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 9 October 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
9 Oct 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 30 22 24
Rank change year-on-year -8 +2 0
Contract jobs citing Active Directory 386 260 349
As % of all contract jobs in the South East 5.93% 7.27% 8.05%
As % of the System Software category 50.39% 51.90% 53.78%
Number of daily rates quoted 240 197 251
10th Percentile £225 £162 £200
25th Percentile £275 £200 £294
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £424 £475
Median % change year-on-year +17.99% -10.79% +46.15%
75th Percentile £588 £588 £610
90th Percentile £629 £620 £672
England median daily rate £450 £425 £425
% change year-on-year +5.88% - +6.25%
Number of hourly rates quoted 32 2 7
10th Percentile £16.00 £45.49 £18.07
25th Percentile £37.23 £64.58 £22.33
Median hourly rate £52.50 £96.39 £27.50
Median % change year-on-year -45.53% +250.49% +22.22%
75th Percentile £77.50 £128.19 £40.88
90th Percentile £94.90 £147.28 £59.68
England median hourly rate £52.50 £22.00 £22.25
% change year-on-year +138.64% -1.10% +14.08%

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 766 501 649
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the South East 11.76% 14.01% 14.96%
Number of daily rates quoted 503 354 430
10th Percentile £263 £190 £223
25th Percentile £425 £256 £360
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £496 £500
Median % change year-on-year +5.85% -0.80% -
75th Percentile £608 £575 £612
90th Percentile £688 £638 £675
England median daily rate £500 £500 £513
% change year-on-year - -2.44% +2.50%
Number of hourly rates quoted 58 12 26
10th Percentile £16.00 £56.30 £24.33
25th Percentile £33.70 £67.44 £50.83
Median hourly rate £60.00 £81.00 £57.87
Median % change year-on-year -25.93% +39.97% +5.22%
75th Percentile £70.33 £81.50 £70.00
90th Percentile £87.25 £88.97 -
England median hourly rate £63.14 £34.50 £43.08
% change year-on-year +83.00% -19.92% -6.71%

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 9 October 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 9 October 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 9 October 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 +5 201 £500 +82.82% 58
Hampshire -5 135 £538 +7.50% 67
Berkshire +5 85 £500 +42.86% 32
Oxfordshire +7 72 £400 +60.00% 14
Buckinghamshire -19 44 £595 +117.37% 12
West Sussex -15 18 £200 - 10
Surrey -34 15 £444 +77.50% 37
Kent -10 12 £275 +4.76% 10
East Sussex -3 4 £115 -36.11% 6
Home Counties - 2 £600 -
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 30 (7.77%) Microsoft Exchange
2 27 (6.99%) SharePoint
3 13 (3.37%) Confluence
4 8 (2.07%) Apache
4 8 (2.07%) nginx
5 4 (1.04%) IIS
6 3 (0.78%) Tomcat
Applications
1 17 (4.40%) Microsoft Office
2 1 (0.26%) Microsoft Excel
2 1 (0.26%) Microsoft PowerPoint
2 1 (0.26%) Microsoft Project
2 1 (0.26%) SOLIDWORKS
Business Applications
1 11 (2.85%) Remedy ITSM
2 2 (0.52%) SAP S/4HANA
2 2 (0.52%) Sparx Enterprise Architect
Cloud Services
1 187 (48.45%) Azure
2 138 (35.75%) Entra ID
3 99 (25.65%) Microsoft 365
4 43 (11.14%) AWS
5 24 (6.22%) Azure Monitor
6 19 (4.92%) GCP
7 16 (4.15%) Azure Sentinel
8 14 (3.63%) IaaS
9 10 (2.59%) Azure Key Vault
9 10 (2.59%) PaaS
9 10 (2.59%) SaaS
10 9 (2.33%) Azure AKS
10 9 (2.33%) Azure DevOps
10 9 (2.33%) OneDrive
10 9 (2.33%) Power Platform
11 7 (1.81%) Azure App Service
11 7 (1.81%) Azure ExpressRoute
