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 18 July 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
18 Jul 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 29 22 15
Rank change year-on-year -7 -7 +17
Contract jobs citing Active Directory 394 246 444
As % of all contract jobs in the South East 6.02% 7.23% 8.07%
As % of the System Software category 52.74% 53.71% 55.64%
Number of daily rates quoted 251 178 293
10th Percentile £225 £200 £200
25th Percentile £309 £250 £363
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £515 £531 £525
Median % change year-on-year -3.01% +1.14% +40.00%
75th Percentile £594 £607 £608
90th Percentile £650 £700 £650
England median daily rate £450 £450 £450
% change year-on-year - - +7.78%
Number of hourly rates quoted 28 4 21
10th Percentile £16.00 - £16.00
25th Percentile £24.37 £28.00 £17.69
Median hourly rate £50.61 £30.39 £17.80
Median % change year-on-year +66.56% +70.70% -20.89%
75th Percentile £64.19 £64.58 £28.75
90th Percentile £77.50 £121.83 £50.00
England median hourly rate £26.66 £23.00 £17.72
% change year-on-year +15.91% +29.80% -11.40%

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 747 458 798
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the South East 11.41% 13.46% 14.50%
Number of daily rates quoted 536 317 502
10th Percentile £273 £207 £227
25th Percentile £414 £320 £425
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £501 £550
Median % change year-on-year +4.90% -9.00% +10.00%
75th Percentile £600 £600 £608
90th Percentile £700 £675 £651
England median daily rate £500 £500 £508
% change year-on-year - -1.48% -3.33%
Number of hourly rates quoted 36 11 50
10th Percentile £16.00 £28.00 £17.69
25th Percentile £32.24 £41.92 £18.91
Median hourly rate £50.00 £57.50 £54.88
Median % change year-on-year -13.04% +4.78% +4.52%
75th Percentile £60.78 £82.00 £68.52
90th Percentile £77.50 £89.63 £70.00
England median hourly rate £55.00 £34.50 £22.15
% change year-on-year +59.42% +55.76% -49.37%

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 18 July 2026.

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 18 July 2026.

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 18 July 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
Thames Valley -2 207 £475 -9.52% 53
Hampshire -9 120 £538 -6.52% 32
Berkshire -14 87 £496 -17.68% 25
Oxfordshire +10 83 £288 +15.00% 14
Buckinghamshire -18 37 £575 +58.62% 14
Surrey -13 28 £525 +144.19% 12
Kent -2 18 £275 -36.05% 7
West Sussex -17 13 £600 +200.00% 12
East Sussex +9 8 £220 - 3
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 66 (16.75%) Microsoft Exchange
2 33 (8.38%) SharePoint
3 6 (1.52%) Apache
3 6 (1.52%) Confluence
3 6 (1.52%) nginx
4 5 (1.27%) IIS
5 3 (0.76%) Tomcat
Applications
1 15 (3.81%) Microsoft Office
2 4 (1.02%) Microsoft Project
3 2 (0.51%) SOLIDWORKS
4 1 (0.25%) Microsoft Excel
4 1 (0.25%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 1 (0.25%) Spreadsheet
Business Applications
1 15 (3.81%) Remedy ITSM
2 2 (0.51%) Sparx Enterprise Architect
3 1 (0.25%) SAP S/4HANA
Cloud Services
1 182 (46.19%) Azure
2 167 (42.39%) Entra ID
3 112 (28.43%) Microsoft 365
4 35 (8.88%) AWS
5 19 (4.82%) OneDrive
5 19 (4.82%) Power Platform
6 15 (3.81%) GCP
7 13 (3.30%) IaaS
8 10 (2.54%) SaaS
9 9 (2.28%) Azure Logic Apps
9 9 (2.28%) Azure Monitor
10 7 (1.78%) Azure DevOps
10 7 (1.78%) Azure Sentinel
10 7 (1.78%) PaaS
11 6 (1.52%) Power Automate
12 5 (1.27%) Microsoft Purview
