CISM Contract Job Trends in England

ISACA Certified Information Security Manager (CISM)
UK > England

The table below provides summary statistics for contract job vacancies advertised in England with a requirement for CISM qualifications. It includes a benchmarking guide to the contractor rates offered over the 6 months leading up to 26 January 2026, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
26 Jan 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 294 275 263
Rank change year-on-year -19 -12 +152
Contract jobs citing CISM 273 214 316
As % of all contract jobs in England 0.85% 0.81% 0.84%
As % of the Qualifications category 2.46% 2.66% 2.70%
Number of daily rates quoted 177 126 236
10th Percentile £424 £500 £469
25th Percentile £463 £538 £525
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £537 £628 £625
Median % change year-on-year -14.42% +0.40% -3.85%
75th Percentile £631 £675 £716
90th Percentile £725 £755 £825
UK median daily rate £550 £625 £600
% change year-on-year -12.00% +4.17% -5.88%
Number of hourly rates quoted 8 6 4
10th Percentile - £64.77 -
25th Percentile £41.94 £68.80 £68.26
Median hourly rate £43.70 £78.40 £78.36
Median % change year-on-year -44.26% +0.05% +7.37%
75th Percentile £77.81 £83.20 £84.31
90th Percentile £94.13 £89.10 £85.92
UK median hourly rate £55.23 £83.20 £78.36
% change year-on-year -33.62% +6.18% +15.24%

All Academic and Professional Certifications
England

CISM falls under the Academic Qualifications and Professional Certifications category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract job vacancies requiring academic qualifications or professional certifications in England.

Contract vacancies requiring academic qualifications or professional certifications 11,085 8,039 11,691
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in England 34.35% 30.39% 31.06%
Number of daily rates quoted 7,366 4,846 7,306
10th Percentile £313 £300 £300
25th Percentile £419 £419 £425
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £525 £550
Median % change year-on-year - -4.55% -
75th Percentile £625 £638 £650
90th Percentile £725 £725 £738
UK median daily rate £519 £525 £550
% change year-on-year -1.24% -4.55% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 864 389 819
10th Percentile £15.66 £19.72 £14.50
25th Percentile £18.87 £25.26 £21.46
Median hourly rate £25.15 £46.18 £47.50
Median % change year-on-year -45.54% -2.78% +5.56%
75th Percentile £63.18 £67.50 £65.38
90th Percentile £75.00 £80.92 £78.00
UK median hourly rate £25.15 £39.00 £47.50
% change year-on-year -35.51% -17.89% +5.56%

CISM
Job Vacancy Trend in England

Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings citing CISM relative to all contract IT jobs advertised in England.

CISM job vacancy trend in England

CISM
Daily Rate Trend in England

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in England citing CISM.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in England citing CISM

CISM
Daily Rate Histogram in England

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing CISM in England over the 6 months to 26 January 2026.

Daily rate histogram for CISM in England

CISM
Hourly Rate Trend in England

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in England citing CISM.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in England citing CISM

CISM
Hourly Rate Histogram in England

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing CISM in England over the 6 months to 26 January 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for CISM in England

CISM
Contract Job Locations in England

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing CISM within the England region over the 6 months to 26 January 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
London -28 96 £550 -15.38% 25
North of England -9 59 £532 -16.86% 13
South East -16 47 £490 -23.48% 24
Yorkshire -11 38 £537 -19.25% 6
Midlands -40 22 £500 - 18
South West -9 21 £538 -17.31% 13
North West -15 20 £519 -13.54% 6
West Midlands -29 17 £625 +25.00% 11
East Midlands -30 5 £425 -29.17% 7
East of England -20 3 £600 +4.35% 5
North East - 1 £545 - 1
CISM
UK

