Active Directory Contract Job Trends in the City of London

Microsoft Active Directory
Central London > City of London

The table below provides summary statistics and contractor rates for jobs advertised in the City of London requiring Active Directory 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 64 56 42
Rank change year-on-year -8 -14 -5
Contract jobs citing Active Directory 79 68 94
As % of all contract jobs in the City of London 3.64% 3.94% 4.48%
As % of the System Software category 45.14% 43.31% 39.33%
Number of daily rates quoted 57 46 63
10th Percentile £181 £263 £198
25th Percentile £235 £405 £344
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £415 £500 £425
Median % change year-on-year -17.00% +17.65% -10.53%
75th Percentile £638 £621 £560
90th Percentile £661 £685 £688
Central London median daily rate £388 £496 £450
% change year-on-year -21.80% +10.11% -3.23%
Number of hourly rates quoted 2 2 3
10th Percentile £19.73 £22.48 £84.40
25th Percentile £20.44 £23.19 £94.75
Median hourly rate £21.75 £25.25 £112.00
Median % change year-on-year -13.86% -77.46% -
75th Percentile £22.94 £28.19 -
90th Percentile £23.58 £29.43 -
Central London median hourly rate £21.75 £25.25 £112.00
% change year-on-year -13.86% -77.46% -

All System Software Skills
City of London

Active Directory falls under the System Software category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract job vacancies requiring system software skills in the City of London.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for system software skills 175 157 239
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the City of London 8.06% 9.10% 11.38%
Number of daily rates quoted 125 110 158
10th Percentile £222 £293 £333
25th Percentile £400 £428 £425
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £550 £558
Median % change year-on-year -4.55% -1.48% +3.86%
75th Percentile £626 £667 £684
90th Percentile £677 £688 £750
Central London median daily rate £525 £539 £550
% change year-on-year -2.64% -1.95% +4.76%
Number of hourly rates quoted 4 2 3
10th Percentile £12.78 £22.48 £84.40
25th Percentile £16.94 £23.19 £94.75
Median hourly rate £21.75 £25.25 £112.00
Median % change year-on-year -13.86% -77.46% +208.97%
75th Percentile £25.75 £28.19 -
90th Percentile £28.90 £29.43 -
Central London median hourly rate £24.00 £25.25 £112.00
% change year-on-year -4.95% -77.46% +208.97%

Active Directory
Job Vacancy Trend in the City of London

Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings citing Active Directory relative to all contract IT jobs advertised in the City of London.

Active Directory job vacancy trend in the City of London

Active Directory
Daily Rate Trend in the City of London

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the City of London citing Active Directory.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the City of London citing Active Directory

Active Directory
Daily Rate Histogram in the City of London

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Active Directory in the City of London over the 6 months to 7 October 2026.

Daily rate histogram for Active Directory in the City of London

Active Directory
Hourly Rate Trend in the City of London

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the City of London citing Active Directory.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the City of London citing Active Directory

