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 19 May 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
19 May 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 31 25 15
Rank change year-on-year -6 -10 +18
Contract jobs citing Active Directory 342 226 441
As % of all contract jobs in the South East 5.78% 7.54% 8.09%
As % of the System Software category 52.37% 53.81% 57.12%
Number of daily rates quoted 231 175 301
10th Percentile £200 £200 £175
25th Percentile £281 £256 £310
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £525 £500
Median % change year-on-year -4.76% +5.00% +17.65%
75th Percentile £597 £625 £608
90th Percentile £700 £700 £638
England median daily rate £450 £450 £425
% change year-on-year - +5.88% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 17 3 18
10th Percentile £23.56 £21.58 £14.74
25th Percentile £43.81 £23.99 £16.61
Median hourly rate £48.72 £28.00 £17.69
Median % change year-on-year +74.00% +58.28% -4.38%
75th Percentile £53.75 - £18.51
90th Percentile £54.25 - £43.18
England median hourly rate £26.55 £19.97 £17.50
% change year-on-year +32.95% +14.11% -10.26%

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 653 420 772
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the South East 11.03% 14.01% 14.15%
Number of daily rates quoted 497 311 488
10th Percentile £250 £208 £203
25th Percentile £406 £328 £363
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £515 £501 £501
Median % change year-on-year +2.90% -0.10% +0.20%
75th Percentile £600 £605 £608
90th Percentile £700 £688 £650
England median daily rate £500 £525 £500
% change year-on-year -4.76% +5.00% -4.76%
Number of hourly rates quoted 23 10 47
10th Percentile £26.15 £27.20 £17.11
25th Percentile £43.81 £32.25 £17.80
Median hourly rate £50.00 £56.25 £54.88
Median % change year-on-year -11.11% +2.51% +0.58%
75th Percentile £53.75 £61.91 £64.38
90th Percentile £60.00 £67.13 £70.00
England median hourly rate £52.75 £28.71 £21.00
% change year-on-year +83.77% +36.69% -58.00%

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 19 May 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 19 May 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 19 May 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 -1 173 £465 -11.43% 49
Hampshire -14 91 £575 - 42
Berkshire -18 82 £481 -16.30% 23
Oxfordshire +9 67 £250 -4.76% 10
Surrey 0 36 £513 +138.37% 6
Buckinghamshire -14 24 £560 +104.25% 16
Kent -4 22 £200 -23.81% 8
West Sussex -12 10 £600 +179.07% 1
East Sussex +1 9 £550 +10.00% 1
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 71 (20.76%) Microsoft Exchange
2 31 (9.06%) SharePoint
3 5 (1.46%) Confluence
4 2 (0.58%) IIS
5 1 (0.29%) Exchange Server 2010
Applications
1 23 (6.73%) Microsoft Office
2 4 (1.17%) Microsoft Project
3 3 (0.88%) 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 10 (2.92%) Remedy ITSM
2 1 (0.29%) Remedy AR System
Cloud Services
1 166 (48.54%) Azure
2 144 (42.11%) Entra ID
3 110 (32.16%) Microsoft 365
4 27 (7.89%) AWS
5 17 (4.97%) Power Platform
6 16 (4.68%) OneDrive
7 15 (4.39%) GCP
8 14 (4.09%) IaaS
9 11 (3.22%) Azure DevOps
10 9 (2.63%) PaaS
10 9 (2.63%) SaaS
11 7 (2.05%) Azure Logic Apps
12 6 (1.75%) Azure Monitor
12 6 (1.75%) PowerApps
13 5 (1.46%) Azure Key Vault