CISM
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in England 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 28 (10.26%) Confluence
2 2 (0.73%) Microsoft Exchange
3 1 (0.37%) SharePoint
Applications
1 6 (2.20%) Microsoft Excel
2 5 (1.83%) Microsoft Project
3 4 (1.47%) Microsoft Office
3 4 (1.47%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 1 (0.37%) MS Visio
Business Applications
1 8 (2.93%) Maximo
2 1 (0.37%) SAP CO
2 1 (0.37%) SAP FI
2 1 (0.37%) SAP FI/CO
2 1 (0.37%) SAP S/4HANA
Cloud Services
1 88 (32.23%) Azure
2 71 (26.01%) AWS
3 43 (15.75%) GCP
4 25 (9.16%) OpenShift
5 20 (7.33%) Entra ID
6 19 (6.96%) Azure Sentinel
7 13 (4.76%) Microsoft 365
8 8 (2.93%) Azure AKS
8 8 (2.93%) Azure ExpressRoute
8 8 (2.93%) Azure Monitor
8 8 (2.93%) Microsoft Purview
9 7 (2.56%) Azure DevOps
10 5 (1.83%) SaaS
11 4 (1.47%) Power Platform
12 2 (0.73%) Azure Key Vault
12 2 (0.73%) Google Workspace
13 1 (0.37%) Cloud Computing
13 1 (0.37%) GitHub
13 1 (0.37%) IaaS
13 1 (0.37%) PaaS
Communications & Networking
1 40 (14.65%) Firewall
2 32 (11.72%) Network Security
3 23 (8.42%) VPN
4 6 (2.20%) SSL
5 5 (1.83%) Intrusion Detection
5 5 (1.83%) Kerberos
5 5 (1.83%) TCP/IP
6 4 (1.47%) S/MIME
6 4 (1.47%) SSH
7 3 (1.10%) HTTP
8 2 (0.73%) DNS
9 1 (0.37%) BGP
9 1 (0.37%) DHCP
9 1 (0.37%) InfiniBand
9 1 (0.37%) MPLS
9 1 (0.37%) OSPF
Database & Business Intelligence
1 2 (0.73%) Power BI
1 2 (0.73%) Tableau
2 1 (0.37%) EDRMS
Development Applications
1 34 (12.45%) JIRA
2 8 (2.93%) GitLab
3 2 (0.73%) Jenkins
4 1 (0.37%) Burp Suite
4 1 (0.37%) Git
4 1 (0.37%) TestDirector
General
1 107 (39.19%) Social Skills
2 58 (21.25%) Finance
3 38 (13.92%) Analytical Skills
4 21 (7.69%) Documentation Skills
4 21 (7.69%) Public Sector
5 13 (4.76%) Legal
6 12 (4.40%) Banking
7 7 (2.56%) Presentation Skills
8 5 (1.83%) Marketing
9 4 (1.47%) Influencing Skills
9 4 (1.47%) Local Government
9 4 (1.47%) Retail
10 3 (1.10%) Law
11 2 (0.73%) Automotive
11 2 (0.73%) Financial Institution
11 2 (0.73%) Organisational Skills
11 2 (0.73%) Police
12 1 (0.37%) Digital Health
12 1 (0.37%) Electronics
12 1 (0.37%) Inclusion and Diversity
Job Titles
1 36 (13.19%) Architect
2 33 (12.09%) Analyst
3 32 (11.72%) Consultant
4 27 (9.89%) Security Architect
5 25 (9.16%) Security Engineer
5 25 (9.16%) Security Manager
6 23 (8.42%) Lead
6 23 (8.42%) Security Consultant
7 18 (6.59%) Security Analyst
7 18 (6.59%) Solutions Architect
8 15 (5.49%) Cybersecurity Consultant
8 15 (5.49%) Cybersecurity Manager
9 14 (5.13%) Security Solutions Architect
9 14 (5.13%) Security Specialist
9 14 (5.13%) Senior
10 11 (4.03%) Cybersecurity Analyst
10 11 (4.03%) Cybersecurity Specialist
10 11 (4.03%) Project Manager
11 10 (3.66%) Azure Engineer
12 9 (3.30%) Cybersecurity Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 24 (8.79%) LDAP
2 15 (5.49%) SailPoint
3 9 (3.30%) OAuth
4 8 (2.93%) ARM Templates
4 8 (2.93%) SAML
5 5 (1.83%) REST
5 5 (1.83%) SOAP
6 3 (1.10%) Microsoft Graph
6 3 (1.10%) OAuth2
7 2 (0.73%) Flash
7 2 (0.73%) ModSecurity
7 2 (0.73%) OpenID
7 2 (0.73%) Smart Contracts
8 1 (0.37%) JWT
8 1 (0.37%) OpenMP
8 1 (0.37%) PyTorch
8 1 (0.37%) SLSA
8 1 (0.37%) TensorFlow
8 1 (0.37%) Web Services
Miscellaneous
1 34 (12.45%) Management Information System
2 20 (7.33%) Security Posture
3 18 (6.59%) Cyber Threat
4 16 (5.86%) PKI
5 14 (5.13%) Cloud Native
6 13 (4.76%) Onboarding
6 13 (4.76%) Security Operations Centre
7 11 (4.03%) Enterprise Software
8 10 (3.66%) Operational Technology
9 9 (3.30%) Hybrid Cloud
