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

6 months to
16 Jul 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 75 57 59
Rank change year-on-year -18 +2 +4
Contract jobs citing Service Management 789 589 657
As % of all contract jobs in the UK excluding London 2.93% 3.99% 3.18%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 3.58% 4.47% 3.83%
Number of daily rates quoted 520 346 471
10th Percentile £220 £200 £213
25th Percentile £400 £308 £424
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £510 £492 £525
Median % change year-on-year +3.61% -6.29% +7.69%
75th Percentile £599 £588 £600
90th Percentile £688 £675 £675
UK median daily rate £520 £495 £525
% change year-on-year +5.05% -5.71% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 74 63 18
10th Percentile £14.65 - £14.86
25th Percentile £16.17 £12.62 £18.04
Median hourly rate £60.00 £20.83 £26.50
Median % change year-on-year +188.05% -21.40% +24.35%
75th Percentile £85.00 £25.28 £48.44
90th Percentile £96.75 £56.80 £51.13
UK median hourly rate £60.00 £20.83 £26.50
% change year-on-year +188.05% -21.40% -36.72%

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 22,058 13,181 17,139
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK excluding London 82.01% 89.25% 82.89%
Number of daily rates quoted 13,103 8,002 10,160
10th Percentile £300 £238 £250
25th Percentile £406 £368 £381
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £475 £500
Median % change year-on-year +5.26% -5.00% -
75th Percentile £588 £575 £600
90th Percentile £675 £650 £688
UK median daily rate £520 £500 £525
% change year-on-year +4.00% -4.76% -4.55%
Number of hourly rates quoted 2,291 1,207 2,064
10th Percentile £14.50 £14.20 £12.55
25th Percentile £19.55 £16.95 £15.62
Median hourly rate £45.00 £24.34 £38.12
Median % change year-on-year +84.88% -36.15% -3.74%
75th Percentile £68.75 £50.50 £62.50
90th Percentile £82.25 £72.50 £73.75
UK median hourly rate £43.96 £25.15 £38.12
% change year-on-year +74.79% -34.02% -5.29%

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 16 July 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 16 July 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 16 July 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 +34 258 £538 +33.54% 114
North of England -30 203 £470 +3.64% 102
South West -25 127 £500 -9.09% 47
North West -35 111 £500 +7.53% 57
Midlands -47 90 £477 -1.65% 54
Yorkshire -22 86 £448 +19.53% 36
West Midlands -43 79 £498 -3.40% 31
Scotland -24 58 £500 - 11
East of England -22 40 £525 -4.55% 29
Wales -1 13 £800 +188.29% 12
East Midlands -13 11 £250 -32.07% 22
Northern Ireland +7 7 - - 13
North East -38 6 £440 +125.64% 13
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 (5.70%) SharePoint
2 30 (3.80%) Microsoft Exchange
3 25 (3.17%) Confluence
4 9 (1.14%) Skype for Business
5 6 (0.76%) Mattermost
6 3 (0.38%) CMS
6 3 (0.38%) OpenStack
7 2 (0.25%) IIS
