GRC Contract Job Trends

Governance, Risk Management and Compliance (GRC)
UK

The table below provides summary statistics and contractor rates for jobs requiring GRC skills. It covers contract job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 12 February 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
12 Feb 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 349 365 483
Rank change year-on-year +16 +118 +69
Contract jobs citing GRC 256 163 123
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 0.64% 0.53% 0.28%
As % of the Quality Assurance & Compliance category 3.72% 3.62% 1.93%
Number of daily rates quoted 157 91 94
10th Percentile £358 £356 £376
25th Percentile £450 £512 £475
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £630 £575
Median % change year-on-year -16.67% +9.57% +2.22%
75th Percentile £613 £713 £734
90th Percentile £675 £825 £900
UK excluding London median daily rate £525 £600 £575
% change year-on-year -12.50% +4.35% -4.17%
Number of hourly rates quoted 14 0 0
10th Percentile - - -
25th Percentile - - -
Median hourly rate £33.50 - -
75th Percentile £35.38 - -
90th Percentile £36.00 - -
UK excluding London median hourly rate £33.50 - -

All Quality Assurance and Compliance Skills
UK

GRC falls under the Quality Assurance and Compliance category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract job vacancies requiring quality assurance or compliance skills.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for quality assurance or compliance skills 6,885 4,506 6,385
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 17.29% 14.55% 14.41%
Number of daily rates quoted 4,425 2,664 4,203
10th Percentile £325 £260 £300
25th Percentile £413 £375 £406
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £500 £525
Median % change year-on-year - -4.76% -
75th Percentile £600 £625 £633
90th Percentile £700 £725 £745
UK excluding London median daily rate £492 £475 £488
% change year-on-year +3.58% -2.56% +2.63%
Number of hourly rates quoted 358 169 336
10th Percentile £15.25 £15.00 £12.25
25th Percentile £18.25 £21.00 £14.50
Median hourly rate £26.11 £29.00 £25.00
Median % change year-on-year -9.97% +16.00% -12.28%
75th Percentile £63.75 £65.00 £50.96
90th Percentile £70.00 £75.67 £72.50
UK excluding London median hourly rate £24.85 £28.50 £24.47
% change year-on-year -12.82% +16.49% -12.94%

GRC
Job Vacancy Trend

Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings citing GRC relative to all contract IT jobs advertised.

GRC job vacancy trend in the UK

GRC
Daily Rate Trend

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing GRC.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing GRC

GRC
Daily Rate Histogram

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing GRC over the 6 months to 12 February 2026.

Daily rate histogram for GRC in the UK

GRC
Hourly Rate Trend

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing GRC.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing GRC

GRC
Top 14 Contract Job Locations

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing GRC within the UK over the 6 months to 12 February 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
England +1 235 £525 -19.23% 102
London 0 119 £525 -22.22% 54
UK excluding London -6 115 £525 -12.50% 69
Work from Home +12 61 £500 -16.67% 61
South East -21 36 £525 -3.67% 31
North of England -45 23 £453 -29.22% 13
South West -1 19 £500 -37.50% 7
Midlands -45 18 £447 -25.50% 8
East of England -20 15 £575 -4.17% 11
Yorkshire - 13 £450 - 2
East Midlands -17 12 £442 -26.29% 2
North West -20 10 £456 -28.75% 10
West Midlands -48 6 £575 -4.17% 6
Scotland +8 4 £331 -29.52%

