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 10 February 2026, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
10 Feb 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 300 285 277
Rank change year-on-year -15 -8 +123
Contract jobs citing CISM 272 210 304
As % of all contract jobs in England 0.81% 0.81% 0.80%
As % of the Qualifications category 2.38% 2.69% 2.56%
Number of daily rates quoted 176 126 231
10th Percentile £425 £475 £474
25th Percentile £463 £538 £525
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £541 £638 £610
Median % change year-on-year -15.14% +4.51% -6.15%
75th Percentile £636 £675 £700
90th Percentile £707 £750 £825
UK median daily rate £550 £633 £600
% change year-on-year -13.04% +5.42% -7.69%
Number of hourly rates quoted 8 7 3
10th Percentile - £60.75 £71.29
25th Percentile £41.94 £64.77 £75.84
Median hourly rate £43.70 £73.60 £83.41
Median % change year-on-year -40.63% -11.76% +14.29%
75th Percentile £77.81 £83.20 £85.21
90th Percentile £94.13 £87.92 £86.28
UK median hourly rate £55.23 £78.40 £83.41
% change year-on-year -29.55% -6.01% +22.66%

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 11,438 7,802 11,881
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in England 34.05% 30.19% 31.14%
Number of daily rates quoted 7,604 4,724 7,364
10th Percentile £313 £300 £300
25th Percentile £419 £416 £425
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £520 £525 £545
Median % change year-on-year -0.95% -3.67% -0.91%
75th Percentile £625 £638 £650
90th Percentile £725 £725 £738
UK median daily rate £517 £525 £540
% change year-on-year -1.52% -2.78% -1.82%
Number of hourly rates quoted 891 370 879
10th Percentile £15.75 £20.00 £14.16
25th Percentile £18.94 £25.26 £21.28
Median hourly rate £25.15 £47.50 £45.88
Median % change year-on-year -47.05% +3.53% +1.96%
75th Percentile £63.75 £67.88 £65.00
90th Percentile £76.58 £82.57 £77.50
UK median hourly rate £25.15 £40.00 £45.88
% change year-on-year -37.13% -12.82% +1.96%

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 10 February 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 10 February 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 10 February 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 -48 97 £550 -15.38% 36
North of England -19 58 £537 -17.38% 11
South East -7 50 £492 -24.31% 23
Yorkshire -19 40 £537 -19.25% 5
Midlands -48 24 £600 +9.09% 12
South West -9 19 £500 -23.08% 11
West Midlands -36 19 £600 +20.00% 8
North West -21 17 £555 -13.95% 4
East Midlands -35 5 £437 -27.17% 4
East of England -24 3 £600 +4.35% 6
North East - 1 £545 - 2
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 (10.29%) Confluence
2 3 (1.10%) SharePoint
3 2 (0.74%) Microsoft Exchange
4 1 (0.37%) nginx
Applications
1 6 (2.21%) Microsoft Excel
2 5 (1.84%) Microsoft Project
3 4 (1.47%) Microsoft Office
3 4 (1.47%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 1 (0.37%) MS Visio
Business Applications
1 8 (2.94%) Maximo
Cloud Services
1 93 (34.19%) Azure
2 73 (26.84%) AWS
3 46 (16.91%) GCP
4 25 (9.19%) OpenShift
5 20 (7.35%) Entra ID
6 18 (6.62%) Azure Sentinel