8 1 (0.13%) Apache
8 1 (0.13%) JBoss
8 1 (0.13%) LiveCycle
Applications
1 54 (6.84%) Microsoft Office
2 21 (2.66%) Microsoft Excel
3 13 (1.65%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 4 (0.51%) Chatbot
5 3 (0.38%) Microsoft Project
5 3 (0.38%) PTC Creo
6 2 (0.25%) MS Visio
7 1 (0.13%) Camtasia
7 1 (0.13%) Maple
Business Applications
1 49 (6.21%) Remedy ITSM
2 8 (1.01%) SAP S/4HANA
3 7 (0.89%) Teamcenter
4 5 (0.63%) ContrOCC
5 2 (0.25%) Oracle Applications
5 2 (0.25%) Primavera
6 1 (0.13%) NetSuite
6 1 (0.13%) SAP HR
6 1 (0.13%) SAP Payroll
Cloud Services
1 113 (14.32%) Azure
2 78 (9.89%) Microsoft 365
3 47 (5.96%) Power Platform
4 41 (5.20%) Entra ID
5 37 (4.69%) AWS
6 22 (2.79%) OneDrive
7 21 (2.66%) Azure DevOps
7 21 (2.66%) SaaS
8 17 (2.15%) GCP
9 8 (1.01%) Microsoft Copilot
9 8 (1.01%) OCI
9 8 (1.01%) PaaS
10 7 (0.89%) GitHub
11 6 (0.76%) Azure AKS
11 6 (0.76%) Azure Monitor
12 5 (0.63%) Azure Machine Learning
12 5 (0.63%) Azure Synapse Analytics
12 5 (0.63%) Google App Engine
12 5 (0.63%) IaaS
13 3 (0.38%) PowerApps
Communications & Networking
1 36 (4.56%) Firewall
2 34 (4.31%) DNS
3 28 (3.55%) LAN
4 21 (2.66%) DHCP
5 19 (2.41%) WAN
6 18 (2.28%) Network Security
6 18 (2.28%) VPN
7 17 (2.15%) BGP
8 15 (1.90%) OSPF
9 14 (1.77%) TCP/IP
9 14 (1.77%) Wireless
10 12 (1.52%) BIG-IP
10 12 (1.52%) Cisco ISE
11 11 (1.39%) VLAN
11 11 (1.39%) Wi-Fi
12 10 (1.27%) Junos
13 9 (1.14%) Skype
13 9 (1.14%) VXLAN
14 8 (1.01%) Ethernet VPN
15 5 (0.63%) SSH
Database & Business Intelligence
1 41 (5.20%) Power BI
2 16 (2.03%) SQL Server
3 5 (0.63%) Oracle Reports
3 5 (0.63%) PostgreSQL
3 5 (0.63%) Relational Database
4 4 (0.51%) MySQL
4 4 (0.51%) SQL Server Integration Services
5 3 (0.38%) Azure SQL Database
5 3 (0.38%) MariaDB
5 3 (0.38%) SQL Server Analysis Services
5 3 (0.38%) SQL Server Reporting Services
6 2 (0.25%) Amazon RDS
6 2 (0.25%) Microsoft Analysis Services
6 2 (0.25%) Oracle Database
7 1 (0.13%) Amazon Aurora
7 1 (0.13%) DTS
7 1 (0.13%) InfluxDB
7 1 (0.13%) OpenStack Swift
7 1 (0.13%) Oracle Database 11g
Development Applications
1 74 (9.38%) JIRA
2 16 (2.03%) Git
3 7 (0.89%) Jenkins
4 6 (0.76%) Bitbucket
4 6 (0.76%) GitLab
5 5 (0.63%) Atlassian Bamboo
5 5 (0.63%) Browser DevTools
6 4 (0.51%) MLflow
7 3 (0.38%) Fiddler
7 3 (0.38%) Rational DOORS
8 2 (0.25%) Firebug
8 2 (0.25%) IntelliJ
8 2 (0.25%) webpack
9 1 (0.13%) Claude Code
9 1 (0.13%) Gemini Tracker
9 1 (0.13%) Gradle
9 1 (0.13%) IBM UrbanCode
9 1 (0.13%) MSI
9 1 (0.13%) Snyk
9 1 (0.13%) Visual Studio Code
General
1 282 (35.74%) Social Skills
2 110 (13.94%) Finance
3 108 (13.69%) Analytical Skills
4 72 (9.13%) Public Sector
5 39 (4.94%) Legal
6 32 (4.06%) Influencing Skills
7 25 (3.17%) Documentation Skills
8 23 (2.92%) Telecoms
9 22 (2.79%) Organisational Skills
10 21 (2.66%) Military
11 15 (1.90%) Inclusion and Diversity
12 14 (1.77%) Aerospace
13 13 (1.65%) Presentation Skills
14 12 (1.52%) Banking
