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 3 June 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
3 Jun 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 31 21 16
Rank change year-on-year -10 -5 +14
Contract jobs citing Active Directory 349 226 453
As % of all contract jobs in the South East 5.87% 7.72% 8.02%
As % of the System Software category 53.04% 52.19% 55.04%
Number of daily rates quoted 231 172 312
10th Percentile £200 £200 £195
25th Percentile £300 £250 £313
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £500 £516
Median % change year-on-year - -3.01% +15.84%
75th Percentile £597 £623 £608
90th Percentile £700 £700 £638
England median daily rate £450 £450 £425
% change year-on-year - +5.88% -1.16%
Number of hourly rates quoted 19 3 17
10th Percentile £16.00 £21.58 £14.32
25th Percentile £23.02 £23.99 £17.69
Median hourly rate £47.54 £28.00 £17.80
Median % change year-on-year +69.79% +57.30% -9.87%
75th Percentile £53.75 - -
90th Percentile £54.00 - £33.35
England median hourly rate £25.15 £19.27 £17.50
% change year-on-year +30.51% +10.11% -12.50%

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 658 433 823
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the South East 11.07% 14.79% 14.57%
Number of daily rates quoted 494 318 525
10th Percentile £258 £208 £205
25th Percentile £406 £325 £400
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £500 £530
Median % change year-on-year +5.00% -5.66% +6.00%
75th Percentile £600 £600 £608
90th Percentile £713 £679 £650
England median daily rate £500 £513 £500
% change year-on-year -2.44% +2.50% -4.76%
Number of hourly rates quoted 24 9 48
10th Percentile £16.00 £26.39 £17.69
25th Percentile £27.34 £28.00 £17.80
Median hourly rate £49.36 £57.50 £54.88
Median % change year-on-year -14.16% +4.78% -2.44%
75th Percentile £53.75 £60.13 £65.00
90th Percentile £60.00 £67.25 £70.00
England median hourly rate £53.00 £28.41 £22.23
% change year-on-year +86.55% +27.83% -57.37%

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 3 June 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 3 June 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 3 June 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 -5 178 £465 -2.11% 51
Hampshire -8 99 £575 - 45
Berkshire -16 86 £481 -16.30% 19
Oxfordshire +4 66 £250 - 18
Surrey -14 30 £525 +147.06% 16
Buckinghamshire -18 26 £560 +136.20% 14
Kent -2 21 £231 -11.90% 10
West Sussex -12 11 £600 +200.00% 5
East Sussex +3 9 £550 +100.00% 2
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 70 (20.06%) Microsoft Exchange
2 35 (10.03%) SharePoint
3 5 (1.43%) Confluence
3 5 (1.43%) IIS
4 3 (0.86%) Apache
4 3 (0.86%) nginx
4 3 (0.86%) Tomcat
Applications
1 16 (4.58%) Microsoft Office
2 4 (1.15%) Microsoft Project
3 2 (0.57%) SOLIDWORKS
4 1 (0.29%) AutoCAD
4 1 (0.29%) Microsoft Excel
4 1 (0.29%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 1 (0.29%) Spreadsheet
Business Applications
1 11 (3.15%) Remedy ITSM
2 1 (0.29%) Remedy AR System
2 1 (0.29%) Sparx Enterprise Architect
Cloud Services
1 171 (49.00%) Azure
2 147 (42.12%) Entra ID
3 109 (31.23%) Microsoft 365
4 32 (9.17%) AWS
5 19 (5.44%) Power Platform
6 15 (4.30%) IaaS
6 15 (4.30%) OneDrive
7 14 (4.01%) GCP
8 11 (3.15%) Azure DevOps
9 9 (2.58%) Azure Logic Apps
9 9 (2.58%) PaaS
10 8 (2.29%) SaaS
11 7 (2.01%) Power Automate
12 6 (1.72%) Azure Monitor
12 6 (1.72%) PowerApps
