Business Strategy Contract Job Trends in the UK excluding London

Business Strategy
UK > UK excluding London

The table below provides summary statistics and contractor rates for jobs advertised in the UK excluding London requiring Business Strategy skills. It covers contract job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 7 October 2025, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
7 Oct 2025
Same period 2024 Same period 2023
Rank 164 196 206
Rank change year-on-year +32 +10 +1
Contract jobs citing Business Strategy 248 187 230
As % of all contract jobs in the UK excluding London 1.58% 1.08% 1.07%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 1.77% 1.29% 1.22%
Number of daily rates quoted 170 102 157
10th Percentile £352 £312 £425
25th Percentile £391 £445 £513
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £469 £574 £575
Median % change year-on-year -18.30% -0.22% +4.55%
75th Percentile £638 £700 £706
90th Percentile £695 £750 £846
UK median daily rate £525 £600 £600
% change year-on-year -12.50% - -
Number of hourly rates quoted 2 10 13
10th Percentile £35.43 £23.04 £28.05
25th Percentile £42.44 - £41.25
Median hourly rate £58.25 £24.18 £56.89
Median % change year-on-year +140.90% -57.49% -12.48%
75th Percentile £77.44 - £77.50
90th Percentile £86.48 £25.46 £79.50
UK median hourly rate £58.25 £24.18 £55.64
% change year-on-year +140.90% -56.54% -18.18%

All Process and Methodology Skills
UK excluding London

Business Strategy falls under the Processes and Methodologies category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract job vacancies requiring process or methodology skills in the UK excluding London.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for process or methodology skills 14,020 14,491 18,889
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK excluding London 89.17% 83.43% 88.25%
Number of daily rates quoted 8,432 8,180 12,443
10th Percentile £225 £240 £256
25th Percentile £367 £380 £400
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £475 £500 £500
Median % change year-on-year -5.00% - -
75th Percentile £575 £600 £600
90th Percentile £669 £688 £700
UK median daily rate £500 £525 £540
% change year-on-year -4.76% -2.78% -1.82%
Number of hourly rates quoted 1,523 1,069 1,298
10th Percentile £14.13 £15.00 £14.25
25th Percentile £17.14 £18.50 £17.72
Median hourly rate £22.32 £43.00 £42.50
Median % change year-on-year -48.10% +1.18% +71.89%
75th Percentile £40.46 £66.61 £65.00
90th Percentile £66.40 £73.75 £77.50
UK median hourly rate £25.15 £41.50 £42.75
% change year-on-year -39.40% -2.92% +43.84%

Business Strategy
Job Vacancy Trend in the UK excluding London

Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings citing Business Strategy relative to all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK excluding London.

Business Strategy job vacancy trend in the UK excluding London

Business Strategy
Daily Rate Trend in the UK excluding London

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK excluding London citing Business Strategy.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK excluding London citing Business Strategy

Business Strategy
Daily Rate Histogram in the UK excluding London

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Business Strategy in the UK excluding London over the 6 months to 7 October 2025.

Daily rate histogram for Business Strategy in the UK excluding London

Business Strategy
Hourly Rate Trend in the UK excluding London

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK excluding London citing Business Strategy.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK excluding London citing Business Strategy

Business Strategy
Hourly Rate Histogram in the UK excluding London

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Business Strategy in the UK excluding London over the 6 months to 7 October 2025.

Hourly rate histogram for Business Strategy in the UK excluding London

Business Strategy
Contract Job Locations in the UK excluding London

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing Business Strategy within the UK excluding London region over the 6 months to 7 October 2025. 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
North of England +27 87 £471 -27.50% 106
Midlands +1 60 £375 -28.57% 30
North West +11 53 £494 -25.51% 82
South East +1 43 £575 +0.44% 124
East Midlands +12 39 £360 -7.93% 17
Yorkshire +11 35 £488 -21.62% 20
Scotland +7 35 £441 -19.86% 27
West Midlands -14 21 £525 -22.57% 13
East of England +5 14 £650 +8.33% 26
South West +15 13 £525 +0.48% 48
North East +2 8 £450 -49.83% 4
Wales +7 6 £413 +66.79% 4
Northern Ireland -22 2 £658 +255.41% 13
Business Strategy
UK