12 5 (1.30%) Azure API Management
12 5 (1.30%) Azure Logic Apps
12 5 (1.30%) Azure Storage
Communications & Networking
1 98 (25.39%) DNS
2 49 (12.69%) DHCP
3 46 (11.92%) Firewall
4 43 (11.14%) VPN
5 23 (5.96%) TCP/IP
6 16 (4.15%) Network Security
7 15 (3.89%) LAN
8 13 (3.37%) VLAN
9 11 (2.85%) SSH
9 11 (2.85%) WAN
10 10 (2.59%) SSL
10 10 (2.59%) Wi-Fi
11 8 (2.07%) Wireless
12 7 (1.81%) Cisco ASA
12 7 (1.81%) Cisco Firepower
12 7 (1.81%) IPsec
13 5 (1.30%) NetScaler
13 5 (1.30%) X.509
14 4 (1.04%) NGFW
15 3 (0.78%) CATAPAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 34 (8.81%) SQL Server
2 12 (3.11%) Azure SQL Database
3 8 (2.07%) Power BI
4 7 (1.81%) NoSQL
5 3 (0.78%) MySQL
5 3 (0.78%) Parquet
Development Applications
1 20 (5.18%) JIRA
2 5 (1.30%) Atlassian Bamboo
2 5 (1.30%) Bitbucket
2 5 (1.30%) Git
3 3 (0.78%) Jenkins
4 2 (0.52%) MSI
5 1 (0.26%) GitLab
5 1 (0.26%) Robot Framework
5 1 (0.26%) Sonatype Nexus
General
1 116 (30.05%) Social Skills
2 46 (11.92%) Analytical Skills
3 40 (10.36%) Documentation Skills
4 38 (9.84%) Public Sector
5 14 (3.63%) Organisational Skills
6 13 (3.37%) Military
7 10 (2.59%) Marketing
8 8 (2.07%) Inclusion and Diversity
9 6 (1.55%) Finance
10 5 (1.30%) Aerospace
11 4 (1.04%) French Language
12 2 (0.52%) Advertising
12 2 (0.52%) Manufacturing
12 2 (0.52%) Police
12 2 (0.52%) Telecoms
13 1 (0.26%) Games
13 1 (0.26%) Legal
13 1 (0.26%) Local Government
13 1 (0.26%) Pharmaceutical
Job Titles
1 74 (19.17%) Support Engineer
2 51 (13.21%) Infrastructure Engineer
3 44 (11.40%) Senior
4 39 (10.10%) IT Support
5 38 (9.84%) IT Engineer
6 34 (8.81%) Cloud Engineer
7 29 (7.51%) IT Support Engineer
8 28 (7.25%) Architect
9 25 (6.48%) Analyst
10 20 (5.18%) 3rd Line Engineer
11 19 (4.92%) IAM Specialist
12 16 (4.15%) Consultant
12 16 (4.15%) Senior Infrastructure Engineer
13 15 (3.89%) Developer
14 14 (3.63%) Technical Architect
15 12 (3.11%) 3rd Line Support
16 11 (2.85%) 2nd Line Support
16 11 (2.85%) 3rd Line Support Engineer
16 11 (2.85%) IT Infrastructure Engineer
16 11 (2.85%) Lead
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 56 (14.51%) LDAP
2 49 (12.69%) Terraform
3 40 (10.36%) OAuth
3 40 (10.36%) OpenID
3 40 (10.36%) SAML
4 26 (6.74%) OAuth2
5 25 (6.48%) SailPoint
6 22 (5.70%) ARM Templates
7 20 (5.18%) REST
8 17 (4.40%) Web Services
9 15 (3.89%) .NET
10 8 (2.07%) .NET Framework
10 8 (2.07%) OpenTofu
11 7 (1.81%) .NET Core
11 7 (1.81%) 802.1X
11 7 (1.81%) Entity Framework
11 7 (1.81%) Microsoft Graph
12 5 (1.30%) JSON
12 5 (1.30%) RESTful
13 3 (0.78%) LAMP
Miscellaneous
1 54 (13.99%) Onboarding
2 37 (9.59%) PKI
3 22 (5.70%) Management Information System
4 21 (5.44%) Hybrid Cloud
5 11 (2.85%) ARM Cortex
6 10 (2.59%) Driving Licence
7 8 (2.07%) Clustering
7 8 (2.07%) Data Centre
7 8 (2.07%) Enterprise Software
7 8 (2.07%) Security Posture
8 7 (1.81%) Operational Technology
9 5 (1.30%) Cyber Defence
10 4 (1.04%) Fibre Optics
10 4 (1.04%) SCADA
11 3 (0.78%) Device Driver
11 3 (0.78%) iPhone
11 3 (0.78%) Legacy Systems
11 3 (0.78%) Public Cloud
11 3 (0.78%) Replication
11 3 (0.78%) Wiki
Operating Systems
1 251 (65.03%) Windows
2 122 (31.61%) Windows Server
3 87 (22.54%) Linux
4 59 (15.28%) Windows 10
5 27 (6.99%) Windows Server 2019
6 23 (5.96%) Unix
7 13 (3.37%) CentOS
7 13 (3.37%) Ubuntu
8 10 (2.59%) Mac OS
9 5 (1.30%) Windows 7
10 4 (1.04%) Apple iOS
11 3 (0.78%) Windows Server 2012