13 4 (1.02%) PowerApps
14 3 (0.76%) Azure Key Vault
14 3 (0.76%) Cloudflare
14 3 (0.76%) Rubrik
Communications & Networking
1 98 (24.87%) DNS
2 56 (14.21%) DHCP
3 41 (10.41%) Firewall
4 35 (8.88%) VPN
5 29 (7.36%) Wi-Fi
6 18 (4.57%) LAN
7 15 (3.81%) Network Security
7 15 (3.81%) SSL
8 13 (3.30%) Kerberos
8 13 (3.30%) TCP/IP
9 12 (3.05%) SSH
10 11 (2.79%) WAN
11 10 (2.54%) IPsec
12 9 (2.28%) SAN
13 8 (2.03%) FTP
14 7 (1.78%) Cisco ASA
14 7 (1.78%) Cisco Firepower
14 7 (1.78%) NAS
15 6 (1.52%) SD-WAN
15 6 (1.52%) VLAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 43 (10.91%) SQL Server
2 16 (4.06%) Power BI
3 5 (1.27%) MySQL
4 3 (0.76%) Data Mining
5 2 (0.51%) Azure SQL Database
6 1 (0.25%) MariaDB
6 1 (0.25%) NoSQL
6 1 (0.25%) Parquet
6 1 (0.25%) PostgreSQL
6 1 (0.25%) SQL Server Reporting Services
Development Applications
1 15 (3.81%) JIRA
2 3 (0.76%) Atlassian Bamboo
2 3 (0.76%) Bitbucket
2 3 (0.76%) MSI
2 3 (0.76%) Robot Framework
3 2 (0.51%) Jenkins
3 2 (0.51%) Sonatype Nexus
4 1 (0.25%) Browser DevTools
4 1 (0.25%) Git
4 1 (0.25%) GitLab
General
1 119 (30.20%) Social Skills
2 51 (12.94%) Public Sector
3 40 (10.15%) Documentation Skills
4 39 (9.90%) Analytical Skills
5 17 (4.31%) Military
6 13 (3.30%) Inclusion and Diversity
6 13 (3.30%) Organisational Skills
7 10 (2.54%) Finance
7 10 (2.54%) Marketing
8 6 (1.52%) Legal
9 5 (1.27%) Manufacturing
9 5 (1.27%) Police
10 4 (1.02%) Retail
11 3 (0.76%) Aerospace
12 2 (0.51%) French Language
12 2 (0.51%) Games
12 2 (0.51%) Telecoms
13 1 (0.25%) Advertising
13 1 (0.25%) Health Technology
13 1 (0.25%) Publishing
Job Titles
1 58 (14.72%) Support Engineer
2 53 (13.45%) IT Support
3 48 (12.18%) Infrastructure Engineer
3 48 (12.18%) Senior
4 41 (10.41%) IT Engineer
5 35 (8.88%) IT Support Engineer
6 34 (8.63%) Architect
7 31 (7.87%) Analyst
8 21 (5.33%) Cloud Engineer
9 17 (4.31%) 3rd Line Engineer
9 17 (4.31%) Lead
10 16 (4.06%) Senior Infrastructure Engineer
11 14 (3.55%) IAM Specialist
11 14 (3.55%) IT Analyst
12 13 (3.30%) IT Support Analyst
12 13 (3.30%) Support Analyst
13 10 (2.54%) 3rd Line Infrastructure Engineer
14 9 (2.28%) 3rd Line Support
14 9 (2.28%) IT Infrastructure Engineer
14 9 (2.28%) Product Owner
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 52 (13.20%) LDAP
2 31 (7.87%) OAuth
2 31 (7.87%) SAML
3 30 (7.61%) OpenID
4 21 (5.33%) OAuth2
5 20 (5.08%) SailPoint
6 19 (4.82%) REST
7 17 (4.31%) Web Services
8 9 (2.28%) Microsoft Graph
9 6 (1.52%) ARM Templates
10 5 (1.27%) .NET
11 4 (1.02%) 802.1X
12 3 (0.76%) FIDO
12 3 (0.76%) JSON
12 3 (0.76%) LAMP
12 3 (0.76%) LEMP Stack
12 3 (0.76%) Software Packaging
12 3 (0.76%) YAML
13 2 (0.51%) .NET Core
13 2 (0.51%) .NET Framework
Miscellaneous
1 55 (13.96%) Onboarding
2 38 (9.64%) PKI
3 22 (5.58%) Management Information System
4 17 (4.31%) Replication
5 13 (3.30%) Hybrid Cloud
6 12 (3.05%) Data Centre
6 12 (3.05%) Legacy Systems
7 9 (2.28%) Clustering
7 9 (2.28%) Product Ownership
8 8 (2.03%) Enterprise Software
8 8 (2.03%) Operational Technology
8 8 (2.03%) Security Posture
9 7 (1.78%) Driving Licence
10 5 (1.27%) Cyber Defence
11 4 (1.02%) Analytical Mindset
11 4 (1.02%) CMDB
11 4 (1.02%) Fibre Optics
11 4 (1.02%) SCADA
12 3 (0.76%) Cloud Native
12 3 (0.76%) Self-Motivation
Operating Systems
1 251 (63.71%) Windows
2 115 (29.19%) Windows Server
3 84 (21.32%) Linux
4 34 (8.63%) Windows 10
5 30 (7.61%) Unix
6 19 (4.82%) Windows Server 2019
7 8 (2.03%) Mac OS
8 6 (1.52%) CentOS