10 6 (2.20%) CSOC
11 4 (1.47%) Algorithms
11 4 (1.47%) NHS
11 4 (1.47%) Robotics
11 4 (1.47%) Smartcard
12 3 (1.10%) BYOD
12 3 (1.10%) Cyber Defence
12 3 (1.10%) Data Centre
12 3 (1.10%) IoT
13 2 (0.73%) CUDA
Operating Systems
1 10 (3.66%) Windows
2 9 (3.30%) Linux
3 4 (1.47%) Windows Server
4 3 (1.10%) Unix
5 2 (0.73%) Mac OS
6 1 (0.37%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
6 1 (0.37%) Rocky
6 1 (0.37%) Ubuntu
Processes & Methodologies
1 168 (61.54%) Cybersecurity
2 84 (30.77%) Incident Response
3 77 (28.21%) Information Security
4 75 (27.47%) Risk Management
5 74 (27.11%) SIEM
6 67 (24.54%) Cloud Security
7 64 (23.44%) Identity Access Management
8 52 (19.05%) DevOps
9 50 (18.32%) Security Operations
10 49 (17.95%) Problem-Solving
11 44 (16.12%) Vulnerability Management
12 43 (15.75%) Computer Science
13 41 (15.02%) CI/CD
14 38 (13.92%) Agile
14 38 (13.92%) DevSecOps
14 38 (13.92%) Stakeholder Management
15 35 (12.82%) Threat Modelling
16 34 (12.45%) Zero Trust
17 33 (12.09%) TOGAF
18 32 (11.72%) Stakeholder Engagement
Programming Languages
1 39 (14.29%) PowerShell
2 34 (12.45%) Python
3 8 (2.93%) Bicep
4 5 (1.83%) BeanShell
4 5 (1.83%) Java
5 3 (1.10%) Bash
6 2 (0.73%) JavaScript
6 2 (0.73%) Rust
6 2 (0.73%) Solidity
7 1 (0.37%) Go
7 1 (0.37%) Kusto Query Language
Qualifications
1 262 (95.97%) CISSP
2 83 (30.40%) Security Cleared
3 74 (27.11%) Degree
4 56 (20.51%) SC Cleared
5 45 (16.48%) CISA
6 36 (13.19%) CRISC
7 34 (12.45%) DV Cleared
8 27 (9.89%) CEH
9 26 (9.52%) CompTIA Security+
10 25 (9.16%) Master's Degree
11 22 (8.06%) GIAC
12 20 (7.33%) ISO 27001 Lead Implementer
13 17 (6.23%) Azure Certification
13 17 (6.23%) ISO 27001 Lead Auditor
14 16 (5.86%) TOGAF Certification
15 13 (4.76%) Cisco Certification
15 13 (4.76%) Microsoft Certification
16 12 (4.40%) Computer Science Degree
17 11 (4.03%) (ISC)2 CCSP
17 11 (4.03%) PhD
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 149 (54.58%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 135 (49.45%) NIST
3 77 (28.21%) GDPR
4 28 (10.26%) PCI DSS
5 27 (9.89%) GRC
6 25 (9.16%) NCSC
7 17 (6.23%) Cyber Essentials
8 16 (5.86%) COBIT
9 15 (5.49%) NIST 800
10 13 (4.76%) Sarbanes-Oxley
11 8 (2.93%) JSP 440
11 8 (2.93%) SOC 2
12 7 (2.56%) ISO/IEC 27005
13 5 (1.83%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
13 5 (1.83%) HIPAA
13 5 (1.83%) ISO/IEC 27002 (supersedes ISO/IEC 17799)
14 4 (1.47%) Actionable Recommendations
14 4 (1.47%) PMO
15 3 (1.10%) HMG Security Policy Framework
16 2 (0.73%) QA
System Software
1 39 (14.29%) Active Directory
2 2 (0.73%) GPFS
2 2 (0.73%) Lustre
2 2 (0.73%) Slurm Workload Manager
3 1 (0.37%) Hyper-V
Systems Management
1 31 (11.36%) Kubernetes
2 17 (6.23%) Terraform
3 15 (5.49%) Single Sign-On
4 9 (3.30%) Ansible
4 9 (3.30%) QRadar
5 8 (2.93%) Fluentd
6 5 (1.83%) Microsoft Intune
6 5 (1.83%) RSA Archer
7 3 (1.10%) Active Directory Federation Services
7 3 (1.10%) CSIRT
8 2 (0.73%) EnCase
8 2 (0.73%) FTK
8 2 (0.73%) Grafana
8 2 (0.73%) Nessus
8 2 (0.73%) PingFederate
8 2 (0.73%) Prometheus
8 2 (0.73%) SELinux
9 1 (0.37%) Nexpose
Vendors
1 61 (22.34%) Microsoft
2 44 (16.12%) CyberArk
3 28 (10.26%) Splunk
4 21 (7.69%) BeyondTrust
4 21 (7.69%) BiZZdesign
5 14 (5.13%) Centrify
6 11 (4.03%) IBM
7 10 (3.66%) Tenable
8 9 (3.30%) ServiceNow
9 8 (2.93%) Cribl.io
9 8 (2.93%) Red Hat
10 7 (2.56%) Thycotic
11 6 (2.20%) Fortinet
12 5 (1.83%) Okta
12 5 (1.83%) Palo Alto
12 5 (1.83%) Qualys
12 5 (1.83%) Rapid7
13 4 (1.47%) Cisco
13 4 (1.47%) CrowdStrike
13 4 (1.47%) Thales