Active Directory Contract Job Trends in the South East

Microsoft Active Directory
England > South East

The table below provides summary statistics and contractor rates for jobs advertised in the South East requiring Active Directory skills. It covers contract job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 20 December 2025, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
20 Dec 2025
Same period 2024 Same period 2023
Rank 29 24 18
Rank change year-on-year -5 -6 -2
Contract jobs citing Active Directory 281 294 400
As % of all contract jobs in the South East 6.43% 7.90% 7.98%
As % of the System Software category 53.42% 51.67% 49.63%
Number of daily rates quoted 207 221 249
10th Percentile £180 £190 £148
25th Percentile £234 £251 £173
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £481 £438 £313
Median % change year-on-year +10.00% +40.00% -20.38%
75th Percentile £538 £638 £534
90th Percentile £618 £675 £609
England median daily rate £450 £420 £400
% change year-on-year +7.14% +5.00% +6.67%
Number of hourly rates quoted 8 1 23
10th Percentile £36.95 - £15.65
25th Percentile £63.72 - £19.25
Median hourly rate £87.00 £19.97 £27.00
Median % change year-on-year +335.65% -26.04% +45.95%
75th Percentile £101.38 - £55.70
90th Percentile £121.85 - £68.63
England median hourly rate £22.32 £22.84 £19.50
% change year-on-year -2.30% +17.16% +4.67%

All System Software Skills
South East

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 South East.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for system software skills 526 569 806
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the South East 12.03% 15.28% 16.09%
Number of daily rates quoted 383 392 505
10th Percentile £190 £200 £161
25th Percentile £305 £350 £225
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £475 £475
Median % change year-on-year +5.26% - -5.00%
75th Percentile £575 £613 £588
90th Percentile £638 £675 £645
England median daily rate £500 £513 £500
% change year-on-year -2.44% +2.50% -5.66%
Number of hourly rates quoted 18 15 57
10th Percentile £45.83 £39.35 £19.13
25th Percentile £70.25 £51.06 £27.00
Median hourly rate £81.00 £57.25 £60.00
Median % change year-on-year +41.48% -4.58% +150.00%
75th Percentile £88.72 £70.00 £71.90
90th Percentile £101.65 £73.50 £76.92
England median hourly rate £47.50 £30.50 £43.79
% change year-on-year +55.74% -30.35% +75.17%

Active Directory
Job Vacancy Trend in the South East

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

Active Directory job vacancy trend in the South East

Active Directory
Daily Rate Trend in the South East

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the South East citing Active Directory.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the South East citing Active Directory

Active Directory
Daily Rate Histogram in the South East

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Active Directory in the South East over the 6 months to 20 December 2025.

Daily rate histogram for Active Directory in the South East

Active Directory
Hourly Rate Trend in the South East

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the South East citing Active Directory.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the South East citing Active Directory

Active Directory
Hourly Rate Histogram in the South East

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Active Directory in the South East over the 6 months to 20 December 2025.

Hourly rate histogram for Active Directory in the South East

Active Directory
Contract Job Locations in the South East

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing Active Directory within the South East region over the 6 months to 20 December 2025. 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
Thames Valley -1 134 £475 -17.39% 52
Berkshire -1 94 £481 -23.00% 22
Hampshire -7 82 £500 +6.38% 40
Surrey -4 30 £268 -9.17% 20
Buckinghamshire +10 23 £450 +19.21% 15
Oxfordshire -8 17 £275 -33.33% 15
Kent +10 13 £155 -8.82% 26
East Sussex +5 11 £190 -62.93% 2
West Sussex -23 8 £275 +37.50% 5
Active Directory
England