8 6 (1.52%) Windows 7
9 4 (1.02%) Apple iOS
9 4 (1.02%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
9 4 (1.02%) Ubuntu
9 4 (1.02%) Windows Server 2012
10 2 (0.51%) VMS
10 2 (0.51%) Windows Server 2016
11 1 (0.25%) Windows Server 2008
Processes & Methodologies
1 91 (23.10%) Problem-Solving
2 81 (20.56%) ITIL
3 80 (20.30%) ITSM
4 63 (15.99%) Infrastructure Engineering
5 58 (14.72%) Cybersecurity
6 49 (12.44%) Customer Service
7 46 (11.68%) SIEM
8 45 (11.42%) Runbook
9 44 (11.17%) Agile
10 41 (10.41%) Privileged Access Management
11 40 (10.15%) Information Security
12 38 (9.64%) RBAC
13 37 (9.39%) Change Control
13 37 (9.39%) Technical Leadership
14 34 (8.63%) DevOps
15 33 (8.38%) Computer Science
16 32 (8.12%) Migration
17 31 (7.87%) CI/CD
17 31 (7.87%) Identity Access Management
18 30 (7.61%) Service Management
Programming Languages
1 154 (39.09%) PowerShell
2 65 (16.50%) Python
3 28 (7.11%) SQL
4 13 (3.30%) JavaScript
5 12 (3.05%) Bash
6 10 (2.54%) Bicep
7 6 (1.52%) C#
8 5 (1.27%) Java
9 4 (1.02%) C
10 2 (0.51%) BeanShell
11 1 (0.25%) Korn
11 1 (0.25%) PHP
11 1 (0.25%) Shell Script
Qualifications
1 194 (49.24%) Security Cleared
2 108 (27.41%) SC Cleared
3 82 (20.81%) DV Cleared
4 57 (14.47%) Degree
5 31 (7.87%) Microsoft Certification
6 18 (4.57%) CISSP
7 17 (4.31%) CISM
8 12 (3.05%) Azure Certification
8 12 (3.05%) BPSS Clearance
9 9 (2.28%) MCSA
10 8 (2.03%) CESG Certified Professional
10 8 (2.03%) MCSE
11 6 (1.52%) CCA
11 6 (1.52%) Cisco Certification
11 6 (1.52%) Citrix Certification
12 5 (1.27%) (ISC)2 CCSP
12 5 (1.27%) AWS Certification
12 5 (1.27%) CRISC
12 5 (1.27%) GIAC
12 5 (1.27%) SANS
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 71 (18.02%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 67 (17.01%) NIST
3 27 (6.85%) GDPR
4 11 (2.79%) NCSC
5 10 (2.54%) SLA
6 9 (2.28%) Cyber Essentials
7 8 (2.03%) Data Quality
8 5 (1.27%) ISO 31000
9 3 (0.76%) ISO/IEC 42001
9 3 (0.76%) NIST 800
9 3 (0.76%) PCI DSS
10 1 (0.25%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
10 1 (0.25%) Disclosure Scotland
10 1 (0.25%) GRC
10 1 (0.25%) GxP
10 1 (0.25%) ISO 9001
10 1 (0.25%) JSP 440
10 1 (0.25%) QA
System Software
1 86 (21.83%) VMware Infrastructure
2 39 (9.90%) VMware ESXi
3 34 (8.63%) Hyper-V
4 26 (6.60%) VMware NSX
5 13 (3.30%) vCloud
6 12 (3.05%) Virtual Machines
6 12 (3.05%) vSphere
7 11 (2.79%) Virtual Desktop
8 8 (2.03%) Firmware
9 3 (0.76%) Dovecot
9 3 (0.76%) OpenAM
9 3 (0.76%) Postfix
10 2 (0.51%) BitLocker
10 2 (0.51%) Docker
10 2 (0.51%) UAG
11 1 (0.25%) Citrix Hypervisor
Systems Management
1 52 (13.20%) Microsoft Intune
2 34 (8.63%) vCenter Server
3 33 (8.38%) Terraform
4 28 (7.11%) SCCM
5 26 (6.60%) Active Directory Federation Services
5 26 (6.60%) SCOM
6 17 (4.31%) Ansible
7 14 (3.55%) Single Sign-On
8 5 (1.27%) Cisco CUCM
9 4 (1.02%) Clonezilla
9 4 (1.02%) WMI
10 3 (0.76%) HAProxy
10 3 (0.76%) Kubernetes
10 3 (0.76%) Packer
10 3 (0.76%) SCSM
11 2 (0.51%) Dell DRAC
11 2 (0.51%) Jamf Pro
11 2 (0.51%) vMotion
11 2 (0.51%) WSUS
12 1 (0.25%) CASB
Vendors
1 231 (58.63%) Microsoft
2 100 (25.38%) VMware
3 42 (10.66%) ServiceNow
4 39 (9.90%) CyberArk
5 38 (9.64%) BeyondTrust
6 23 (5.84%) Cisco
7 19 (4.82%) SolarWinds
8 18 (4.57%) Meraki
8 18 (4.57%) Oracle
9 17 (4.31%) Remedy
10 14 (3.55%) Citrix
11 13 (3.30%) BMC
12 12 (3.05%) Avaya
12 12 (3.05%) Mitel
13 10 (2.54%) Juniper
14 8 (2.03%) Palo Alto
15 6 (1.52%) Broadcom
15 6 (1.52%) CrowdStrike
15 6 (1.52%) Red Hat
15 6 (1.52%) Veeam