GRC
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities 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 11 (4.30%) Confluence
2 4 (1.56%) SharePoint
Applications
1 13 (5.08%) Microsoft Excel
2 6 (2.34%) Microsoft Project
3 3 (1.17%) Microsoft PowerPoint
3 3 (1.17%) MS Visio
3 3 (1.17%) Trello
4 1 (0.39%) Microsoft Office
Business Applications
1 12 (4.69%) SAP GRC
1 12 (4.69%) SAP S/4HANA
2 1 (0.39%) SAP BPC
2 1 (0.39%) SAP EWM
2 1 (0.39%) SAP FI
2 1 (0.39%) SAP HR
Cloud Services
1 30 (11.72%) Azure
2 24 (9.38%) AWS
3 18 (7.03%) GCP
4 14 (5.47%) Power Platform
5 6 (2.34%) Entra ID
5 6 (2.34%) GitHub
5 6 (2.34%) Microsoft 365
5 6 (2.34%) Miro
5 6 (2.34%) SaaS
6 5 (1.95%) Azure Sentinel
7 4 (1.56%) Amazon GuardDuty
7 4 (1.56%) AWS CloudFormation
7 4 (1.56%) Microsoft Purview
8 3 (1.17%) Asana
8 3 (1.17%) OneDrive
8 3 (1.17%) SuccessFactors
9 2 (0.78%) Amazon ECS
9 2 (0.78%) Amazon EKS
9 2 (0.78%) Microsoft Copilot
9 2 (0.78%) Serverless
Communications & Networking
1 13 (5.08%) Firewall
2 12 (4.69%) Network Security
3 3 (1.17%) NGFW
3 3 (1.17%) Reverse Proxy
4 2 (0.78%) VPN
5 1 (0.39%) BGP
5 1 (0.39%) Cisco ASA
5 1 (0.39%) DMZ
5 1 (0.39%) Internet
5 1 (0.39%) Intrusion Detection
5 1 (0.39%) LAN
5 1 (0.39%) MPLS
5 1 (0.39%) Multicast
5 1 (0.39%) OSPF
5 1 (0.39%) SD-WAN
5 1 (0.39%) TCP/IP
5 1 (0.39%) VLAN
5 1 (0.39%) WAN
5 1 (0.39%) Wireshark
Database & Business Intelligence
1 12 (4.69%) Power BI
2 9 (3.52%) Metadata
3 4 (1.56%) SAP HANA
3 4 (1.56%) Tableau
4 3 (1.17%) SAP BW
5 2 (0.78%) Data Warehouse
6 1 (0.39%) Amazon Redshift
6 1 (0.39%) Data Vault
6 1 (0.39%) SQL Server Reporting Services
Development Applications
1 12 (4.69%) JIRA
2 1 (0.39%) Burp Suite
2 1 (0.39%) Git
General
1 107 (41.80%) Social Skills
2 61 (23.83%) Finance
3 34 (13.28%) Analytical Skills
4 33 (12.89%) Public Sector
5 26 (10.16%) Banking
6 18 (7.03%) Legal
7 12 (4.69%) Organisational Skills
8 10 (3.91%) Presentation Skills
9 9 (3.52%) Influencing Skills
9 9 (3.52%) Telecoms
10 5 (1.95%) Inclusion and Diversity
10 5 (1.95%) Law
11 4 (1.56%) Documentation Skills
12 3 (1.17%) Aerospace
12 3 (1.17%) Financial Institution
13 2 (0.78%) Arabic Language
13 2 (0.78%) Investment Banking
13 2 (0.78%) Marketing
13 2 (0.78%) Military
13 2 (0.78%) Police
Job Titles
1 61 (23.83%) Analyst
2 39 (15.23%) Consultant
3 31 (12.11%) Architect
4 21 (8.20%) Security Analyst
5 16 (6.25%) Risk Analyst
6 15 (5.86%) Lead
6 15 (5.86%) Senior
7 14 (5.47%) ServiceNow Architect
8 12 (4.69%) Risk Manager
8 12 (4.69%) Security Consultant
9 11 (4.30%) Business Analyst
9 11 (4.30%) Security Engineer
10 10 (3.91%) Governance Manager
10 10 (3.91%) Information Security Advisor
10 10 (3.91%) Project Manager
10 10 (3.91%) Security Advisor