13 5 (1.43%) Azure Key Vault
13 5 (1.43%) Mimecast
14 4 (1.15%) GitHub
14 4 (1.15%) Nutanix
14 4 (1.15%) Serverless
Communications & Networking
1 84 (24.07%) DNS
2 53 (15.19%) DHCP
3 32 (9.17%) Firewall
4 26 (7.45%) Wi-Fi
5 25 (7.16%) VPN
6 15 (4.30%) LAN
7 13 (3.72%) Kerberos
8 11 (3.15%) FTP
8 11 (3.15%) SAN
9 10 (2.87%) SSL
9 10 (2.87%) WAN
10 9 (2.58%) IPsec
10 9 (2.58%) Network Security
11 8 (2.29%) SD-WAN
12 7 (2.01%) NAS
12 7 (2.01%) SSH
13 5 (1.43%) BIG-IP
13 5 (1.43%) Unified Communications
14 4 (1.15%) Cisco ASA
14 4 (1.15%) TCP/IP
Database & Business Intelligence
1 35 (10.03%) SQL Server
2 16 (4.58%) Power BI
3 5 (1.43%) MySQL
4 3 (0.86%) Data Mining
5 2 (0.57%) Azure SQL Database
6 1 (0.29%) Amazon Athena
6 1 (0.29%) Amazon QuickSight
6 1 (0.29%) Amazon Redshift
6 1 (0.29%) MariaDB
6 1 (0.29%) NoSQL
6 1 (0.29%) Parquet
6 1 (0.29%) PostgreSQL
6 1 (0.29%) SQL Server Reporting Services
Development Applications
1 14 (4.01%) JIRA
2 6 (1.72%) Robot Framework
3 5 (1.43%) Sonatype Nexus
4 2 (0.57%) Git
4 2 (0.57%) GitLab
4 2 (0.57%) MSI
5 1 (0.29%) Artifactory
5 1 (0.29%) Browser DevTools
5 1 (0.29%) Jenkins
General
1 100 (28.65%) Social Skills
2 47 (13.47%) Public Sector
3 34 (9.74%) Documentation Skills
4 20 (5.73%) Analytical Skills
5 14 (4.01%) Organisational Skills
6 13 (3.72%) Inclusion and Diversity
6 13 (3.72%) Military
7 8 (2.29%) Marketing
8 7 (2.01%) Legal
9 6 (1.72%) Finance
9 6 (1.72%) Police
10 4 (1.15%) Retail
11 3 (0.86%) Manufacturing
12 2 (0.57%) Games
13 1 (0.29%) Aerospace
13 1 (0.29%) Back Office
13 1 (0.29%) Front Office
13 1 (0.29%) Health Technology
13 1 (0.29%) Local Government
13 1 (0.29%) Publishing
Job Titles
1 48 (13.75%) Support Engineer
2 45 (12.89%) IT Support
3 42 (12.03%) Infrastructure Engineer
4 37 (10.60%) Architect
4 37 (10.60%) IT Engineer
5 36 (10.32%) Senior
6 32 (9.17%) Analyst
7 31 (8.88%) IT Support Engineer
8 15 (4.30%) Lead
9 13 (3.72%) 3rd Line Engineer
9 13 (3.72%) Cloud Engineer
9 13 (3.72%) Senior Infrastructure Engineer
10 11 (3.15%) Support Analyst
11 10 (2.87%) IT Analyst
12 9 (2.58%) 3rd Line Infrastructure Engineer
12 9 (2.58%) Desktop Support
12 9 (2.58%) Infrastructure Architect
12 9 (2.58%) IT Support Analyst
12 9 (2.58%) Product Owner
13 8 (2.29%) Service Desk Analyst
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 38 (10.89%) LDAP
2 19 (5.44%) OAuth
2 19 (5.44%) SAML
3 18 (5.16%) OpenID
4 15 (4.30%) REST
5 14 (4.01%) OAuth2
6 13 (3.72%) SailPoint
7 12 (3.44%) Web Services
8 6 (1.72%) ADO
9 5 (1.43%) .NET
9 5 (1.43%) Microsoft Graph
10 4 (1.15%) 802.1X
11 3 (0.86%) JSON
11 3 (0.86%) LAMP
11 3 (0.86%) LEMP Stack
11 3 (0.86%) YAML
12 2 (0.57%) .NET Framework
12 2 (0.57%) Middleware
12 2 (0.57%) SOAP
12 2 (0.57%) Software Packaging
Miscellaneous
1 41 (11.75%) Onboarding
2 32 (9.17%) PKI
3 16 (4.58%) Replication
4 13 (3.72%) Data Centre
5 12 (3.44%) Management Information System
6 11 (3.15%) Product Ownership
7 10 (2.87%) Driving Licence
8 9 (2.58%) Legacy Systems
8 9 (2.58%) Operational Technology
9 7 (2.01%) Clustering
9 7 (2.01%) Hybrid Cloud
10 6 (1.72%) Analytical Mindset
10 6 (1.72%) Enterprise Software
11 5 (1.43%) Security Posture
12 4 (1.15%) Cyber Defence
12 4 (1.15%) SCADA
13 3 (0.86%) CMDB
14 2 (0.57%) Fat Client
14 2 (0.57%) Public Cloud
14 2 (0.57%) Thin Client
Operating Systems
1 222 (63.61%) Windows
2 101 (28.94%) Windows Server
3 61 (17.48%) Linux
4 33 (9.46%) Windows 10
5 24 (6.88%) Unix