7 14 (5.15%) Microsoft 365
8 8 (2.94%) Azure AKS
8 8 (2.94%) Azure ExpressRoute
8 8 (2.94%) Azure Monitor
8 8 (2.94%) Microsoft Purview
9 7 (2.57%) Azure DevOps
10 5 (1.84%) SaaS
11 4 (1.47%) Power Platform
12 2 (0.74%) Azure Key Vault
12 2 (0.74%) GitHub
12 2 (0.74%) Google Workspace
13 1 (0.37%) AWS CloudFormation
13 1 (0.37%) IaaS
13 1 (0.37%) PaaS
Communications & Networking
1 40 (14.71%) Firewall
2 30 (11.03%) Network Security
3 23 (8.46%) VPN
4 6 (2.21%) Intrusion Detection
4 6 (2.21%) SSL
5 5 (1.84%) Kerberos
5 5 (1.84%) TCP/IP
6 4 (1.47%) S/MIME
7 3 (1.10%) HTTP
7 3 (1.10%) SSH
8 2 (0.74%) 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 (0.74%) Power BI
1 2 (0.74%) Tableau
2 1 (0.37%) Data Lake
2 1 (0.37%) EDRMS
2 1 (0.37%) PostgreSQL
Development Applications
1 35 (12.87%) JIRA
2 8 (2.94%) GitLab
3 3 (1.10%) Jenkins
4 1 (0.37%) Burp Suite
4 1 (0.37%) Git
4 1 (0.37%) TestDirector
General
1 108 (39.71%) Social Skills
2 53 (19.49%) Finance
3 37 (13.60%) Analytical Skills
4 24 (8.82%) Documentation Skills
5 21 (7.72%) Public Sector
6 13 (4.78%) Banking
7 11 (4.04%) Legal
8 7 (2.57%) Presentation Skills
9 5 (1.84%) Marketing
10 4 (1.47%) Retail
11 3 (1.10%) Influencing Skills
11 3 (1.10%) Local Government
12 2 (0.74%) Automotive
12 2 (0.74%) Financial Institution
12 2 (0.74%) Law
12 2 (0.74%) Police
13 1 (0.37%) Electronics
13 1 (0.37%) Manufacturing
13 1 (0.37%) Military
13 1 (0.37%) Telecoms
Job Titles
1 41 (15.07%) Architect
2 33 (12.13%) Analyst
3 32 (11.76%) Security Architect
4 30 (11.03%) Consultant
5 26 (9.56%) Security Engineer
6 23 (8.46%) Lead
7 22 (8.09%) Security Manager
8 21 (7.72%) Security Consultant
9 20 (7.35%) Solutions Architect
10 18 (6.62%) Security Analyst
11 16 (5.88%) Cybersecurity Consultant
11 16 (5.88%) Security Solutions Architect
12 15 (5.51%) Security Specialist
12 15 (5.51%) Senior
13 12 (4.41%) Cybersecurity Manager
14 11 (4.04%) Cybersecurity Analyst
15 10 (3.68%) Azure Engineer
15 10 (3.68%) Project Manager
16 8 (2.94%) Cybersecurity Specialist
16 8 (2.94%) Lead Architect
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 27 (9.93%) LDAP
2 15 (5.51%) SailPoint
3 9 (3.31%) OAuth
4 8 (2.94%) ARM Templates
4 8 (2.94%) SAML
5 5 (1.84%) REST
5 5 (1.84%) SOAP
6 3 (1.10%) Microsoft Graph
6 3 (1.10%) OAuth2
7 2 (0.74%) Flash
7 2 (0.74%) ModSecurity
7 2 (0.74%) OpenID
7 2 (0.74%) Smart Contracts
8 1 (0.37%) Flask
8 1 (0.37%) JWT
8 1 (0.37%) OpenMP
8 1 (0.37%) PyTorch
8 1 (0.37%) STL
8 1 (0.37%) TensorFlow
8 1 (0.37%) Web Services
Miscellaneous
1 32 (11.76%) Management Information System
2 21 (7.72%) Security Posture
3 18 (6.62%) Cyber Threat
4 16 (5.88%) PKI
5 14 (5.15%) Cloud Native
6 13 (4.78%) Onboarding
7 11 (4.04%) Operational Technology
7 11 (4.04%) Security Operations Centre
8 10 (3.68%) Enterprise Software
9 9 (3.31%) Hybrid Cloud
10 5 (1.84%) 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 (0.74%) Analytical Mindset
Operating Systems
1 12 (4.41%) Windows
2 10 (3.68%) Linux
3 6 (2.21%) Windows Server
4 3 (1.10%) Unix
5 2 (0.74%) Mac OS
5 2 (0.74%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