Business Strategy
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the UK excluding London 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 13 (5.24%) Confluence
2 9 (3.63%) SharePoint
3 3 (1.21%) IIS
4 1 (0.40%) Apache
4 1 (0.40%) Oracle Coherence
4 1 (0.40%) Oracle Workflow
Applications
1 14 (5.65%) Microsoft Excel
2 12 (4.84%) MS Visio
3 7 (2.82%) Microsoft Office
4 5 (2.02%) Microsoft Project
5 1 (0.40%) Microsoft PowerPoint
Business Applications
1 6 (2.42%) Dynamics CRM
2 5 (2.02%) Payment Gateway
2 5 (2.02%) SAP S/4HANA
3 4 (1.61%) SAP ERP
4 3 (1.21%) Salesforce CRM
5 2 (0.81%) SAP PM
6 1 (0.40%) CA PPM
6 1 (0.40%) Maximo
6 1 (0.40%) NetSuite
6 1 (0.40%) Oracle EBS
6 1 (0.40%) Oracle EBS R12
6 1 (0.40%) Oracle Procure-to-Pay
6 1 (0.40%) SAP MDG
6 1 (0.40%) Sparx Enterprise Architect
Cloud Services
1 41 (16.53%) Azure
2 29 (11.69%) AWS
3 18 (7.26%) GCP
4 13 (5.24%) SaaS
5 12 (4.84%) Power Platform
6 9 (3.63%) Entra ID
7 7 (2.82%) Dynamics 365
7 7 (2.82%) Microsoft 365
8 5 (2.02%) GitHub
9 4 (1.61%) Azure Data Factory
9 4 (1.61%) Salesforce Sales Cloud
9 4 (1.61%) Serverless
10 3 (1.21%) Azure Synapse Analytics
10 3 (1.21%) GitHub Actions
10 3 (1.21%) Lucidchart
10 3 (1.21%) Smartsheet
11 2 (0.81%) Asana
11 2 (0.81%) AWS Lambda
11 2 (0.81%) Azure DevOps
11 2 (0.81%) Cloud Computing
Communications & Networking
1 16 (6.45%) DNS
2 15 (6.05%) DMZ
2 15 (6.05%) F5 BIG-IP GTM
2 15 (6.05%) F5 BIG-IP LTM
2 15 (6.05%) Network Security
3 10 (4.03%) Firewall
4 6 (2.42%) LAN
5 5 (2.02%) WAN
6 4 (1.61%) ATM
7 2 (0.81%) HTTP
7 2 (0.81%) SAN
7 2 (0.81%) Wireless
8 1 (0.40%) 5G
8 1 (0.40%) Intranet
8 1 (0.40%) IP Telephony
8 1 (0.40%) Kerberos
8 1 (0.40%) NAS
8 1 (0.40%) Software-Defined Networking
8 1 (0.40%) VLAN
8 1 (0.40%) VPN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 11 (4.44%) SQL Server
2 10 (4.03%) Data Warehouse
2 10 (4.03%) Power BI
3 5 (2.02%) Impala
4 4 (1.61%) Data Lake
4 4 (1.61%) NoSQL
5 3 (1.21%) Azure SQL Database
5 3 (1.21%) Hadoop
5 3 (1.21%) MongoDB
5 3 (1.21%) Oracle Database
5 3 (1.21%) Tableau
6 2 (0.81%) Amazon RDS
6 2 (0.81%) BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
6 2 (0.81%) Delta Lake
6 2 (0.81%) GIS
6 2 (0.81%) KDB
6 2 (0.81%) Kdb+
6 2 (0.81%) Snowflake Schema
6 2 (0.81%) SQL Server Integration Services
6 2 (0.81%) Star Schema
Development Applications
1 20 (8.06%) JIRA
2 7 (2.82%) Postman
3 2 (0.81%) ER Studio
3 2 (0.81%) Git
3 2 (0.81%) LoadRunner
4 1 (0.40%) Jenkins
4 1 (0.40%) JUnit
4 1 (0.40%) Mockito
