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

6 months to
22 Jul 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 30 22 14
Rank change year-on-year -8 -8 +18
Contract jobs citing Active Directory 407 247 438
As % of all contract jobs in the South East 6.18% 7.23% 8.16%
As % of the System Software category 52.99% 54.05% 55.09%
Number of daily rates quoted 262 180 297
10th Percentile £225 £200 £200
25th Percentile £325 £250 £360
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £515 £537 £525
Median % change year-on-year -4.10% +2.29% +40.94%
75th Percentile £592 £611 £608
90th Percentile £650 £700 £650
England median daily rate £450 £450 £450
% change year-on-year - - +5.88%
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 £26.83 £23.00 £17.80
% change year-on-year +16.65% +29.21% -11.00%

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 768 457 795
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the South East 11.67% 13.37% 14.80%
Number of daily rates quoted 551 318 507
10th Percentile £270 £206 £248
25th Percentile £415 £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 £650
England median daily rate £500 £500 £513
% change year-on-year - -2.44% -2.38%
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 £56.25 £37.07 £22.23
% change year-on-year +51.73% +66.81% -44.44%

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 22 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 22 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 22 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 -5 215 £492 -6.29% 50
Hampshire -8 125 £538 -6.52% 35
Berkshire -15 92 £500 -16.67% 24
Oxfordshire +11 85 £338 +35.00% 13
Buckinghamshire -24 38 £583 +60.69% 13
Surrey -22 27 £525 +144.19% 13
Kent -2 18 £275 -36.05% 9
West Sussex -19 14 £575 +187.50% 12
East Sussex +8 8 £220 - 4
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 67 (16.46%) Microsoft Exchange
2 36 (8.85%) SharePoint
3 10 (2.46%) Confluence
4 6 (1.47%) Apache
4 6 (1.47%) nginx
5 5 (1.23%) IIS
6 3 (0.74%) Tomcat
Applications
1 16 (3.93%) Microsoft Office
2 5 (1.23%) Microsoft Project
3 2 (0.49%) SOLIDWORKS
4 1 (0.25%) Microsoft Excel
4 1 (0.25%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 1 (0.25%) Spreadsheet
Business Applications
1 15 (3.69%) Remedy ITSM
2 2 (0.49%) SAP S/4HANA
2 2 (0.49%) Sparx Enterprise Architect
Cloud Services
1 190 (46.68%) Azure
2 174 (42.75%) Entra ID
3 115 (28.26%) Microsoft 365
4 35 (8.60%) AWS
5 20 (4.91%) OneDrive
6 19 (4.67%) Power Platform
7 15 (3.69%) Azure Monitor
7 15 (3.69%) GCP
7 15 (3.69%) IaaS
8 11 (2.70%) Azure DevOps
9 10 (2.46%) SaaS
10 9 (2.21%) Azure Logic Apps
10 9 (2.21%) Azure Sentinel
10 9 (2.21%) PaaS
11 7 (1.72%) Azure AKS
11 7 (1.72%) Azure Key Vault
12 6 (1.47%) Power Automate
13 5 (1.23%) Azure App Service
13 5 (1.23%) Microsoft Purview
14 4 (0.98%) Azure Storage
Communications & Networking
1 102 (25.06%) DNS
2 57 (14.00%) DHCP
3 43 (10.57%) Firewall
4 37 (9.09%) VPN
5 29 (7.13%) Wi-Fi
6 18 (4.42%) LAN
7 16 (3.93%) Network Security
8 15 (3.69%) SSL
9 14 (3.44%) TCP/IP
10 13 (3.19%) Kerberos
10 13 (3.19%) SSH
11 11 (2.70%) WAN
12 10 (2.46%) IPsec
13 9 (2.21%) SAN
14 8 (1.97%) FTP
15 7 (1.72%) Cisco ASA
