IT Strategy Contract Job Trends in England

IT/Technology Strategy
UK > England

The table below provides summary statistics and contractor rates for jobs advertised in England requiring IT Strategy skills. It covers contract job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 3 April 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
3 Apr 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 343 314 266
Rank change year-on-year -29 -48 +83
Contract jobs citing IT Strategy 247 161 315
As % of all contract jobs in England 0.64% 0.66% 0.84%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 0.75% 0.73% 0.97%
Number of daily rates quoted 161 94 223
10th Percentile £413 £413 £400
25th Percentile £475 £525 £463
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £575 £640 £600
Median % change year-on-year -10.16% +6.67% -4.00%
75th Percentile £700 £750 £738
90th Percentile £900 £790 £848
UK median daily rate £569 £628 £600
% change year-on-year -9.44% +4.68% -2.04%
Number of hourly rates quoted 6 0 2
10th Percentile £26.52 - £32.23
25th Percentile £37.39 - £35.40
Median hourly rate £74.75 - £41.31
75th Percentile £84.50 - £47.84
90th Percentile £94.25 - £51.39
UK median hourly rate £74.75 - £41.31
% change year-on-year - - +143.93%

All Process & Methodology Skills
England

IT Strategy 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 England.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for process or methodology skills 32,977 22,016 32,582
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in England 85.99% 90.82% 86.69%
Number of daily rates quoted 21,149 14,501 21,512
10th Percentile £313 £310 £300
25th Percentile £413 £413 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £505 £525 £525
Median % change year-on-year -3.81% - -4.55%
75th Percentile £614 £638 £650
90th Percentile £725 £750 £750
UK median daily rate £500 £525 £525
% change year-on-year -4.76% - -4.55%
Number of hourly rates quoted 2,015 852 2,158
10th Percentile £15.38 £15.00 £12.92
25th Percentile £19.34 £19.96 £15.78
Median hourly rate £37.50 £32.50 £32.50
Median % change year-on-year +15.38% - -13.33%
75th Percentile £65.00 £64.64 £58.69
90th Percentile £77.50 £76.25 £70.66
UK median hourly rate £35.77 £31.76 £32.50
% change year-on-year +12.61% -2.28% -10.41%

IT Strategy
Job Vacancy Trend in England

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

IT Strategy job vacancy trend in England

IT Strategy
Daily Rate Trend in England

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in England citing IT Strategy.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in England citing IT Strategy

IT Strategy
Daily Rate Histogram in England

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing IT Strategy in England over the 6 months to 3 April 2026.

Daily rate histogram for IT Strategy in England

IT Strategy
Hourly Rate Trend in England

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in England citing IT Strategy.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in England citing IT Strategy

IT Strategy
Hourly Rate Histogram in England

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing IT Strategy in England over the 6 months to 3 April 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for IT Strategy in England

IT Strategy
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 IT Strategy within the England region over the 6 months to 3 April 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 -23 127 £600 -12.73% 92
North of England -43 45 £492 -21.28% 46
South East -49 30 £638 -1.92% 54
North West -37 23 £526 -19.04% 26
Midlands -49 23 £525 -15.66% 27
Yorkshire -45 21 £481 -8.33% 19
West Midlands -56 14 £525 -15.66% 19
East Midlands - 9 £536 - 8
East of England -34 8 £650 +20.37% 8
South West -33 6 £650 -3.70% 13
North East -14 1 - - 3
IT Strategy
UK

