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

6 months to
8 Oct 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 62 55 70
Rank change year-on-year -7 +15 -3
Contract jobs citing Service Management 969 632 497
As % of all contract jobs in the UK excluding London 3.44% 4.01% 2.85%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 4.25% 4.50% 3.41%
Number of daily rates quoted 653 373 338
10th Percentile £265 £185 £200
25th Percentile £435 £293 £352
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £531 £478 £502
Median % change year-on-year +11.26% -4.79% -1.91%
75th Percentile £625 £556 £600
90th Percentile £725 £613 £650
UK median daily rate £527 £488 £518
% change year-on-year +8.00% -5.80% -1.43%
Number of hourly rates quoted 72 83 14
10th Percentile £14.50 £12.62 £21.99
25th Percentile £15.00 £14.35 £26.25
Median hourly rate £35.53 £20.83 £40.50
Median % change year-on-year +70.57% -48.57% +84.89%
75th Percentile £83.75 £33.75 £48.75
90th Percentile £91.65 £60.00 £52.63
UK median hourly rate £55.00 £21.28 £36.00
% change year-on-year +158.46% -40.89% -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 22,813 14,044 14,566
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK excluding London 81.03% 89.10% 83.49%
Number of daily rates quoted 12,682 8,442 8,237
10th Percentile £300 £225 £241
25th Percentile £409 £368 £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 2,862 1,526 1,061
10th Percentile £13.48 £14.13 £15.00
25th Percentile £16.50 £17.14 £18.16
Median hourly rate £37.50 £22.32 £42.50
Median % change year-on-year +68.05% -47.49% -
75th Percentile £65.22 £40.65 £66.61
90th Percentile £77.50 £66.75 £73.75
UK median hourly rate £37.50 £25.15 £40.33
% change year-on-year +49.11% -37.63% -7.56%

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 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 8 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 8 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 +11 310 £575 +28.21% 231
North of England -12 276 £480 +6.67% 206
North West -13 162 £483 +5.92% 107
Midlands -31 125 £525 +3.96% 126
West Midlands -11 118 £525 +1.94% 82
Yorkshire -7 108 £456 +25.00% 82
Scotland +26 101 £566 +22.38% 74
South West -39 100 £558 +1.36% 102
East of England -3 65 £550 +1.76% 101
Wales -2 13 £800 +247.83% 15
Northern Ireland +13 8 - - 16
East Midlands -26 7 £206 -34.83% 43
North East -42 6 £600 +207.69% 18
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 62 (6.40%) SharePoint
2 39 (4.02%) Confluence
3 38 (3.92%) Microsoft Exchange
4 15 (1.55%) Skype for Business
5 4 (0.41%) CMS
5 4 (0.41%) 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 (6.30%) Microsoft Office
2 22 (2.27%) Microsoft Excel
3 12 (1.24%) 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 (4.44%) Remedy ITSM
2 8 (0.83%) Dynamics CRM
3 5 (0.52%) ContrOCC
3 5 (0.52%) SAP S/4HANA
4 4 (0.41%) 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
1 157 (16.20%) Azure
2 112 (11.56%) Microsoft 365
3 81 (8.36%) Entra ID
4 62 (6.40%) AWS
5 49 (5.06%) Power Platform
6 36 (3.72%) SaaS
7 28 (2.89%) Azure DevOps
8 27 (2.79%) GCP
9 23 (2.37%) OneDrive
10 17 (1.75%) Azure Monitor
11 13 (1.34%) Dynamics 365
12 10 (1.03%) GitHub
13 9 (0.93%) Azure Sentinel
13 9 (0.93%) IaaS
13 9 (0.93%) Microsoft Copilot
13 9 (0.93%) Power Automate
13 9 (0.93%) Serverless
14 8 (0.83%) Azure Functions
15 7 (0.72%) Azure ExpressRoute
15 7 (0.72%) Google Workspace
Communications & Networking
1 46 (4.75%) DNS
2 43 (4.44%) Firewall
3 41 (4.23%) VPN
4 34 (3.51%) DHCP
5 31 (3.20%) Network Security