Active Directory
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the City of 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 17 (21.52%) Microsoft Exchange
2 4 (5.06%) IIS
2 4 (5.06%) SharePoint
3 3 (3.80%) Confluence
4 2 (2.53%) Exchange Server 2013
Applications
1 2 (2.53%) Microsoft Excel
Business Applications
1 5 (6.33%) Remedy ITSM
2 1 (1.27%) Dynamics CRM
Cloud Services
1 40 (50.63%) Entra ID
2 29 (36.71%) Azure
3 28 (35.44%) Microsoft 365
4 9 (11.39%) AWS
5 6 (7.59%) Power Platform
6 4 (5.06%) OneDrive
7 3 (3.80%) GCP
7 3 (3.80%) IaaS
7 3 (3.80%) OpenShift
7 3 (3.80%) PaaS
8 2 (2.53%) Azure DevOps
8 2 (2.53%) Serverless
9 1 (1.27%) AWS Lambda
9 1 (1.27%) Azure Functions
9 1 (1.27%) Dynamics 365
9 1 (1.27%) GitHub
9 1 (1.27%) Mimecast
9 1 (1.27%) Power Automate
9 1 (1.27%) PowerApps
9 1 (1.27%) Virtual Private Cloud
Communications & Networking
1 31 (39.24%) DNS
2 22 (27.85%) DHCP
3 15 (18.99%) VPN
4 10 (12.66%) Firewall
5 8 (10.13%) TCP/IP
6 6 (7.59%) Wi-Fi
7 4 (5.06%) SMTP
8 3 (3.80%) Reverse Proxy
9 2 (2.53%) Cisco ISE
9 2 (2.53%) DMZ
9 2 (2.53%) LAN
9 2 (2.53%) Network Security
9 2 (2.53%) SSL
10 1 (1.27%) BGP
10 1 (1.27%) Internet
10 1 (1.27%) MPLS
10 1 (1.27%) OSPF
10 1 (1.27%) TACACS
10 1 (1.27%) WAN
10 1 (1.27%) WLAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 10 (12.66%) SQL Server
2 6 (7.59%) Power BI
2 6 (7.59%) SQL Server Integration Services
3 3 (3.80%) Amazon RDS
3 3 (3.80%) Big Data
3 3 (3.80%) Elasticsearch
3 3 (3.80%) SQL Server Analysis Services
3 3 (3.80%) SQL Server Reporting Services
4 2 (2.53%) Relational Database
5 1 (1.27%) Amazon Athena
5 1 (1.27%) Amazon QuickSight
5 1 (1.27%) Amazon Redshift
5 1 (1.27%) NoSQL
5 1 (1.27%) Oracle BI EE
5 1 (1.27%) PostgreSQL
Development Applications
1 10 (12.66%) JIRA
2 2 (2.53%) Git
3 1 (1.27%) Artifactory
3 1 (1.27%) GitLab
3 1 (1.27%) MSI
3 1 (1.27%) Team Foundation Server
General
1 29 (36.71%) Social Skills
2 17 (21.52%) Finance
3 9 (11.39%) Analytical Skills
4 5 (6.33%) Front Office
5 4 (5.06%) Public Sector
6 3 (3.80%) Telecoms
7 2 (2.53%) Banking
7 2 (2.53%) Inclusion and Diversity
7 2 (2.53%) Military
8 1 (1.27%) Documentation Skills
8 1 (1.27%) Financial Institution
8 1 (1.27%) Influencing Skills
8 1 (1.27%) Investment Banking
8 1 (1.27%) Law
8 1 (1.27%) Mandarin Language
8 1 (1.27%) Marketing
8 1 (1.27%) Organisational Skills
8 1 (1.27%) Police
8 1 (1.27%) Presentation Skills
Job Titles
1 21 (26.58%) Support Engineer
2 11 (13.92%) Infrastructure Engineer
2 11 (13.92%) IT Support
3 9 (11.39%) Analyst
3 9 (11.39%) IT Engineer
3 9 (11.39%) IT Support Engineer
4 7 (8.86%) Active Directory Engineer
5 6 (7.59%) Infrastructure Support
5 6 (7.59%) Infrastructure Support Engineer
6 5 (6.33%) Architect
6 5 (6.33%) Support Analyst
7 4 (5.06%) IT Analyst
8 3 (3.80%) 3rd Line Infrastructure Engineer
8 3 (3.80%) 3rd Line Infrastructure Support
8 3 (3.80%) 3rd Line Support Engineer
8 3 (3.80%) Active Directory Support
8 3 (3.80%) Active Directory Support Engineer
8 3 (3.80%) Applications Engineer
8 3 (3.80%) Microsoft 365 Engineer
8 3 (3.80%) Solutions Architect
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 10 (12.66%) OpenID
1 10 (12.66%) SAML
2 7 (8.86%) OAuth
3 6 (7.59%) REST
4 3 (3.80%) 802.1X
4 3 (3.80%) Terraform
5 2 (2.53%) .NET
5 2 (2.53%) LDAP
5 2 (2.53%) OAuth2
5 2 (2.53%) SailPoint
6 1 (1.27%) .NET Core
6 1 (1.27%) ASP.NET
6 1 (1.27%) Bootstrap
6 1 (1.27%) CSS
6 1 (1.27%) HTML5 Canvas
6 1 (1.27%) Jakarta EE
6 1 (1.27%) JDBC
6 1 (1.27%) JSON
6 1 (1.27%) RESTful
6 1 (1.27%) SOAP
Miscellaneous
1 15 (18.99%) Onboarding
2 12 (15.19%) PKI
3 8 (10.13%) Video Conferencing
4 7 (8.86%) Data Centre
5 6 (7.59%) Clustering
5 6 (7.59%) Enterprise Software