13 5 (1.46%) Nutanix
13 5 (1.46%) Power Automate
14 4 (1.17%) GitHub
14 4 (1.17%) Mimecast
14 4 (1.17%) Serverless
Communications & Networking
1 79 (23.10%) DNS
2 53 (15.50%) DHCP
3 28 (8.19%) Firewall
3 28 (8.19%) Wi-Fi
4 21 (6.14%) VPN
5 13 (3.80%) FTP
5 13 (3.80%) Kerberos
6 11 (3.22%) LAN
7 10 (2.92%) SAN
8 8 (2.34%) SD-WAN
8 8 (2.34%) WAN
9 7 (2.05%) SSH
9 7 (2.05%) SSL
10 6 (1.75%) IPsec
10 6 (1.75%) NAS
10 6 (1.75%) Network Security
10 6 (1.75%) TCP/IP
10 6 (1.75%) Unified Communications
11 4 (1.17%) MQTT
11 4 (1.17%) VLAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 37 (10.82%) SQL Server
2 14 (4.09%) Power BI
3 6 (1.75%) Azure SQL Database
4 3 (0.88%) Data Mining
5 2 (0.58%) MySQL
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 (4.09%) JIRA
2 7 (2.05%) Robot Framework
3 6 (1.75%) Sonatype Nexus
4 2 (0.58%) Git
4 2 (0.58%) GitLab
4 2 (0.58%) MSI
5 1 (0.29%) Artifactory
5 1 (0.29%) Browser DevTools
5 1 (0.29%) Jenkins
General
1 100 (29.24%) Social Skills
2 49 (14.33%) Public Sector
3 35 (10.23%) Documentation Skills
4 17 (4.97%) Analytical Skills
5 14 (4.09%) Military
6 13 (3.80%) Organisational Skills
7 12 (3.51%) Inclusion and Diversity
8 8 (2.34%) Marketing
9 7 (2.05%) Legal
10 6 (1.75%) Finance
10 6 (1.75%) Police
11 4 (1.17%) Retail
12 3 (0.88%) Games
12 3 (0.88%) Manufacturing
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 47 (13.74%) Support Engineer
2 44 (12.87%) IT Support
3 42 (12.28%) Infrastructure Engineer
4 38 (11.11%) Architect
4 38 (11.11%) IT Engineer
5 34 (9.94%) Analyst
6 32 (9.36%) IT Support Engineer
6 32 (9.36%) Senior
7 15 (4.39%) Lead
8 14 (4.09%) 3rd Line Engineer
9 13 (3.80%) Senior Infrastructure Engineer
10 11 (3.22%) Support Analyst
11 9 (2.63%) 3rd Line Infrastructure Engineer
11 9 (2.63%) Desktop Support
11 9 (2.63%) Infrastructure Architect
11 9 (2.63%) IT Analyst
11 9 (2.63%) IT Support Analyst
11 9 (2.63%) Senior Architect
11 9 (2.63%) Service Analyst
11 9 (2.63%) Service Desk Analyst
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 35 (10.23%) LDAP
2 15 (4.39%) OAuth
2 15 (4.39%) SAML
3 14 (4.09%) OpenID
4 13 (3.80%) REST
4 13 (3.80%) SailPoint
5 11 (3.22%) OAuth2
5 11 (3.22%) Web Services
6 7 (2.05%) .NET
7 6 (1.75%) ADO
8 3 (0.88%) Microsoft Graph
8 3 (0.88%) Unreal Engine
9 2 (0.58%) .NET Core
9 2 (0.58%) .NET Framework
9 2 (0.58%) 802.1X
9 2 (0.58%) Entity Framework
9 2 (0.58%) JSON
9 2 (0.58%) Middleware
10 1 (0.29%) CSS
10 1 (0.29%) Software Packaging
Miscellaneous
1 39 (11.40%) Onboarding
2 28 (8.19%) PKI
3 16 (4.68%) Replication
4 13 (3.80%) Data Centre
5 10 (2.92%) Driving Licence
5 10 (2.92%) Management Information System
5 10 (2.92%) Product Ownership
6 9 (2.63%) Legacy Systems
6 9 (2.63%) Operational Technology
7 6 (1.75%) Clustering
7 6 (1.75%) Hybrid Cloud
8 5 (1.46%) Analytical Mindset
8 5 (1.46%) Security Posture
9 4 (1.17%) Cyber Defence
9 4 (1.17%) Enterprise Software
9 4 (1.17%) SCADA
9 4 (1.17%) Self-Motivation
10 3 (0.88%) CMDB
10 3 (0.88%) Fat Client
10 3 (0.88%) Thin Client
Operating Systems
1 215 (62.87%) Windows
2 99 (28.95%) Windows Server
3 55 (16.08%) Linux
4 30 (8.77%) Windows 10
5 23 (6.73%) Unix
6 12 (3.51%) Windows Server 2019
7 9 (2.63%) Windows 7
8 8 (2.34%) Mac OS
9 7 (2.05%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