6 28 (2.89%) TCP/IP
7 22 (2.27%) LAN
8 17 (1.75%) WAN
9 16 (1.65%) Skype
10 13 (1.34%) Wi-Fi
11 12 (1.24%) SSH
11 12 (1.24%) VLAN
12 9 (0.93%) Wireless
13 8 (0.83%) BGP
13 8 (0.83%) NetScaler
14 7 (0.72%) Intrusion Detection
15 6 (0.62%) OSPF
15 6 (0.62%) Software-Defined Networking
16 5 (0.52%) MPLS
16 5 (0.52%) Wireshark
Database & Business Intelligence
1 30 (3.10%) Power BI
2 25 (2.58%) SQL Server
3 20 (2.06%) Metadata
4 7 (0.72%) Looker
5 6 (0.62%) MySQL
5 6 (0.62%) SQL Server Integration Services
6 5 (0.52%) BigQuery
6 5 (0.52%) MariaDB
7 4 (0.41%) Amazon RDS
7 4 (0.41%) Relational Database
8 3 (0.31%) Amazon Aurora
8 3 (0.31%) SQL Server Reporting Services
9 2 (0.21%) EDRMS
9 2 (0.21%) Oracle Database
9 2 (0.21%) Oracle Reports
9 2 (0.21%) PostgreSQL
9 2 (0.21%) SQL Server Analysis Services
10 1 (0.10%) Data Warehouse
10 1 (0.10%) Db2
10 1 (0.10%) EDMS
Development Applications
1 71 (7.33%) JIRA
2 22 (2.27%) Git
3 9 (0.93%) Atlassian Bamboo
3 9 (0.93%) Bitbucket
3 9 (0.93%) Jenkins
4 4 (0.41%) Browser DevTools
4 4 (0.41%) 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%) eggPlant
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%) SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
General
1 397 (40.97%) Social Skills
2 160 (16.51%) Analytical Skills
3 142 (14.65%) Finance
4 103 (10.63%) Public Sector
5 51 (5.26%) Organisational Skills
6 48 (4.95%) Documentation Skills
7 42 (4.33%) Influencing Skills
8 38 (3.92%) Aerospace
9 30 (3.10%) Legal
10 24 (2.48%) Inclusion and Diversity
11 22 (2.27%) Banking
12 20 (2.06%) Military
13 19 (1.96%) Telecoms
14 18 (1.86%) Manufacturing
14 18 (1.86%) Presentation Skills
15 17 (1.75%) Local Government
16 5 (0.52%) Law
16 5 (0.52%) Retail
17 3 (0.31%) Police
18 2 (0.21%) Automotive
Job Titles
1 109 (11.25%) Lead
2 103 (10.63%) Analyst
3 84 (8.67%) Architect
4 69 (7.12%) Senior
5 58 (5.99%) Service Manager
6 52 (5.37%) Delivery Manager
7 43 (4.44%) Support Engineer
8 42 (4.33%) Consultant
8 42 (4.33%) Service Analyst
9 40 (4.13%) Developer
10 34 (3.51%) Service Architect
11 32 (3.30%) IT Manager
12 31 (3.20%) Project Manager
13 27 (2.79%) Administrator
13 27 (2.79%) Desktop Engineer
14 26 (2.68%) Technical Leader
15 24 (2.48%) Change Manager
16 23 (2.37%) 2nd Line Support
16 23 (2.37%) Desktop Support
17 22 (2.27%) Service Delivery Manager
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 42 (4.33%) Terraform
2 32 (3.30%) REST
3 20 (2.06%) Middleware
4 18 (1.86%) XML
5 12 (1.24%) JSON
6 11 (1.14%) Web Services
7 9 (0.93%) ARM Templates
7 9 (0.93%) SAML
8 8 (0.83%) SOAP
8 8 (0.83%) XSLT
9 7 (0.72%) .NET
9 7 (0.72%) LDAP
10 6 (0.62%) OAuth
10 6 (0.62%) SailPoint
11 4 (0.41%) AngularJS
11 4 (0.41%) Node.js
11 4 (0.41%) OpenID
11 4 (0.41%) React
11 4 (0.41%) Redux
11 4 (0.41%) RESTful
Miscellaneous
1 91 (9.39%) Onboarding
2 70 (7.22%) Management Information System
3 56 (5.78%) CMDB
4 41 (4.23%) Enterprise Software
5 37 (3.82%) Data Centre
6 28 (2.89%) PKI
7 26 (2.68%) Data Protection Act
8 24 (2.48%) Hybrid Cloud
9 23 (2.37%) Product Ownership
10 16 (1.65%) Security Operations Centre
11 14 (1.44%) Cyber Threat
12 13 (1.34%) Analytical Mindset
12 13 (1.34%) Operational Technology
12 13 (1.34%) Self-Motivation
12 13 (1.34%) Virtual Team
13 11 (1.14%) Security Posture
14 10 (1.03%) Clustering
15 9 (0.93%) Taxonomies
16 8 (0.83%) Cloud Native
16 8 (0.83%) Video Conferencing
Operating Systems
1 222 (22.91%) Windows
2 64 (6.60%) Linux
3 62 (6.40%) Windows Server
4 47 (4.85%) Windows 10
5 17 (1.75%) Unix
5 17 (1.75%) Windows 7