6 14 (4.01%) Windows Server 2019
7 9 (2.58%) Mac OS
8 8 (2.29%) Windows 7
9 6 (1.72%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
9 6 (1.72%) Windows Server 2012
10 5 (1.43%) CentOS
10 5 (1.43%) Windows Server 2016
11 4 (1.15%) Apple iOS
12 3 (0.86%) Ubuntu
13 2 (0.57%) VMS
14 1 (0.29%) Windows Server 2008
Processes & Methodologies
1 78 (22.35%) Problem-Solving
2 65 (18.62%) ITIL
3 58 (16.62%) ITSM
4 51 (14.61%) Infrastructure Engineering
5 50 (14.33%) Cybersecurity
6 46 (13.18%) Customer Service
7 42 (12.03%) DevOps
8 39 (11.17%) SIEM
9 37 (10.60%) Agile
10 33 (9.46%) Runbook
11 32 (9.17%) Privileged Access Management
12 30 (8.60%) CI/CD
12 30 (8.60%) Information Security
13 29 (8.31%) Migration
14 28 (8.02%) Change Control
15 27 (7.74%) RBAC
16 24 (6.88%) High Availability
16 24 (6.88%) Identity Access Management
16 24 (6.88%) Roadmaps
16 24 (6.88%) Technical Leadership
Programming Languages
1 121 (34.67%) PowerShell
2 56 (16.05%) Python
3 22 (6.30%) SQL
4 11 (3.15%) JavaScript
5 6 (1.72%) Bash
5 6 (1.72%) C#
5 6 (1.72%) Java
6 4 (1.15%) Bicep
7 2 (0.57%) BeanShell
8 1 (0.29%) Korn
8 1 (0.29%) PHP
Qualifications
1 173 (49.57%) Security Cleared
2 106 (30.37%) SC Cleared
3 62 (17.77%) DV Cleared
4 37 (10.60%) Degree
5 21 (6.02%) CISSP
6 20 (5.73%) CISM
7 15 (4.30%) Microsoft Certification
8 8 (2.29%) Azure Certification
8 8 (2.29%) CESG Certified Professional
9 7 (2.01%) BPSS Clearance
10 6 (1.72%) Cisco Certification
11 5 (1.43%) (ISC)2 CCSP
11 5 (1.43%) CRISC
11 5 (1.43%) GIAC
11 5 (1.43%) SANS
12 4 (1.15%) AWS Certification
12 4 (1.15%) GSEC
12 4 (1.15%) SSCP
13 3 (0.86%) A+ Certification
13 3 (0.86%) CCA
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 57 (16.33%) ISO/IEC 27001
1 57 (16.33%) NIST
2 29 (8.31%) GDPR
3 12 (3.44%) Cyber Essentials
3 12 (3.44%) NCSC
4 10 (2.87%) SLA
5 5 (1.43%) ISO 31000
5 5 (1.43%) NIST 800
5 5 (1.43%) PCI DSS
6 4 (1.15%) Data Quality
7 3 (0.86%) ISO/IEC 42001
8 1 (0.29%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
8 1 (0.29%) ISO 9001
8 1 (0.29%) JSP 440
8 1 (0.29%) PMO
8 1 (0.29%) QA
System Software
1 72 (20.63%) VMware Infrastructure
2 26 (7.45%) Hyper-V
3 21 (6.02%) VMware ESXi
4 19 (5.44%) VMware NSX
5 11 (3.15%) vSphere
6 9 (2.58%) vCloud
6 9 (2.58%) Virtual Machines
7 8 (2.29%) Firmware
7 8 (2.29%) Virtual Desktop
8 3 (0.86%) DFS Replication
8 3 (0.86%) Docker
8 3 (0.86%) Dovecot
8 3 (0.86%) Postfix
9 2 (0.57%) BitLocker
9 2 (0.57%) Terminal Services
9 2 (0.57%) UAG
10 1 (0.29%) Citrix Hypervisor
10 1 (0.29%) NFS
Systems Management
1 46 (13.18%) Microsoft Intune
2 23 (6.59%) Active Directory Federation Services
3 22 (6.30%) SCCM
4 21 (6.02%) Terraform
5 16 (4.58%) SCOM
5 16 (4.58%) vCenter Server
6 14 (4.01%) Ansible
6 14 (4.01%) Single Sign-On
7 5 (1.43%) WMI
8 4 (1.15%) Jamf Pro
8 4 (1.15%) Kubernetes
9 3 (0.86%) Clonezilla
9 3 (0.86%) HAProxy
9 3 (0.86%) SCSM
10 2 (0.57%) Cisco CUCM
10 2 (0.57%) Grafana
10 2 (0.57%) WSUS
11 1 (0.29%) FortiGate
11 1 (0.29%) McAfee ePO
11 1 (0.29%) Puppet
Vendors
1 205 (58.74%) Microsoft
2 84 (24.07%) VMware
3 33 (9.46%) BeyondTrust
4 32 (9.17%) ServiceNow
5 30 (8.60%) CyberArk
6 20 (5.73%) Cisco
7 17 (4.87%) Citrix
8 14 (4.01%) Meraki
9 12 (3.44%) Oracle
9 12 (3.44%) Remedy
10 11 (3.15%) BMC
11 8 (2.29%) Avaya
11 8 (2.29%) Mitel
11 8 (2.29%) SolarWinds
12 7 (2.01%) Red Hat
13 6 (1.72%) F5
13 6 (1.72%) Juniper
14 5 (1.43%) Palo Alto
14 5 (1.43%) Veeam
15 4 (1.15%) Becrypt