15 11 (1.39%) Local Government
16 6 (0.76%) Retail
17 5 (0.63%) Financial Institution
18 3 (0.38%) Publishing
19 1 (0.13%) Games
19 1 (0.13%) German Language
Job Titles
1 105 (13.31%) Analyst
2 91 (11.53%) Service Manager
3 82 (10.39%) Lead
4 68 (8.62%) Senior
5 51 (6.46%) Service Analyst
6 49 (6.21%) Architect
7 47 (5.96%) IT Manager
8 30 (3.80%) Delivery Manager
8 30 (3.80%) Project Manager
9 27 (3.42%) Network Engineer
10 24 (3.04%) Consultant
10 24 (3.04%) IT Analyst
10 24 (3.04%) Support Engineer
11 22 (2.79%) Service Delivery Manager
12 21 (2.66%) Transition Manager
13 20 (2.53%) IT Services Manager
14 19 (2.41%) Administrator
14 19 (2.41%) Service Architect
14 19 (2.41%) Service Transition Manager
15 17 (2.15%) Infrastructure Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 25 (3.17%) REST
2 9 (1.14%) OAuth
2 9 (1.14%) SOAP
3 8 (1.01%) 802.1X
4 5 (0.63%) OpenID
4 5 (0.63%) Oracle Fusion
4 5 (0.63%) SAML
4 5 (0.63%) XML
5 4 (0.51%) OAuth2
5 4 (0.51%) XMPP
6 3 (0.38%) .NET
6 3 (0.38%) CSS
6 3 (0.38%) Elastic Stack
6 3 (0.38%) FIDO
6 3 (0.38%) Flash
6 3 (0.38%) HTML
6 3 (0.38%) JSON
6 3 (0.38%) Microsoft Graph
6 3 (0.38%) Software Packaging
7 2 (0.25%) ADO
Miscellaneous
1 62 (7.86%) Onboarding
2 42 (5.32%) CMDB
3 38 (4.82%) Product Ownership
4 31 (3.93%) Management Information System
5 29 (3.68%) PKI
6 25 (3.17%) Data Centre
7 24 (3.04%) Clustering
8 18 (2.28%) Enterprise Software
9 16 (2.03%) Data Protection Act
9 16 (2.03%) Virtual Team
10 14 (1.77%) Operational Technology
11 12 (1.52%) Analytical Mindset
11 12 (1.52%) Self-Motivation
12 9 (1.14%) Driving Licence
13 8 (1.01%) Cloud Native
13 8 (1.01%) Cyber Threat
13 8 (1.01%) Replication
13 8 (1.01%) Security Posture
14 7 (0.89%) Video Conferencing
15 6 (0.76%) Distributed Systems
Operating Systems
1 172 (21.80%) Windows
2 36 (4.56%) Linux
3 35 (4.44%) Windows 10
3 35 (4.44%) Windows Server
4 12 (1.52%) Windows 7
5 11 (1.39%) Mac OS
6 10 (1.27%) Unix
7 5 (0.63%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
8 4 (0.51%) Android
8 4 (0.51%) Apple iOS
9 2 (0.25%) Solaris
9 2 (0.25%) Ubuntu
9 2 (0.25%) Windows Server 2012
9 2 (0.25%) Windows XP
10 1 (0.13%) Rocky
10 1 (0.13%) Windows Server 2008
10 1 (0.13%) Windows Server 2016
10 1 (0.13%) Windows Server 2019
10 1 (0.13%) zOS
Processes & Methodologies
1 458 (58.05%) ITIL
2 353 (44.74%) ITSM
3 211 (26.74%) Continuous Improvement
4 193 (24.46%) Stakeholder Management
5 189 (23.95%) Service Delivery
6 153 (19.39%) Agile
7 151 (19.14%) Problem-Solving
8 122 (15.46%) Change Management
9 116 (14.70%) Stakeholder Engagement
10 93 (11.79%) Customer Service
11 78 (9.89%) DevOps
11 78 (9.89%) Incident Management
12 66 (8.37%) Problem Management
12 66 (8.37%) Project Delivery
13 63 (7.98%) Cybersecurity
14 60 (7.60%) Configuration Management
15 59 (7.48%) Roadmaps
16 53 (6.72%) Service Design
17 50 (6.34%) Risk Management
18 47 (5.96%) Project Management
Programming Languages