6 3 (3.80%) Fat Client
6 3 (3.80%) Thin Client
7 2 (2.53%) Hybrid Cloud
7 2 (2.53%) iPad
7 2 (2.53%) iPhone
7 2 (2.53%) Virtual Team
8 1 (1.27%) BYOD
8 1 (1.27%) Data Fabric
8 1 (1.27%) Legacy Systems
8 1 (1.27%) Life Science
8 1 (1.27%) NHS
8 1 (1.27%) Product Ownership
8 1 (1.27%) Self-Motivation
Operating Systems
1 54 (68.35%) Windows
2 21 (26.58%) Windows Server
3 11 (13.92%) Mac OS
4 9 (11.39%) Windows 10
5 8 (10.13%) Linux
6 4 (5.06%) VMS
6 4 (5.06%) Windows Server 2012
7 3 (3.80%) Windows Server 2008
7 3 (3.80%) Windows Server 2019
8 2 (2.53%) Android
8 2 (2.53%) OpenVMS
8 2 (2.53%) Windows 7
9 1 (1.27%) Apple iOS
9 1 (1.27%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
9 1 (1.27%) Windows Server 2003
9 1 (1.27%) Windows Server 2016
Processes & Methodologies
1 27 (34.18%) Problem-Solving
2 16 (20.25%) Migration
3 13 (16.46%) Infrastructure Engineering
4 11 (13.92%) High Availability
5 10 (12.66%) Customer Service
5 10 (12.66%) Stakeholder Management
6 9 (11.39%) ITIL
6 9 (11.39%) Service Delivery
7 8 (10.13%) Continuous Improvement
7 8 (10.13%) Identity Access Management
7 8 (10.13%) Identity Management
7 8 (10.13%) Incident Management
8 7 (8.86%) Asset Management
8 7 (8.86%) Process Improvement
8 7 (8.86%) Project Delivery
9 6 (7.59%) Agile
9 6 (7.59%) AI
9 6 (7.59%) Collaborative Working
9 6 (7.59%) Cybersecurity
9 6 (7.59%) Stakeholder Engagement
Programming Languages
1 13 (16.46%) PowerShell
2 10 (12.66%) SQL
3 4 (5.06%) Python
4 2 (2.53%) Java
5 1 (1.27%) Bash
5 1 (1.27%) BeanShell
5 1 (1.27%) Bicep
5 1 (1.27%) C#
5 1 (1.27%) JavaScript
5 1 (1.27%) Korn
5 1 (1.27%) TypeScript
5 1 (1.27%) VB
Qualifications
1 16 (20.25%) Security Cleared
2 9 (11.39%) SC Cleared
3 7 (8.86%) Degree
4 6 (7.59%) DV Cleared
5 3 (3.80%) Cisco Certification
5 3 (3.80%) CISSP
6 2 (2.53%) CCNA
6 2 (2.53%) CCNP
7 1 (1.27%) CESG Certified Professional
7 1 (1.27%) CHECK Team Member
7 1 (1.27%) CISM
7 1 (1.27%) CREST Certified
7 1 (1.27%) GIAC
7 1 (1.27%) GPEN
7 1 (1.27%) ITIL Certification
7 1 (1.27%) Microsoft Certification
7 1 (1.27%) OSCP
7 1 (1.27%) PMI Certification
7 1 (1.27%) PMP
7 1 (1.27%) PRINCE2 Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 5 (6.33%) QA
2 4 (5.06%) GDPR
3 3 (3.80%) SLA
4 2 (2.53%) Cyber Essentials
4 2 (2.53%) GRC
4 2 (2.53%) ISO/IEC 27001
5 1 (1.27%) Data Quality
5 1 (1.27%) Government Security Classifications
5 1 (1.27%) HIPAA
5 1 (1.27%) NIST
5 1 (1.27%) Sarbanes-Oxley
5 1 (1.27%) SOC 2
System Software
1 16 (20.25%) VMware Infrastructure
2 7 (8.86%) VMware ESXi
3 6 (7.59%) Hyper-V
4 5 (6.33%) Virtual Desktop
5 4 (5.06%) Docker
5 4 (5.06%) Microsoft App-V
6 3 (3.80%) BitLocker
6 3 (3.80%) Terminal Services
7 2 (2.53%) vSphere
8 1 (1.27%) Firmware
8 1 (1.27%) UAG
8 1 (1.27%) Virtual Machines
8 1 (1.27%) Virtual Servers
Systems Management
1 20 (25.32%) Microsoft Intune
2 13 (16.46%) SCCM
3 10 (12.66%) Single Sign-On
4 7 (8.86%) Ansible
5 6 (7.59%) vCenter Server
6 4 (5.06%) Kubernetes
6 4 (5.06%) Puppet
6 4 (5.06%) SCOM
7 3 (3.80%) Jamf Pro
7 3 (3.80%) Microsoft Clustering
7 3 (3.80%) Nagios
7 3 (3.80%) vMotion
7 3 (3.80%) WSUS
8 2 (2.53%) FortiGate
8 2 (2.53%) Nessus
8 2 (2.53%) NetBackup
9 1 (1.27%) Cisco CUCM
9 1 (1.27%) EMC NetWorker
9 1 (1.27%) Salt
9 1 (1.27%) SCOrch
Vendors
1 61 (77.22%) Microsoft
2 19 (24.05%) VMware
3 12 (15.19%) ServiceNow
4 11 (13.92%) Citrix
5 8 (10.13%) Apple
5 8 (10.13%) Cisco
6 7 (8.86%) Bloomberg
7 5 (6.33%) HP
7 5 (6.33%) Remedy
8 4 (5.06%) CyberArk
8 4 (5.06%) Google
8 4 (5.06%) Oracle
9 3 (3.80%) BeyondTrust
9 3 (3.80%) BMC
9 3 (3.80%) Commvault
9 3 (3.80%) Refinitiv
9 3 (3.80%) Symantec
9 3 (3.80%) Zscaler
10 2 (2.53%) Tenable
10 2 (2.53%) Veritas