Active Directory
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the South East 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 41 (14.59%) Microsoft Exchange
2 25 (8.90%) SharePoint
3 16 (5.69%) Skype for Business
4 10 (3.56%) Exchange Server 2010
5 8 (2.85%) Exchange Server 2003
5 8 (2.85%) Exchange Server 2007
5 8 (2.85%) Exchange Server 2013
5 8 (2.85%) Office Communications Server
5 8 (2.85%) SharePoint Server
6 7 (2.49%) Mattermost
7 2 (0.71%) Apache Airflow
7 2 (0.71%) WordPress
Applications
1 34 (12.10%) Microsoft Office
2 1 (0.36%) MS Visio
2 1 (0.36%) SOLIDWORKS
Business Applications
1 8 (2.85%) Remedy ITSM
2 1 (0.36%) assyst
2 1 (0.36%) Dynamics CRM
2 1 (0.36%) Remedy AR System
2 1 (0.36%) SystmOne
Cloud Services
1 96 (34.16%) Microsoft 365
2 95 (33.81%) Azure
3 63 (22.42%) Entra ID
4 38 (13.52%) AWS
5 25 (8.90%) GCP
6 16 (5.69%) OneDrive
7 10 (3.56%) GitHub
8 8 (2.85%) SaaS
9 7 (2.49%) Power Platform
10 6 (2.14%) Azure DevOps
10 6 (2.14%) IaaS
10 6 (2.14%) PaaS
11 5 (1.78%) Azure Sentinel
11 5 (1.78%) Power Automate
12 4 (1.42%) AWS CloudFormation
12 4 (1.42%) Azure ExpressRoute
12 4 (1.42%) Azure Monitor
12 4 (1.42%) GitHub Actions
13 3 (1.07%) Microsoft Purview
13 3 (1.07%) Nutanix
Communications & Networking
1 63 (22.42%) DNS
2 43 (15.30%) DHCP
3 35 (12.46%) Firewall
4 24 (8.54%) VPN
5 21 (7.47%) Cisco IOS
6 19 (6.76%) TCP/IP
7 17 (6.05%) Cisco Firepower
7 17 (6.05%) Cisco ISE
7 17 (6.05%) Junos
8 15 (5.34%) Wi-Fi
9 12 (4.27%) SAN
10 9 (3.20%) 4G
11 8 (2.85%) DDNS
11 8 (2.85%) Skype
12 7 (2.49%) Remote Desktop
13 6 (2.14%) FTP
13 6 (2.14%) VLAN
14 5 (1.78%) Unified Communications
15 4 (1.42%) SSL
15 4 (1.42%) VoIP
Database & Business Intelligence
1 13 (4.63%) SQL Server
2 4 (1.42%) Azure SQL Database
3 2 (0.71%) Elasticsearch
3 2 (0.71%) Power BI
Development Applications
1 6 (2.14%) JIRA
2 3 (1.07%) Git
3 2 (0.71%) Jenkins
3 2 (0.71%) Robot Framework
3 2 (0.71%) Sonatype Nexus
4 1 (0.36%) Burp Suite
4 1 (0.36%) Fiddler
General
1 117 (41.64%) Social Skills
2 22 (7.83%) Documentation Skills
3 21 (7.47%) Finance
4 16 (5.69%) Public Sector
5 10 (3.56%) Analytical Skills
6 9 (3.20%) Legal
7 6 (2.14%) Law
8 5 (1.78%) Games
8 5 (1.78%) Organisational Skills
9 3 (1.07%) Inclusion and Diversity
9 3 (1.07%) Manufacturing
10 2 (0.71%) Aerospace
10 2 (0.71%) Back Office
10 2 (0.71%) Front Office
10 2 (0.71%) Military
10 2 (0.71%) Retail
11 1 (0.36%) Billing
11 1 (0.36%) Electronics
11 1 (0.36%) Marketing
11 1 (0.36%) Telecoms
Job Titles
1 59 (21.00%) Support Engineer
2 31 (11.03%) IT Support
3 30 (10.68%) Architect
4 29 (10.32%) Analyst