6 1 (0.37%) Rocky
6 1 (0.37%) Ubuntu
Processes & Methodologies
1 170 (62.50%) Cybersecurity
2 82 (30.15%) Incident Response
3 73 (26.84%) SIEM
4 72 (26.47%) Risk Management
5 67 (24.63%) Information Security
6 66 (24.26%) Cloud Security
7 63 (23.16%) Identity Access Management
8 54 (19.85%) DevOps
9 50 (18.38%) Problem-Solving
10 49 (18.01%) Security Operations
11 44 (16.18%) CI/CD
11 44 (16.18%) Vulnerability Management
12 42 (15.44%) Computer Science
13 41 (15.07%) Agile
14 40 (14.71%) DevSecOps
15 36 (13.24%) Stakeholder Management
15 36 (13.24%) TOGAF
16 35 (12.87%) Threat Modelling
17 34 (12.50%) Zero Trust
18 33 (12.13%) Stakeholder Engagement
Programming Languages
1 43 (15.81%) PowerShell
2 41 (15.07%) Python
3 8 (2.94%) Bicep
4 5 (1.84%) BeanShell
4 5 (1.84%) Java
5 3 (1.10%) Bash
5 3 (1.10%) JavaScript
6 2 (0.74%) Rust
6 2 (0.74%) Solidity
6 2 (0.74%) SQL
7 1 (0.37%) Go
7 1 (0.37%) Kusto Query Language
Qualifications
1 262 (96.32%) CISSP
2 89 (32.72%) Security Cleared
3 70 (25.74%) Degree
4 61 (22.43%) SC Cleared
5 36 (13.24%) CISA
6 34 (12.50%) DV Cleared
7 32 (11.76%) CRISC
8 26 (9.56%) CEH
9 25 (9.19%) CompTIA Security+
10 24 (8.82%) Master's Degree
11 23 (8.46%) GIAC
12 20 (7.35%) ISO 27001 Lead Implementer
13 17 (6.25%) Azure Certification
13 17 (6.25%) TOGAF Certification
14 15 (5.51%) ISO 27001 Lead Auditor
15 14 (5.15%) Computer Science Degree
16 13 (4.78%) Cisco Certification
16 13 (4.78%) Microsoft Certification
17 11 (4.04%) PhD
17 11 (4.04%) PMP
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 142 (52.21%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 127 (46.69%) NIST
3 70 (25.74%) GDPR
4 28 (10.29%) GRC
5 26 (9.56%) PCI DSS
6 25 (9.19%) NCSC
7 16 (5.88%) NIST 800
8 15 (5.51%) Cyber Essentials
9 14 (5.15%) COBIT
10 10 (3.68%) Sarbanes-Oxley
11 9 (3.31%) SOC 2
12 8 (2.94%) JSP 440
13 7 (2.57%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
14 5 (1.84%) ISO/IEC 27002 (supersedes ISO/IEC 17799)
14 5 (1.84%) ISO/IEC 27005
15 4 (1.47%) Actionable Recommendations
15 4 (1.47%) PMO
16 3 (1.10%) HMG Security Policy Framework
17 2 (0.74%) HIPAA
17 2 (0.74%) RMADS
System Software
1 42 (15.44%) Active Directory
2 2 (0.74%) GPFS
2 2 (0.74%) Lustre
2 2 (0.74%) Slurm Workload Manager
3 1 (0.37%) Hyper-V
Systems Management
1 31 (11.40%) Kubernetes
2 17 (6.25%) Terraform
3 15 (5.51%) Single Sign-On
4 9 (3.31%) Ansible
5 8 (2.94%) Fluentd
6 5 (1.84%) Microsoft Intune
6 5 (1.84%) RSA Archer
7 4 (1.47%) QRadar
8 3 (1.10%) Active Directory Federation Services
9 2 (0.74%) CSIRT
9 2 (0.74%) EnCase
9 2 (0.74%) FTK
9 2 (0.74%) Grafana
9 2 (0.74%) PingFederate
9 2 (0.74%) Prometheus
9 2 (0.74%) SELinux
10 1 (0.37%) Nexpose
Vendors
1 62 (22.79%) Microsoft
2 47 (17.28%) CyberArk
3 27 (9.93%) Splunk
4 24 (8.82%) BeyondTrust
5 21 (7.72%) BiZZdesign
6 14 (5.15%) Centrify
7 13 (4.78%) Cribl.io
8 11 (4.04%) IBM
9 10 (3.68%) Tenable
10 9 (3.31%) Red Hat
10 9 (3.31%) ServiceNow
11 7 (2.57%) Thycotic
12 6 (2.21%) CrowdStrike
12 6 (2.21%) Fortinet
13 5 (1.84%) Okta
13 5 (1.84%) Palo Alto
13 5 (1.84%) Rapid7
14 4 (1.47%) Cisco
14 4 (1.47%) Thales
15 3 (1.10%) SAP