15 7 (1.72%) Cisco Firepower
15 7 (1.72%) NAS
15 7 (1.72%) VLAN
16 6 (1.47%) SD-WAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 44 (10.81%) SQL Server
2 16 (3.93%) Power BI
3 6 (1.47%) Azure SQL Database
4 5 (1.23%) NoSQL
5 4 (0.98%) MySQL
6 3 (0.74%) Data Mining
7 1 (0.25%) Parquet
7 1 (0.25%) PostgreSQL
7 1 (0.25%) SQL Server Reporting Services
Development Applications
1 16 (3.93%) JIRA
2 3 (0.74%) Atlassian Bamboo
2 3 (0.74%) Bitbucket
2 3 (0.74%) Git
2 3 (0.74%) MSI
2 3 (0.74%) Robot Framework
3 2 (0.49%) Jenkins
3 2 (0.49%) Sonatype Nexus
4 1 (0.25%) Browser DevTools
4 1 (0.25%) GitLab
General
1 125 (30.71%) Social Skills
2 51 (12.53%) Public Sector
3 42 (10.32%) Analytical Skills
4 40 (9.83%) Documentation Skills
5 17 (4.18%) Military
6 13 (3.19%) Inclusion and Diversity
6 13 (3.19%) Organisational Skills
7 11 (2.70%) Finance
8 10 (2.46%) Marketing
9 6 (1.47%) Legal
10 5 (1.23%) Police
11 4 (0.98%) Aerospace
11 4 (0.98%) Manufacturing
11 4 (0.98%) Retail
12 3 (0.74%) French Language
13 2 (0.49%) Games
13 2 (0.49%) Telecoms
14 1 (0.25%) Advertising
14 1 (0.25%) Pharmaceutical
14 1 (0.25%) Publishing
Job Titles
1 60 (14.74%) Support Engineer
2 53 (13.02%) IT Support
3 49 (12.04%) Infrastructure Engineer
4 48 (11.79%) Senior
5 41 (10.07%) IT Engineer
6 35 (8.60%) IT Support Engineer
7 34 (8.35%) Architect
8 31 (7.62%) Analyst
9 23 (5.65%) Cloud Engineer
10 18 (4.42%) 3rd Line Engineer
10 18 (4.42%) Lead
11 16 (3.93%) Senior Infrastructure Engineer
12 14 (3.44%) IAM Specialist
12 14 (3.44%) IT Analyst
13 13 (3.19%) IT Support Analyst
13 13 (3.19%) Support Analyst
14 12 (2.95%) Developer
15 10 (2.46%) 3rd Line Infrastructure Engineer
15 10 (2.46%) Technical Architect
16 9 (2.21%) IT Infrastructure Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 51 (12.53%) LDAP
2 35 (8.60%) OAuth
2 35 (8.60%) SAML
3 34 (8.35%) OpenID
4 22 (5.41%) REST
5 21 (5.16%) OAuth2
6 20 (4.91%) SailPoint
7 17 (4.18%) Web Services
8 10 (2.46%) ARM Templates
9 9 (2.21%) .NET
9 9 (2.21%) Microsoft Graph
10 6 (1.47%) .NET Core
10 6 (1.47%) .NET Framework
10 6 (1.47%) Entity Framework
11 4 (0.98%) 802.1X
12 3 (0.74%) JSON
12 3 (0.74%) LEMP Stack
12 3 (0.74%) RESTful
12 3 (0.74%) Software Packaging
12 3 (0.74%) YAML
Miscellaneous
1 57 (14.00%) Onboarding
2 38 (9.34%) PKI
3 23 (5.65%) Management Information System
4 16 (3.93%) Hybrid Cloud
4 16 (3.93%) Replication
5 12 (2.95%) Data Centre
6 11 (2.70%) Legacy Systems
7 10 (2.46%) Operational Technology
8 9 (2.21%) Clustering
8 9 (2.21%) Enterprise Software
8 9 (2.21%) Product Ownership
9 8 (1.97%) Security Posture
10 7 (1.72%) Driving Licence
11 5 (1.23%) ARM Cortex
11 5 (1.23%) Cyber Defence
12 4 (0.98%) Analytical Mindset
12 4 (0.98%) CMDB
12 4 (0.98%) Fibre Optics
12 4 (0.98%) SCADA
13 3 (0.74%) Self-Motivation
Operating Systems
1 260 (63.88%) Windows
2 121 (29.73%) Windows Server
3 87 (21.38%) Linux
4 37 (9.09%) Windows 10
5 30 (7.37%) Unix
6 21 (5.16%) Windows Server 2019
7 9 (2.21%) Mac OS
8 7 (1.72%) CentOS
9 6 (1.47%) Windows 7
10 5 (1.23%) Ubuntu
11 4 (0.98%) Apple iOS
11 4 (0.98%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
11 4 (0.98%) Windows Server 2012
12 2 (0.49%) VMS
12 2 (0.49%) Windows Server 2016
13 1 (0.25%) Windows Server 2008