12 1 (0.26%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
12 1 (0.26%) VMS
12 1 (0.26%) Windows Server 2008
12 1 (0.26%) Windows Server 2016
Processes & Methodologies
1 92 (23.83%) Problem-Solving
2 80 (20.73%) ITSM
3 73 (18.91%) ITIL
4 69 (17.88%) Infrastructure Engineering
5 54 (13.99%) Cybersecurity
6 53 (13.73%) RBAC
7 51 (13.21%) Technical Leadership
8 48 (12.44%) Analytics
9 47 (12.18%) Agile
10 46 (11.92%) Privileged Access Management
11 45 (11.66%) Runbook
12 42 (10.88%) SIEM
13 41 (10.62%) Identity Access Management
14 39 (10.10%) Migration
15 38 (9.84%) CI/CD
16 35 (9.07%) Stakeholder Management
17 34 (8.81%) Customer Service
17 34 (8.81%) DevOps
17 34 (8.81%) Service Management
18 32 (8.29%) Continuous Improvement
Programming Languages
1 153 (39.64%) PowerShell
2 62 (16.06%) Python
3 38 (9.84%) SQL
4 24 (6.22%) Bash
5 23 (5.96%) Bicep
6 8 (2.07%) C
7 7 (1.81%) C#
7 7 (1.81%) JavaScript
8 5 (1.30%) Java
9 2 (0.52%) BeanShell
10 1 (0.26%) Shell Script
Qualifications
1 196 (50.78%) Security Cleared
2 104 (26.94%) DV Cleared
3 94 (24.35%) SC Cleared
4 52 (13.47%) Degree
5 29 (7.51%) Microsoft Certification
6 16 (4.15%) Azure Certification
7 14 (3.63%) CISSP
8 13 (3.37%) CISM
9 10 (2.59%) MCSA
10 9 (2.33%) BPSS Clearance
11 8 (2.07%) MCSE
12 6 (1.55%) CESG Certified Professional
12 6 (1.55%) Cisco Certification
13 5 (1.30%) (ISC)2 CCSP
13 5 (1.30%) AWS Certification
13 5 (1.30%) CRISC
13 5 (1.30%) DBS Check
13 5 (1.30%) GIAC
13 5 (1.30%) SANS
14 4 (1.04%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 56 (14.51%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 54 (13.99%) NIST
3 16 (4.15%) GDPR
4 15 (3.89%) NCSC
5 12 (3.11%) SLA
6 10 (2.59%) Data Quality
7 9 (2.33%) Cyber Essentials
8 5 (1.30%) ISO 31000
8 5 (1.30%) JSP 440
9 3 (0.78%) PCI DSS
10 2 (0.52%) GxP
10 2 (0.52%) ISO/IEC 42001
11 1 (0.26%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
11 1 (0.26%) Disclosure Scotland
11 1 (0.26%) GRC
11 1 (0.26%) ISO 9001
11 1 (0.26%) NIST 800
11 1 (0.26%) QA
System Software
1 77 (19.95%) VMware Infrastructure
2 50 (12.95%) VMware ESXi
3 27 (6.99%) VMware NSX
4 25 (6.48%) Hyper-V
5 16 (4.15%) vCloud
6 12 (3.11%) Virtual Desktop
7 11 (2.85%) Virtual Machines
7 11 (2.85%) vSphere
8 4 (1.04%) BitLocker
8 4 (1.04%) Virtual Servers
9 3 (0.78%) Dovecot
9 3 (0.78%) Microsoft Virtual Server
9 3 (0.78%) OpenAM
9 3 (0.78%) Postfix
10 2 (0.52%) Docker
11 1 (0.26%) Citrix Hypervisor
11 1 (0.26%) Firmware
11 1 (0.26%) UAG
11 1 (0.26%) XenApp
11 1 (0.26%) XenDesktop
Systems Management
1 50 (12.95%) vCenter Server
2 47 (12.18%) Microsoft Intune
3 39 (10.10%) SCCM
4 34 (8.81%) SCOM
5 19 (4.92%) Ansible
6 13 (3.37%) Active Directory Federation Services
6 13 (3.37%) Single Sign-On
7 5 (1.30%) Packer
8 4 (1.04%) Cisco CUCM
8 4 (1.04%) Clonezilla
8 4 (1.04%) Kubernetes
8 4 (1.04%) WMI
9 3 (0.78%) Dell DRAC
9 3 (0.78%) HAProxy
10 2 (0.52%) NetBackup
10 2 (0.52%) vMotion
10 2 (0.52%) WSUS
11 1 (0.26%) Failover Clustering
11 1 (0.26%) Grafana
11 1 (0.26%) QRadar
Vendors
1 219 (56.74%) Microsoft
2 95 (24.61%) VMware
3 41 (10.62%) CyberArk
4 39 (10.10%) ServiceNow
5 27 (6.99%) BeyondTrust
6 25 (6.48%) SolarWinds
7 20 (5.18%) Cisco
8 15 (3.89%) CrowdStrike
9 14 (3.63%) Remedy
10 12 (3.11%) Juniper
11 11 (2.85%) Broadcom
12 10 (2.59%) Citrix
12 10 (2.59%) Oracle
13 8 (2.07%) BMC
13 8 (2.07%) Palo Alto
14 7 (1.81%) Meraki
15 6 (1.55%) Atlassian
15 6 (1.55%) Splunk
16 5 (1.30%) Google
16 5 (1.30%) Red Hat