Windows XP
9 2 (0.21%) zOS
10 1 (0.10%) SUSE
10 1 (0.10%) Windows Server 2019
Processes & Methodologies
1 549 (57.19%) ITIL
2 396 (41.25%) ITSM
3 301 (31.35%) Stakeholder Management
4 283 (29.48%) Continuous Improvement
5 213 (22.19%) Service Delivery
6 184 (19.17%) Agile
7 183 (19.06%) Problem-Solving
8 147 (15.31%) Stakeholder Engagement
9 146 (15.21%) Change Management
10 136 (14.17%) Roadmaps
11 130 (13.54%) Cybersecurity
12 117 (12.19%) Incident Management
13 112 (11.67%) Customer Service
14 93 (9.69%) Project Delivery
15 89 (9.27%) DevOps
16 79 (8.23%) Data Protection
16 79 (8.23%) Decision-Making
17 75 (7.81%) Risk Management
18 73 (7.60%) Service Design
19 72 (7.50%) Technical Leadership
Programming Languages
1 101 (10.52%) PowerShell
2 63 (6.56%) Python
3 37 (3.85%) Bash
4 35 (3.65%) SQL
5 29 (3.02%) JavaScript
6 19 (1.98%) VBScript
7 15 (1.56%) VB
8 14 (1.46%) Java
9 11 (1.15%) C#
10 8 (0.83%) Bicep
11 7 (0.73%) Shell Script
12 4 (0.42%) TypeScript
13 3 (0.31%) C
13 3 (0.31%) Google Apps Script
13 3 (0.31%) Groovy
13 3 (0.31%) Lua
13 3 (0.31%) Perl
14 2 (0.21%) Go
14 2 (0.21%) Search Processing Language
14 2 (0.21%) T-SQL
Qualifications
1 453 (47.19%) Security Cleared
2 291 (30.31%) SC Cleared
3 139 (14.48%) DV Cleared
4 101 (10.52%) Degree
5 37 (3.85%) BPSS Clearance
6 31 (3.23%) PMP
7 30 (3.13%) PMI Certification
8 27 (2.81%) ITIL Certification
9 26 (2.71%) Microsoft Certification
10 23 (2.40%) DBS Check
11 15 (1.56%) CISSP
11 15 (1.56%) Computer Science Degree
12 14 (1.46%) Azure Certification
12 14 (1.46%) Cisco Certification
13 13 (1.35%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
14 12 (1.25%) CISM
15 10 (1.04%) A+ Certification
16 8 (0.83%) AWS Certification
16 8 (0.83%) BC Cleared
17 7 (0.73%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 80 (8.33%) SLA
2 39 (4.06%) Data Quality
3 32 (3.33%) QA
4 31 (3.23%) ISO/IEC 20000
5 28 (2.92%) ISO/IEC 27001
6 24 (2.50%) GRC
7 22 (2.29%) GDPR
8 20 (2.08%) NCSC
9 19 (1.98%) NIST
10 18 (1.88%) PMO
11 17 (1.77%) ISO 9001
12 10 (1.04%) Accessibility
13 8 (0.83%) Disclosure Scotland
13 8 (0.83%) WCAG
14 6 (0.63%) COBIT
14 6 (0.63%) Cyber Essentials
14 6 (0.63%) ISO 22301
15 5 (0.52%) JSP 440
15 5 (0.52%) PCI DSS
16 4 (0.42%) ISO/IEC 27005
System Software
1 114 (11.88%) Active Directory
2 63 (6.56%) VMware Infrastructure
3 23 (2.40%) Hyper-V
3 23 (2.40%) VMware ESXi
4 17 (1.77%) BitLocker
4 17 (1.77%) VMware NSX
5 16 (1.67%) Docker
6 15 (1.56%) Virtual Desktop
7 14 (1.46%) vSphere
8 13 (1.35%) vCloud
9 9 (0.94%) Firmware
10 7 (0.73%) Citrix Hypervisor
10 7 (0.73%) XenApp
10 7 (0.73%) XenDesktop
11 3 (0.31%) KVM
11 3 (0.31%) Microsoft Virtual Server
11 3 (0.31%) NFS
11 3 (0.31%) Virtual Machines
11 3 (0.31%) Virtual Servers
12 2 (0.21%) GPFS
Systems Management
1 63 (6.56%) SCCM
2 55 (5.73%) Microsoft Intune
3 36 (3.75%) Ansible
4 20 (2.08%) SCOM
5 17 (1.77%) vCenter Server
6 15 (1.56%) Kubernetes
7 13 (1.35%) Single Sign-On
8 7 (0.73%) Jamf Pro
8 7 (0.73%) Progress Chef
9 5 (0.52%) NetBackup
10 4 (0.42%) PowerCLI
10 4 (0.42%) Tivoli
10 4 (0.42%) Tivoli Monitoring
10 4 (0.42%) vMotion
10 4 (0.42%) WSUS
11 3 (0.31%) BMC PATROL
11 3 (0.31%) BMC Performance Manager
11 3 (0.31%) OPNET
11 3 (0.31%) Perfmon
11 3 (0.31%) vRealize
Vendors
1 240 (25.00%) Microsoft
2 227 (23.65%) ServiceNow
3 82 (8.54%) VMware
4 47 (4.90%) Remedy
5 30 (3.13%) BMC
6 28 (2.92%) Cisco
7 20 (2.08%) Oracle
8 19 (1.98%) IBM
9 18 (1.88%) Atlassian
10 17 (1.77%) SAP
11 16 (1.67%) CyberArk
12 15 (1.56%) Dynatrace
13 14 (1.46%) Apple
13 14 (1.46%) Citrix
14 13 (1.35%) Google
14 13 (1.35%) SolarWinds
15 10 (1.04%) Palo Alto
15 10 (1.04%) Qualys
16 9 (0.94%) Red Hat
16 9 (0.94%) Splunk