4 1 (0.40%) Zephyr
General
1 93 (37.50%) Finance
2 92 (37.10%) Social Skills
3 58 (23.39%) Analytical Skills
4 50 (20.16%) Banking
5 30 (12.10%) Influencing Skills
6 14 (5.65%) Legal
7 10 (4.03%) Investment Banking
7 10 (4.03%) Manufacturing
7 10 (4.03%) Marketing
7 10 (4.03%) Public Sector
8 9 (3.63%) Pharmaceutical
9 5 (2.02%) Presentation Skills
10 4 (1.61%) Inclusion and Diversity
10 4 (1.61%) Organisational Skills
11 3 (1.21%) Billing
11 3 (1.21%) Mandarin Language
11 3 (1.21%) Retail
11 3 (1.21%) Telecoms
12 2 (0.81%) Corporate Banking
12 2 (0.81%) Documentation Skills
Job Titles
1 58 (23.39%) Architect
2 38 (15.32%) Analyst
3 22 (8.87%) Business Analyst
3 22 (8.87%) Lead
4 19 (7.66%) Senior
5 17 (6.85%) Solutions Architect
6 15 (6.05%) Project Manager
7 13 (5.24%) Enterprise Architect
8 11 (4.44%) Product Owner
9 10 (4.03%) Domain Architect
10 9 (3.63%) Network Architect
10 9 (3.63%) Operations Engineer
10 9 (3.63%) Senior Architect
10 9 (3.63%) Senior Network Architect
11 8 (3.23%) Change Manager
12 7 (2.82%) Business Manager
12 7 (2.82%) Data Analyst
12 7 (2.82%) NetBackup Engineer
12 7 (2.82%) Product Manager
12 7 (2.82%) Technical Architect
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 13 (5.24%) REST
2 10 (4.03%) Middleware
3 8 (3.23%) Kafka
4 7 (2.82%) Web Services
5 6 (2.42%) JSON
5 6 (2.42%) XML
6 5 (2.02%) SOAP
7 4 (1.61%) .NET
7 4 (1.61%) Flash
8 3 (1.21%) .NET Framework
8 3 (1.21%) ASP.NET
8 3 (1.21%) MSMQ
8 3 (1.21%) Pandas
9 2 (0.81%) Node.js
9 2 (0.81%) OpenAPI
9 2 (0.81%) Oracle Fusion
9 2 (0.81%) React
9 2 (0.81%) Spring
10 1 (0.40%) NumPy
10 1 (0.40%) Visualforce
Miscellaneous
1 21 (8.47%) Management Information System
2 19 (7.66%) Product Ownership
3 15 (6.05%) Data Protection Act
4 10 (4.03%) Data Centre
4 10 (4.03%) SWIFT Messaging Network
5 9 (3.63%) Onboarding
6 7 (2.82%) Analytical Mindset
6 7 (2.82%) Public Cloud
7 5 (2.02%) Algorithms
7 5 (2.02%) Cloud Native
7 5 (2.02%) IoT
7 5 (2.02%) Life Science
7 5 (2.02%) Self-Motivation
8 4 (1.61%) Operational Technology
8 4 (1.61%) PACS
8 4 (1.61%) Renewable Energy
9 3 (1.21%) Enterprise Software
9 3 (1.21%) N-Tier
10 2 (0.81%) Equities
10 2 (0.81%) FMCG
Operating Systems
1 17 (6.85%) Linux
2 16 (6.45%) Windows
3 6 (2.42%) Mac OS
3 6 (2.42%) Windows 10
4 3 (1.21%) Windows Server
5 1 (0.40%) Unix
Processes & Methodologies
1 82 (33.06%) Stakeholder Management
2 75 (30.24%) Agile
3 56 (22.58%) Roadmaps
4 53 (21.37%) Problem-Solving
5 46 (18.55%) Decision-Making