1 70 (8.87%) PowerShell
2 49 (6.21%) Python
3 41 (5.20%) SQL
4 22 (2.79%) JavaScript
5 20 (2.53%) Bash
6 9 (1.14%) VB
6 9 (1.14%) VBScript
7 7 (0.89%) Java
8 4 (0.51%) C#
8 4 (0.51%) Perl
8 4 (0.51%) PL/SQL
8 4 (0.51%) T-SQL
9 3 (0.38%) C
9 3 (0.38%) Shell Script
10 2 (0.25%) Apex Code
10 2 (0.25%) Lua
10 2 (0.25%) Search Processing Language
10 2 (0.25%) TypeScript
11 1 (0.13%) Bicep
11 1 (0.13%) Go
Qualifications
1 367 (46.51%) Security Cleared
2 228 (28.90%) SC Cleared
3 132 (16.73%) DV Cleared
4 73 (9.25%) Degree
5 41 (5.20%) ITIL Certification
6 24 (3.04%) Cisco Certification
7 23 (2.92%) PMP
8 22 (2.79%) PMI Certification
9 21 (2.66%) BPSS Clearance
10 15 (1.90%) Computer Science Degree
10 15 (1.90%) Microsoft Certification
11 13 (1.65%) CCNA
12 12 (1.52%) DBS Check
13 11 (1.39%) A+ Certification
13 11 (1.39%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
14 10 (1.27%) CCNP
15 9 (1.14%) JNCIA
15 9 (1.14%) JNCIP
15 9 (1.14%) JNCIS
16 7 (0.89%) CISSP
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 55 (6.97%) SLA
2 27 (3.42%) Data Quality
3 25 (3.17%) ISO/IEC 20000
4 22 (2.79%) ISO/IEC 27001
4 22 (2.79%) PMO
4 22 (2.79%) QA
5 16 (2.03%) NCSC
6 15 (1.90%) GRC
7 14 (1.77%) ISO 9001
8 13 (1.65%) GDPR
9 10 (1.27%) COBIT
10 8 (1.01%) Disclosure Scotland
11 7 (0.89%) Government Security Classifications
12 6 (0.76%) ISO 31000
12 6 (0.76%) ISO/IEC 27005
13 5 (0.63%) Accessibility
13 5 (0.63%) Cyber Essentials
14 4 (0.51%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
14 4 (0.51%) GMP
14 4 (0.51%) NIST
System Software
1 90 (11.41%) Active Directory
2 40 (5.07%) VMware Infrastructure
3 18 (2.28%) VMware ESXi
4 11 (1.39%) Docker
4 11 (1.39%) VMware NSX
5 10 (1.27%) BitLocker
6 9 (1.14%) vSphere
7 8 (1.01%) vCloud
8 5 (0.63%) Virtual Machines
9 4 (0.51%) Hyper-V
9 4 (0.51%) NFS
9 4 (0.51%) Virtual Desktop
10 3 (0.38%) Firmware
11 2 (0.25%) GPFS
11 2 (0.25%) KVM
12 1 (0.13%) iptables
12 1 (0.13%) Oracle RAC
12 1 (0.13%) Samba
12 1 (0.13%) Slurm Workload Manager
Systems Management
1 42 (5.32%) SCCM
2 36 (4.56%) Microsoft Intune
3 22 (2.79%) Ansible
4 21 (2.66%) Terraform
5 12 (1.52%) SCOM
6 11 (1.39%) Kubernetes
7 10 (1.27%) vCenter Server
8 8 (1.01%) FortiGate
8 8 (1.01%) Jamf Pro
8 8 (1.01%) Single Sign-On
9 4 (0.51%) PowerCLI
9 4 (0.51%) Progress Chef
9 4 (0.51%) vMotion
10 3 (0.38%) Cisco Prime
10 3 (0.38%) Dell DRAC
10 3 (0.38%) Grafana
10 3 (0.38%) Puppet
10 3 (0.38%) Systems Management Server (SMS)
10 3 (0.38%) vRealize
11 2 (0.25%) Nagios
Vendors
1 196 (24.84%) ServiceNow
2 148 (18.76%) Microsoft
3 55 (6.97%) VMware
4 51 (6.46%) Remedy
5 36 (4.56%) Cisco
6 25 (3.17%) BMC
7 18 (2.28%) Splunk
8 17 (2.15%) Oracle
8 17 (2.15%) SolarWinds
9 14 (1.77%) Juniper
10 13 (1.65%) SAP
11 12 (1.52%) F5
12 10 (1.27%) Atlassian
12 10 (1.27%) Dell
12 10 (1.27%) Dynatrace
12 10 (1.27%) HP
12 10 (1.27%) IBM
12 10 (1.27%) Qualys
13 9 (1.14%) IFS
14 8 (1.01%) Extreme Networks