Processes & Methodologies
1 93 (22.85%) Problem-Solving
2 83 (20.39%) ITIL
2 83 (20.39%) ITSM
3 66 (16.22%) Infrastructure Engineering
4 60 (14.74%) Cybersecurity
5 51 (12.53%) Customer Service
6 47 (11.55%) Agile
7 46 (11.30%) SIEM
8 45 (11.06%) Runbook
9 43 (10.57%) RBAC
10 42 (10.32%) Privileged Access Management
11 41 (10.07%) Information Security
12 39 (9.58%) DevOps
13 38 (9.34%) Technical Leadership
14 37 (9.09%) Change Control
15 36 (8.85%) CI/CD
15 36 (8.85%) Identity Access Management
16 34 (8.35%) Computer Science
17 31 (7.62%) Analytics
17 31 (7.62%) Service Management
Programming Languages
1 159 (39.07%) PowerShell
2 69 (16.95%) Python
3 32 (7.86%) SQL
4 14 (3.44%) Bash
4 14 (3.44%) Bicep
5 12 (2.95%) JavaScript
6 10 (2.46%) C#
7 5 (1.23%) Java
8 4 (0.98%) C
9 2 (0.49%) BeanShell
10 1 (0.25%) Korn
10 1 (0.25%) Shell Script
Qualifications
1 200 (49.14%) Security Cleared
2 109 (26.78%) SC Cleared
3 87 (21.38%) DV Cleared
4 59 (14.50%) Degree
5 32 (7.86%) Microsoft Certification
6 18 (4.42%) CISSP
7 17 (4.18%) CISM
8 15 (3.69%) Azure Certification
9 12 (2.95%) BPSS Clearance
10 9 (2.21%) MCSA
11 8 (1.97%) CESG Certified Professional
11 8 (1.97%) MCSE
12 6 (1.47%) CCA
12 6 (1.47%) Cisco Certification
12 6 (1.47%) Citrix Certification
13 5 (1.23%) (ISC)2 CCSP
13 5 (1.23%) AWS Certification
13 5 (1.23%) CRISC
13 5 (1.23%) GIAC
13 5 (1.23%) SANS
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 71 (17.44%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 67 (16.46%) NIST
3 26 (6.39%) GDPR
4 11 (2.70%) NCSC
4 11 (2.70%) SLA
5 9 (2.21%) Cyber Essentials
6 8 (1.97%) Data Quality
7 5 (1.23%) ISO 31000
8 3 (0.74%) ISO/IEC 42001
8 3 (0.74%) NIST 800
8 3 (0.74%) PCI DSS
9 2 (0.49%) GxP
10 1 (0.25%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
10 1 (0.25%) Disclosure Scotland
10 1 (0.25%) GRC
10 1 (0.25%) ISO 9001
10 1 (0.25%) JSP 440
10 1 (0.25%) QA
System Software
1 90 (22.11%) VMware Infrastructure
2 41 (10.07%) VMware ESXi
3 35 (8.60%) Hyper-V
4 26 (6.39%) VMware NSX
5 13 (3.19%) vCloud
6 12 (2.95%) Virtual Desktop
6 12 (2.95%) Virtual Machines
6 12 (2.95%) vSphere
7 8 (1.97%) Firmware
8 3 (0.74%) Dovecot
8 3 (0.74%) OpenAM
8 3 (0.74%) Postfix
9 2 (0.49%) BitLocker
9 2 (0.49%) Docker
9 2 (0.49%) UAG
10 1 (0.25%) Citrix Hypervisor
Systems Management
1 55 (13.51%) Microsoft Intune
2 37 (9.09%) Terraform
3 36 (8.85%) vCenter Server
4 30 (7.37%) SCCM
5 27 (6.63%) SCOM
6 25 (6.14%) Active Directory Federation Services
7 18 (4.42%) Ansible
8 13 (3.19%) Single Sign-On
9 5 (1.23%) Cisco CUCM
10 4 (0.98%) Clonezilla
10 4 (0.98%) WMI
11 3 (0.74%) HAProxy
11 3 (0.74%) Kubernetes
11 3 (0.74%) Packer
11 3 (0.74%) SCSM
12 2 (0.49%) Dell DRAC
12 2 (0.49%) Jamf Pro
12 2 (0.49%) vMotion
12 2 (0.49%) WSUS
13 1 (0.25%) CASB
Vendors
1 241 (59.21%) Microsoft
2 104 (25.55%) VMware
3 44 (10.81%) ServiceNow
4 39 (9.58%) BeyondTrust
4 39 (9.58%) CyberArk
5 23 (5.65%) Cisco
6 20 (4.91%) SolarWinds
7 18 (4.42%) Meraki
7 18 (4.42%) Oracle
8 17 (4.18%) Remedy
9 13 (3.19%) BMC
9 13 (3.19%) Citrix
10 12 (2.95%) Avaya
10 12 (2.95%) Mitel
11 11 (2.70%) Juniper
12 9 (2.21%) CrowdStrike
13 8 (1.97%) Palo Alto
14 7 (1.72%) Broadcom
15 6 (1.47%) Red Hat
15 6 (1.47%) Veeam