IT Strategy
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 7 (2.83%) SharePoint
2 6 (2.43%) Confluence
3 5 (2.02%) CMS
3 5 (2.02%) Jupyter
3 5 (2.02%) SAS
4 3 (1.21%) Microsoft Exchange
5 2 (0.81%) Apache
5 2 (0.81%) Camunda
5 2 (0.81%) WebLogic
6 1 (0.40%) Headless CMS
6 1 (0.40%) nginx
6 1 (0.40%) OpenStack
6 1 (0.40%) Tomcat
Applications
1 3 (1.21%) Microsoft Excel
2 2 (0.81%) Spreadsheet
3 1 (0.40%) Microsoft PowerPoint
3 1 (0.40%) MS Visio
Business Applications
1 3 (1.21%) SAP CO
1 3 (1.21%) SAP FI
1 3 (1.21%) SAP FI/CO
1 3 (1.21%) SAP S/4HANA
2 2 (0.81%) Dynamics CRM
2 2 (0.81%) SAP MM
2 2 (0.81%) Workday HCM
3 1 (0.40%) Sparx Enterprise Architect
Cloud Services
1 86 (34.82%) Azure
2 68 (27.53%) AWS
3 32 (12.96%) GCP
4 25 (10.12%) SaaS
5 20 (8.10%) Microsoft 365
6 11 (4.45%) IaaS
7 10 (4.05%) Entra ID
7 10 (4.05%) PaaS
7 10 (4.05%) Power Platform
8 5 (2.02%) AWS CloudFormation
9 4 (1.62%) Azure ExpressRoute
9 4 (1.62%) Cloud Computing
10 3 (1.21%) Azure DevOps
10 3 (1.21%) Azure Pipelines
10 3 (1.21%) Google Gemini
10 3 (1.21%) OneDrive
10 3 (1.21%) Serverless
10 3 (1.21%) Snowflake
10 3 (1.21%) Virtual Private Cloud
11 2 (0.81%) Azure Monitor
Communications & Networking
1 18 (7.29%) Firewall
2 12 (4.86%) LAN
3 9 (3.64%) WAN
4 8 (3.24%) Network Security
5 7 (2.83%) DHCP
5 7 (2.83%) DNS
6 6 (2.43%) VPN
6 6 (2.43%) Wi-Fi
7 4 (1.62%) SD-WAN
7 4 (1.62%) VSAN
7 4 (1.62%) Wireless
8 3 (1.21%) BGP
8 3 (1.21%) Cisco ASA
8 3 (1.21%) EIGRP
8 3 (1.21%) IPv4
8 3 (1.21%) IPv6
8 3 (1.21%) MPLS
8 3 (1.21%) OSPF
8 3 (1.21%) VLAN
8 3 (1.21%) VXLAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 9 (3.64%) Power BI
2 6 (2.43%) Data Warehouse
2 6 (2.43%) Relational Database
3 4 (1.62%) Metadata
4 3 (1.21%) Data Lake
5 2 (0.81%) Elasticsearch
5 2 (0.81%) PostgreSQL
5 2 (0.81%) SQL Server
6 1 (0.40%) Looker
6 1 (0.40%) Metadata Repository
6 1 (0.40%) NonStop SQL
6 1 (0.40%) NoSQL
6 1 (0.40%) Tableau
Development Applications
1 8 (3.24%) Jaeger
1 8 (3.24%) JIRA
2 5 (2.02%) Git
3 2 (0.81%) Postman
4 1 (0.40%) GitLab
4 1 (0.40%) Jenkins
General
1 81 (32.79%) Finance
2 78 (31.58%) Social Skills
3 37 (14.98%) Analytical Skills
4 32 (12.96%) Public Sector
5 19 (7.69%) Banking
6 17 (6.88%) Influencing Skills
7 14 (5.67%) Financial Institution
8 13 (5.26%) Legal
9 7 (2.83%) Retail
9 7 (2.83%) Telecoms
10 6 (2.43%) Aerospace
10 6 (2.43%) Inclusion and Diversity
11 5 (2.02%) Presentation Skills
12 4 (1.62%) Documentation Skills
13 3 (1.21%) Marketing
14 2 (0.81%) Back Office