5 28 (9.96%) Infrastructure Engineer
6 24 (8.54%) IT Engineer
7 23 (8.19%) 3rd Line Engineer
8 19 (6.76%) IT Support Engineer
9 17 (6.05%) 3rd Line Support
9 17 (6.05%) 3rd Line Support Engineer
9 17 (6.05%) Network Engineer
10 16 (5.69%) 3rd Line Network Engineer
10 16 (5.69%) Cloud Engineer
10 16 (5.69%) Cloud Network Engineer
10 16 (5.69%) Senior
11 15 (5.34%) Deployment Engineer
11 15 (5.34%) DV Cleared Network Engineer
11 15 (5.34%) Network Support
11 15 (5.34%) Network Support Engineer
12 11 (3.91%) Service Analyst
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 22 (7.83%) LDAP
2 11 (3.91%) SailPoint
3 10 (3.56%) OAuth
4 9 (3.20%) SAML
5 7 (2.49%) .NET
5 7 (2.49%) OpenID
6 5 (1.78%) OAuth2
7 3 (1.07%) .NET Core
7 3 (1.07%) .NET Framework
7 3 (1.07%) Microsoft Graph
7 3 (1.07%) Middleware
8 2 (0.71%) ARM Templates
8 2 (0.71%) ASP.NET
8 2 (0.71%) GraphQL
8 2 (0.71%) Jinja
8 2 (0.71%) Kafka
8 2 (0.71%) REST
9 1 (0.36%) Entity Framework
9 1 (0.36%) Razor View Engine
9 1 (0.36%) Unreal Engine
Miscellaneous
1 26 (9.25%) PKI
2 15 (5.34%) Onboarding
3 11 (3.91%) Fat Client
3 11 (3.91%) Thin Client
4 10 (3.56%) Replication
5 9 (3.20%) Video Conferencing
6 8 (2.85%) Self-Motivation
7 6 (2.14%) Data Centre
8 5 (1.78%) Operational Technology
9 4 (1.42%) Driving Licence
9 4 (1.42%) NHS
10 3 (1.07%) Analytical Mindset
10 3 (1.07%) CMDB
10 3 (1.07%) Linux Command Line
10 3 (1.07%) Private Cloud
10 3 (1.07%) Security Posture
10 3 (1.07%) Virtual Team
11 2 (0.71%) Data Protection Act
11 2 (0.71%) Enterprise Software
11 2 (0.71%) Hybrid Cloud
Operating Systems
1 178 (63.35%) Windows
2 63 (22.42%) Windows Server
3 62 (22.06%) Windows 10
4 22 (7.83%) Linux
5 13 (4.63%) Mac OS
6 11 (3.91%) Windows 7
7 8 (2.85%) Windows Server 2003
8 7 (2.49%) Windows Server 2012
8 7 (2.49%) Windows Server 2016
9 4 (1.42%) Android
9 4 (1.42%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
9 4 (1.42%) Windows Server 2019
10 1 (0.36%) Kali Linux
Processes & Methodologies
1 58 (20.64%) Problem-Solving
2 52 (18.51%) ITIL
3 45 (16.01%) Cybersecurity
4 42 (14.95%) ITSM
5 38 (13.52%) DevOps
6 34 (12.10%) Infrastructure Engineering
7 30 (10.68%) CI/CD
8 27 (9.61%) Customer Service
9 25 (8.90%) Service Management
10 24 (8.54%) Agile
10 24 (8.54%) DevSecOps
10 24 (8.54%) SIEM
11 19 (6.76%) Identity Access Management
12 18 (6.41%) Infrastructure as Code
13 16 (5.69%) Stakeholder Engagement
14 15 (5.34%) Privileged Access Management
15 14 (4.98%) Migration
16 13 (4.63%) Prototyping
16 13 (4.63%) Validation
16 13 (4.63%) Zero Trust
Programming Languages
1 78 (27.76%) PowerShell
2 42 (14.95%) Python
3 19 (6.76%) SQL