6 14 (1.44%) Android
6 14 (1.44%) Apple iOS
6 14 (1.44%) Mac OS
7 8 (0.83%) 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
1 552 (56.97%) ITIL
2 395 (40.76%) ITSM
3 301 (31.06%) Stakeholder Management
4 283 (29.21%) Continuous Improvement
5 212 (21.88%) Service Delivery
6 186 (19.20%) Agile
7 184 (18.99%) Problem-Solving
8 147 (15.17%) Stakeholder Engagement
9 146 (15.07%) Change Management
10 140 (14.45%) Roadmaps
11 132 (13.62%) Cybersecurity
12 116 (11.97%) Incident Management
13 114 (11.76%) Customer Service
14 94 (9.70%) Project Delivery
15 89 (9.18%) DevOps
16 81 (8.36%) Data Protection
17 79 (8.15%) Decision-Making
18 77 (7.95%) Risk Management
19 72 (7.43%) Service Design
19 72 (7.43%) Technical Leadership
Programming Languages
1 103 (10.63%) PowerShell
2 63 (6.50%) Python
3 38 (3.92%) Bash
4 35 (3.61%) SQL
5 29 (2.99%) JavaScript
6 19 (1.96%) VBScript
7 15 (1.55%) VB
8 14 (1.44%) Java
9 12 (1.24%) C#
10 9 (0.93%) Bicep
11 7 (0.72%) Shell Script
12 4 (0.41%) 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
1 458 (47.27%) Security Cleared
2 295 (30.44%) SC Cleared
3 142 (14.65%) DV Cleared
4 101 (10.42%) Degree
5 37 (3.82%) BPSS Clearance
6 31 (3.20%) PMP
7 30 (3.10%) PMI Certification
8 27 (2.79%) ITIL Certification
9 26 (2.68%) Microsoft Certification
10 23 (2.37%) DBS Check
11 15 (1.55%) CISSP
11 15 (1.55%) Computer Science Degree
12 14 (1.44%) Azure Certification
12 14 (1.44%) Cisco Certification
13 13 (1.34%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
14 12 (1.24%) CISM
15 10 (1.03%) A+ Certification
16 8 (0.83%) AWS Certification
16 8 (0.83%) BC Cleared
17 7 (0.72%) PRINCE2 Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 80 (8.26%) SLA
2 39 (4.02%) Data Quality
3 32 (3.30%) QA
4 31 (3.20%) ISO/IEC 20000
5 28 (2.89%) ISO/IEC 27001
6 24 (2.48%) GRC
7 22 (2.27%) GDPR
8 20 (2.06%) NCSC
9 19 (1.96%) NIST
10 18 (1.86%) PMO
11 17 (1.75%) ISO 9001
12 10 (1.03%) Accessibility
13 8 (0.83%) Disclosure Scotland
13 8 (0.83%) WCAG
14 6 (0.62%) COBIT
14 6 (0.62%) Cyber Essentials
14 6 (0.62%) ISO 22301
15 5 (0.52%) JSP 440
15 5 (0.52%) PCI DSS
16 4 (0.41%) ISO/IEC 27005
System Software
1 118 (12.18%) Active Directory
2 64 (6.60%) VMware Infrastructure
3 24 (2.48%) Hyper-V
4 23 (2.37%) VMware ESXi
5 17 (1.75%) BitLocker
5 17 (1.75%) VMware NSX
6 16 (1.65%) Docker
7 15 (1.55%) Virtual Desktop
8 14 (1.44%) vSphere
9 13 (1.34%) vCloud
10 9 (0.93%) Firmware
11 8 (0.83%) Citrix Hypervisor
11 8 (0.83%) XenApp
11 8 (0.83%) XenDesktop
12 4 (0.41%) KVM
12 4 (0.41%) Virtual Machines
13 3 (0.31%) Microsoft Virtual Server
13 3 (0.31%) NFS
13 3 (0.31%) Virtual Servers
14 2 (0.21%) GPFS
Systems Management
1 64 (6.60%) SCCM
2 56 (5.78%) Microsoft Intune
3 37 (3.82%) Ansible
4 20 (2.06%) SCOM
5 17 (1.75%) vCenter Server
6 15 (1.55%) Kubernetes
7 14 (1.44%) Single Sign-On
8 7 (0.72%) Jamf Pro
8 7 (0.72%) Progress Chef
9 5 (0.52%) NetBackup
10 4 (0.41%) PowerCLI
10 4 (0.41%) Tivoli
10 4 (0.41%) Tivoli Monitoring
10 4 (0.41%) vMotion
10 4 (0.41%) WSUS
11 3 (0.31%) BMC Performance Manager
11 3 (0.31%) Dell DRAC
11 3 (0.31%) OPNET
11 3 (0.31%) Perfmon
11 3 (0.31%) vRealize
Vendors
1 244 (25.18%) Microsoft
2 226 (23.32%) ServiceNow
3 83 (8.57%) VMware
4 47 (4.85%) Remedy
5 30 (3.10%) BMC
6 29 (2.99%) Cisco
7 21 (2.17%) Oracle
8 20 (2.06%) IBM
9 18 (1.86%) Atlassian
10 17 (1.75%) CyberArk
10 17 (1.75%) SAP
11 15 (1.55%) Citrix
11 15 (1.55%) Dynatrace
12 14 (1.44%) Apple
13 13 (1.34%) Google
13 13 (1.34%) SolarWinds
14 10 (1.03%) Palo Alto
14 10 (1.03%) Qualys
15 9 (0.93%) Red Hat
15 9 (0.93%) Splunk