14 2 (0.81%) Corporate Banking
14 2 (0.81%) Local Government
14 2 (0.81%) Organisational Skills
14 2 (0.81%) Publishing
Job Titles
1 103 (41.70%) Architect
2 37 (14.98%) Solutions Architect
3 34 (13.77%) Senior
4 20 (8.10%) Technical Architect
5 19 (7.69%) Analyst
5 19 (7.69%) Lead
6 12 (4.86%) Artificial Intelligence Architect
7 11 (4.45%) Enterprise Architect
7 11 (4.45%) Product Owner
8 10 (4.05%) Consultant
8 10 (4.05%) Network Architect
9 9 (3.64%) Developer
9 9 (3.64%) Senior Architect
10 8 (3.24%) Business Analyst
10 8 (3.24%) Full-Stack Engineer
11 7 (2.83%) Infrastructure Engineer
11 7 (2.83%) IT Manager
11 7 (2.83%) Lead Architect
11 7 (2.83%) Project Manager
12 6 (2.43%) Senior Full-Stack Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 15 (6.07%) Middleware
2 13 (5.26%) REST
3 9 (3.64%) Kafka
4 8 (3.24%) OpenTelemetry
4 8 (3.24%) Spring Boot
5 5 (2.02%) AngularJS
5 5 (2.02%) NumPy
5 5 (2.02%) Pandas
5 5 (2.02%) Plotly
5 5 (2.02%) Web Services
6 4 (1.62%) .NET
6 4 (1.62%) OAuth
6 4 (1.62%) React
7 3 (1.21%) LangGraph
7 3 (1.21%) SAML
7 3 (1.21%) scikit-learn
7 3 (1.21%) SciPy
7 3 (1.21%) SOAP
7 3 (1.21%) Statsmodels
7 3 (1.21%) Vue
Miscellaneous
1 30 (12.15%) Product Ownership
2 17 (6.88%) Cloud Native
3 16 (6.48%) Management Information System
3 16 (6.48%) Public Cloud
4 13 (5.26%) Data Centre
5 12 (4.86%) Distributed Systems
6 10 (4.05%) Onboarding
7 9 (3.64%) Enterprise Software
8 8 (3.24%) PKI
9 7 (2.83%) Data Protection Act
9 7 (2.83%) Virtual Team
10 6 (2.43%) Legacy Systems
10 6 (2.43%) Taxonomies
11 5 (2.02%) Credit Risk
11 5 (2.02%) Cyber Threat
11 5 (2.02%) Hybrid Cloud
11 5 (2.02%) Operational Technology
11 5 (2.02%) Security Posture
12 4 (1.62%) Freedom of Information
12 4 (1.62%) SCADA
Operating Systems
1 23 (9.31%) Linux
2 19 (7.69%) Windows
3 5 (2.02%) Mac OS
3 5 (2.02%) Windows 10
4 3 (1.21%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
5 2 (0.81%) Solaris
5 2 (0.81%) Unix
5 2 (0.81%) Windows Server
6 1 (0.40%) Android
6 1 (0.40%) Apple iOS
6 1 (0.40%) VMS
6 1 (0.40%) Windows Server 2008
Processes & Methodologies
1 171 (69.23%) Technology Strategy
2 91 (36.84%) Roadmaps
3 62 (25.10%) Enterprise Architecture
4 58 (23.48%) Stakeholder Engagement
4 58 (23.48%) Stakeholder Management
5 53 (21.46%) Business Strategy
6 51 (20.65%) Agile
7 45 (18.22%) Continuous Improvement
8 44 (17.81%) Cybersecurity
9 38 (15.38%) DevOps
10 35 (14.17%) Analytics
10 35 (14.17%) CI/CD
10 35 (14.17%) Decision-Making
11 34 (13.77%) Problem-Solving
12 31 (12.55%) AI