10 5 (1.46%) Windows Server 2012
11 4 (1.17%) Windows Server 2016
12 3 (0.88%) Apple iOS
13 2 (0.58%) CentOS
13 2 (0.58%) VMS
14 1 (0.29%) Windows Server 2008
Processes & Methodologies
1 75 (21.93%) Problem-Solving
2 67 (19.59%) ITIL
3 56 (16.37%) ITSM
4 52 (15.20%) Cybersecurity
4 52 (15.20%) Infrastructure Engineering
5 46 (13.45%) Customer Service
6 41 (11.99%) DevOps
7 39 (11.40%) SIEM
8 32 (9.36%) Agile
9 31 (9.06%) Privileged Access Management
10 30 (8.77%) Runbook
11 29 (8.48%) Change Control
11 29 (8.48%) Information Security
12 27 (7.89%) CI/CD
13 25 (7.31%) Migration
14 24 (7.02%) High Availability
15 23 (6.73%) RBAC
15 23 (6.73%) Roadmaps
16 22 (6.43%) Identity Access Management
17 21 (6.14%) Computer Science
Programming Languages
1 114 (33.33%) PowerShell
2 56 (16.37%) Python
3 24 (7.02%) SQL
4 10 (2.92%) JavaScript
5 6 (1.75%) C#
6 4 (1.17%) Bash
6 4 (1.17%) Bicep
6 4 (1.17%) Java
7 2 (0.58%) BeanShell
8 1 (0.29%) Korn
8 1 (0.29%) PHP
Qualifications
1 170 (49.71%) Security Cleared
2 106 (30.99%) SC Cleared
3 56 (16.37%) DV Cleared
4 34 (9.94%) Degree
5 19 (5.56%) CISM
5 19 (5.56%) CISSP
6 13 (3.80%) Microsoft Certification
7 8 (2.34%) CESG Certified Professional
8 7 (2.05%) Azure Certification
8 7 (2.05%) BPSS Clearance
9 6 (1.75%) Cisco Certification
10 5 (1.46%) (ISC)2 CCSP
10 5 (1.46%) CRISC
10 5 (1.46%) GIAC
10 5 (1.46%) SANS
11 4 (1.17%) GSEC
11 4 (1.17%) SSCP
12 3 (0.88%) A+ Certification
12 3 (0.88%) CCA
12 3 (0.88%) Citrix Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 55 (16.08%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 53 (15.50%) NIST
3 26 (7.60%) GDPR
4 12 (3.51%) Cyber Essentials
5 10 (2.92%) SLA
6 9 (2.63%) NCSC
7 5 (1.46%) ISO 31000
7 5 (1.46%) NIST 800
8 4 (1.17%) Data Quality
8 4 (1.17%) PCI DSS
9 3 (0.88%) ISO/IEC 42001
10 2 (0.58%) JSP 440
11 1 (0.29%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
11 1 (0.29%) PMO
11 1 (0.29%) QA
System Software
1 71 (20.76%) VMware Infrastructure
2 26 (7.60%) Hyper-V
3 17 (4.97%) VMware ESXi
4 13 (3.80%) VMware NSX
5 12 (3.51%) Virtual Desktop
6 10 (2.92%) vSphere
7 8 (2.34%) Firmware
7 8 (2.34%) Virtual Machines
8 6 (1.75%) vCloud
9 3 (0.88%) DFS Replication
9 3 (0.88%) Docker
10 2 (0.58%) Terminal Services
10 2 (0.58%) UAG
11 1 (0.29%) BitLocker
11 1 (0.29%) Citrix Hypervisor
11 1 (0.29%) NFS
11 1 (0.29%) Sendmail
Systems Management
1 48 (14.04%) Microsoft Intune
2 27 (7.89%) SCCM
3 17 (4.97%) Active Directory Federation Services
3 17 (4.97%) Terraform
4 15 (4.39%) SCOM
4 15 (4.39%) Single Sign-On
5 14 (4.09%) vCenter Server
6 11 (3.22%) Ansible
7 6 (1.75%) Jamf Pro
8 5 (1.46%) WMI
9 3 (0.88%) Kubernetes
9 3 (0.88%) SCSM
9 3 (0.88%) WSUS
10 2 (0.58%) Grafana
10 2 (0.58%) WhatsUp Gold
11 1 (0.29%) Cisco CUCM
11 1 (0.29%) FortiGate
11 1 (0.29%) McAfee ePO
11 1 (0.29%) Puppet
11 1 (0.29%) Red Hat Satellite
Vendors
1 201 (58.77%) Microsoft
2 83 (24.27%) VMware
3 35 (10.23%) BeyondTrust
4 33 (9.65%) CyberArk
5 28 (8.19%) ServiceNow
6 20 (5.85%) Citrix
7 14 (4.09%) Meraki
8 13 (3.80%) Cisco
9 12 (3.51%) Oracle
10 11 (3.22%) Remedy
11 10 (2.92%) BMC
12 8 (2.34%) Avaya
12 8 (2.34%) Mitel
13 5 (1.46%) Fortinet
13 5 (1.46%) Red Hat
13 5 (1.46%) SolarWinds
13 5 (1.46%) Veeam
14 4 (1.17%) BiZZdesign
14 4 (1.17%) Broadcom
14 4 (1.17%) F5