6 36 (14.52%) Change Management
7 35 (14.11%) Enterprise Architecture
7 35 (14.11%) Strategic Thinking
8 33 (13.31%) IT Strategy
8 33 (13.31%) Project Management
9 32 (12.90%) Continuous Improvement
9 32 (12.90%) Data Protection
10 29 (11.69%) Stakeholder Engagement
11 25 (10.08%) Analytics
12 23 (9.27%) Scrum
13 22 (8.87%) Business Intelligence
13 22 (8.87%) Technology Strategy
14 18 (7.26%) Business Continuity
14 18 (7.26%) Migration
14 18 (7.26%) Project Delivery
Programming Languages
1 22 (8.87%) Python
2 19 (7.66%) SQL
3 12 (4.84%) Bash
3 12 (4.84%) PowerShell
4 5 (2.02%) R
5 4 (1.61%) Java
6 3 (1.21%) VB.NET
7 2 (0.81%) Bicep
7 2 (0.81%) Kusto Query Language
7 2 (0.81%) Shell Script
8 1 (0.40%) Apex Code
8 1 (0.40%) Data Analysis Expressions
8 1 (0.40%) JavaScript
8 1 (0.40%) Korn
8 1 (0.40%) PHP
8 1 (0.40%) TypeScript
Qualifications
1 37 (14.92%) Degree
2 27 (10.89%) Security Cleared
3 21 (8.47%) SC Cleared
4 14 (5.65%) Computer Science Degree
5 6 (2.42%) Azure Certification
5 6 (2.42%) ISEB
5 6 (2.42%) PMP
6 5 (2.02%) DBS Check
6 5 (2.02%) ISTQB
6 5 (2.02%) Master's Degree
7 4 (1.61%) APMP
7 4 (1.61%) BC Cleared
7 4 (1.61%) BPSS Clearance
7 4 (1.61%) Microsoft Certification
7 4 (1.61%) TOGAF Certification
8 3 (1.21%) Citrix Certification
8 3 (1.21%) CSPO
8 3 (1.21%) DV Cleared
8 3 (1.21%) PMI Certification
8 3 (1.21%) PRINCE2 Practitioner
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 12 (4.84%) GDPR
2 11 (4.44%) ISO/IEC 27001
3 9 (3.63%) QA
4 6 (2.42%) Data Quality
4 6 (2.42%) PMO
4 6 (2.42%) SEPA
5 4 (1.61%) ISO 8583
6 3 (1.21%) Accessibility
6 3 (1.21%) PCI DSS
7 2 (0.81%) COBIT
7 2 (0.81%) Disclosure Scotland
7 2 (0.81%) ISO 20022
7 2 (0.81%) ISO 22301
7 2 (0.81%) NIST
8 1 (0.40%) Def Stans
8 1 (0.40%) ISO 31000
8 1 (0.40%) SOC 2
System Software
1 29 (11.69%) VMware Infrastructure
2 12 (4.84%) Active Directory
3 9 (3.63%) Docker
Systems Management
1 7 (2.82%) NetBackup
1 7 (2.82%) Oracle RMAN
1 7 (2.82%) SCCM
2 5 (2.02%) Microsoft Intune
3 2 (0.81%) Kibana
3 2 (0.81%) Kubernetes
3 2 (0.81%) Terraform
4 1 (0.40%) Grafana
Vendors
1 48 (19.35%) Microsoft
2 30 (12.10%) VMware
3 20 (8.06%) Oracle
4 15 (6.05%) F5
4 15 (6.05%) SAP
5 10 (4.03%) Google
5 10 (4.03%) Salesforce
6 7 (2.82%) CyberArk
6 7 (2.82%) Veritas
7 6 (2.42%) Citrix
7 6 (2.42%) Databricks
7 6 (2.42%) MuleSoft
8 3 (1.21%) Dynatrace
8 3 (1.21%) IBM
8 3 (1.21%) Planview
8 3 (1.21%) ServiceNow
8 3 (1.21%) Splunk
9 2 (0.81%) Ariba
9 2 (0.81%) IBM Sterling
9 2 (0.81%) Informatica