12 31 (12.55%) Migration
13 30 (12.15%) TOGAF
14 28 (11.34%) Microservices
15 26 (10.53%) Machine Learning
16 25 (10.12%) Identity Access Management
Programming Languages
1 26 (10.53%) Python
2 23 (9.31%) SQL
3 14 (5.67%) Java
4 12 (4.86%) PowerShell
5 9 (3.64%) Bash
6 8 (3.24%) Rust
7 5 (2.02%) JavaScript
7 5 (2.02%) R
8 3 (1.21%) C#
9 1 (0.40%) Bicep
9 1 (0.40%) C
9 1 (0.40%) C++
9 1 (0.40%) Kotlin
9 1 (0.40%) Objective-C
9 1 (0.40%) Perl
9 1 (0.40%) PL/SQL
9 1 (0.40%) Swift
9 1 (0.40%) T-SQL
9 1 (0.40%) TypeScript
Qualifications
1 52 (21.05%) Security Cleared
2 36 (14.57%) SC Cleared
3 31 (12.55%) Degree
4 11 (4.45%) AWS Certification
4 11 (4.45%) DV Cleared
5 10 (4.05%) BPSS Clearance
6 9 (3.64%) Azure Certification
7 8 (3.24%) Cisco Certification
7 8 (3.24%) Computer Science Degree
8 7 (2.83%) CCNP
9 5 (2.02%) CISSP
9 5 (2.02%) Microsoft Certification
9 5 (2.02%) TOGAF Certification
10 4 (1.62%) AWS Certified Solutions Architect
10 4 (1.62%) MCSE
11 3 (1.21%) (ISC)2 CCSP
11 3 (1.21%) CCIE
11 3 (1.21%) CCIE Security
11 3 (1.21%) CCSP
11 3 (1.21%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 19 (7.69%) GDPR
2 16 (6.48%) NIST
3 11 (4.45%) NCSC
4 9 (3.64%) Cyber Essentials
4 9 (3.64%) ISO/IEC 27001
5 5 (2.02%) EU AI Act
6 4 (1.62%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
6 4 (1.62%) Def Stans
7 3 (1.21%) Data Quality
7 3 (1.21%) PCI DSS
7 3 (1.21%) QA
7 3 (1.21%) SLA
8 2 (0.81%) Accessibility
8 2 (0.81%) PMO
9 1 (0.40%) GRC
9 1 (0.40%) ISO 20022
9 1 (0.40%) ITGC
9 1 (0.40%) PSD2
9 1 (0.40%) SEPA
9 1 (0.40%) TARGET2
System Software
1 20 (8.10%) VMware Infrastructure
2 15 (6.07%) Docker
3 14 (5.67%) Active Directory
4 8 (3.24%) VMware NSX
5 7 (2.83%) Hyper-V
6 4 (1.62%) VMware ESXi
7 1 (0.40%) Oracle RAC
Systems Management
1 17 (6.88%) Kubernetes
2 10 (4.05%) Ansible
2 10 (4.05%) Terraform
3 9 (3.64%) Grafana
4 8 (3.24%) Kiali
4 8 (3.24%) Prometheus
5 6 (2.43%) Microsoft Intune
5 6 (2.43%) SCCM
6 1 (0.40%) FortiGate
6 1 (0.40%) Kibana
6 1 (0.40%) Oracle RMAN
6 1 (0.40%) Red Hat Satellite
6 1 (0.40%) SCOM
6 1 (0.40%) SCOrch
6 1 (0.40%) vCenter Server
Vendors
1 45 (18.22%) Microsoft
2 32 (12.96%) VMware
3 14 (5.67%) Cisco
4 11 (4.45%) SAP
5 10 (4.05%) Google
5 10 (4.05%) Oracle
6 8 (3.24%) F5
6 8 (3.24%) Salesforce
6 8 (3.24%) Splunk
7 7 (2.83%) Palo Alto
8 6 (2.43%) Juniper
9 5 (2.02%) Citrix
9 5 (2.02%) MuleSoft
9 5 (2.02%) Pega
10 4 (1.62%) Dataiku
11 3 (1.21%) Fortinet
11 3 (1.21%) Meraki
11 3 (1.21%) OpenAI
11 3 (1.21%) ServiceNow
11 3 (1.21%) SolarWinds