4 12 (4.27%) Java
5 11 (3.91%) Bash
6 8 (2.85%) BeanShell
7 3 (1.07%) C#
7 3 (1.07%) JavaScript
8 2 (0.71%) PHP
8 2 (0.71%) Shell Script
9 1 (0.36%) Bicep
9 1 (0.36%) VB
Qualifications
1 131 (46.62%) Security Cleared
2 76 (27.05%) SC Cleared
3 50 (17.79%) DV Cleared
4 18 (6.41%) CISSP
5 17 (6.05%) CISM
6 16 (5.69%) Microsoft Certification
7 13 (4.63%) Degree
8 7 (2.49%) ITIL Certification
9 6 (2.14%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
9 6 (2.14%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
10 5 (1.78%) DBS Check
11 4 (1.42%) AWS Certification
11 4 (1.42%) Azure Certification
11 4 (1.42%) Computer Science Degree
12 3 (1.07%) AWS Certified Solutions Architect
13 2 (0.71%) A+ Certification
13 2 (0.71%) Cisco Certification
13 2 (0.71%) Citrix Certification
13 2 (0.71%) Master's Degree
13 2 (0.71%) MCSE
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 31 (11.03%) GDPR
2 29 (10.32%) ISO/IEC 27001
3 24 (8.54%) NIST
4 5 (1.78%) SLA
5 4 (1.42%) Cyber Essentials
6 2 (0.71%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
6 2 (0.71%) Data Quality
6 2 (0.71%) JSP 440
6 2 (0.71%) NCSC
7 1 (0.36%) Accessibility
7 1 (0.36%) Government Security Classifications
7 1 (0.36%) NIST 800
7 1 (0.36%) PCI DSS
7 1 (0.36%) PMO
7 1 (0.36%) Sarbanes-Oxley
System Software
1 43 (15.30%) VMware Infrastructure
2 19 (6.76%) VMware NSX
3 14 (4.98%) Hyper-V
4 8 (2.85%) Brightmail
4 8 (2.85%) ISA Server
4 8 (2.85%) Terminal Services
4 8 (2.85%) Virtual Desktop
5 7 (2.49%) vSphere
6 4 (1.42%) Docker
7 3 (1.07%) Virtual Machines
8 2 (0.71%) DFS Replication
8 2 (0.71%) NFS
8 2 (0.71%) VMware ESXi
9 1 (0.36%) Sendmail
9 1 (0.36%) UAG
Systems Management
1 45 (16.01%) SCCM
2 34 (12.10%) Microsoft Intune
3 22 (7.83%) vCenter Server
4 20 (7.12%) Terraform
5 12 (4.27%) SCOM
6 11 (3.91%) Single Sign-On
7 10 (3.56%) Ansible
7 10 (3.56%) WMI
8 8 (2.85%) Microsoft Clustering
9 7 (2.49%) Active Directory Federation Services
9 7 (2.49%) HP SiteScope
9 7 (2.49%) Kubernetes
10 6 (2.14%) Jamf Pro
11 2 (0.71%) logstash
11 2 (0.71%) WhatsUp Gold
12 1 (0.36%) Cisco CUCM
12 1 (0.36%) Cisco UCCE
12 1 (0.36%) EMC NetWorker
12 1 (0.36%) Red Hat Satellite
12 1 (0.36%) WSUS
Vendors
1 163 (58.01%) Microsoft
2 64 (22.78%) VMware
3 34 (12.10%) Cisco
4 31 (11.03%) ServiceNow
5 27 (9.61%) CyberArk
6 22 (7.83%) Citrix
7 21 (7.47%) BeyondTrust
8 17 (6.05%) Juniper
8 17 (6.05%) SolarWinds
9 15 (5.34%) Splunk
10 9 (3.20%) Remedy
11 4 (1.42%) Google
11 4 (1.42%) McAfee
11 4 (1.42%) Meraki
12 3 (1.07%) Dell
13 2 (0.71%) NetApp
13 2 (0.71%) Oracle
13 2 (0.71%) Red Hat
13 2 (0.71%) SAP
13 2 (0.71%) Sophos