10 10 (3.91%) Security Specialist
10 10 (3.91%) Solutions Architect
11 9 (3.52%) Information Analyst
11 9 (3.52%) Information Security Analyst
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 18 (7.03%) REST
2 16 (6.25%) SOAP
3 6 (2.34%) SAP Fiori
4 3 (1.17%) OAuth
4 3 (1.17%) OAuth2
4 3 (1.17%) OpenID
4 3 (1.17%) SAML
5 2 (0.78%) SailPoint
5 2 (0.78%) Web Services
6 1 (0.39%) .NET
6 1 (0.39%) ARM Templates
6 1 (0.39%) IDoc
6 1 (0.39%) JSON
6 1 (0.39%) LDAP
6 1 (0.39%) Middleware
6 1 (0.39%) SAP PI
6 1 (0.39%) Spring
Miscellaneous
1 32 (12.50%) Security Posture
2 27 (10.55%) Management Information System
3 16 (6.25%) CMDB
3 16 (6.25%) Product Ownership
4 11 (4.30%) Operational Technology
5 6 (2.34%) Cloud Native
6 5 (1.95%) Data Centre
6 5 (1.95%) Data Protection Act
6 5 (1.95%) Onboarding
6 5 (1.95%) Taxonomies
6 5 (1.95%) Virtual Team
7 3 (1.17%) Cyber Threat
7 3 (1.17%) Enterprise Software
7 3 (1.17%) Hybrid Cloud
8 2 (0.78%) Credit Risk
8 2 (0.78%) Hedge funds
8 2 (0.78%) IoT
8 2 (0.78%) Market Risk
8 2 (0.78%) NHS
8 2 (0.78%) PMI
Operating Systems
1 1 (0.39%) Linux
1 1 (0.39%) Windows
Processes & Methodologies
1 114 (44.53%) Risk Management
2 71 (27.73%) Information Security
3 70 (27.34%) Stakeholder Management
4 66 (25.78%) Cybersecurity
5 56 (21.88%) Stakeholder Engagement
6 38 (14.84%) Agile
7 36 (14.06%) Continuous Improvement
8 34 (13.28%) Roadmaps
9 32 (12.50%) Problem-Solving
9 32 (12.50%) Security Operations
10 29 (11.33%) Risk Assessment
11 28 (10.94%) ITSM
12 24 (9.38%) Cloud Security
12 24 (9.38%) Risk Register
13 21 (8.20%) Data Protection
13 21 (8.20%) Regulatory Compliance
14 20 (7.81%) AI
14 20 (7.81%) ITIL
15 19 (7.42%) Migration
16 18 (7.03%) Data Modelling
Programming Languages
1 10 (3.91%) JavaScript
2 4 (1.56%) Python
2 4 (1.56%) SQL
3 3 (1.17%) Bicep
4 2 (0.78%) Bash
5 1 (0.39%) ABAP
5 1 (0.39%) Data Analysis Expressions
5 1 (0.39%) Java
5 1 (0.39%) Kusto Query Language
5 1 (0.39%) PowerShell
Qualifications
1 61 (23.83%) Security Cleared
2 38 (14.84%) SC Cleared
3 32 (12.50%) CISM
4 31 (12.11%) CISSP
5 28 (10.94%) Degree
6 19 (7.42%) CRISC
6 19 (7.42%) DV Cleared
7 17 (6.64%) BPSS Clearance
8 15 (5.86%) CISA
8 15 (5.86%) ISO 27001 Lead Implementer
9 13 (5.08%) Master's Degree
10 12 (4.69%) Computer Science Degree
11 11 (4.30%) PMI Certification
12 10 (3.91%) PMP
13 7 (2.73%) FFIEC
13 7 (2.73%) ISO 27001 Lead Auditor
14 5 (1.95%) SAP Certification
15 3 (1.17%) CGEIT
15 3 (1.17%) Cisco Certification
15 3 (1.17%) CISMP
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 83 (32.42%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 64 (25.00%) NIST
3 33 (12.89%) GDPR
4 21 (8.20%) PCI DSS
5 19 (7.42%) Sarbanes-Oxley
6 10 (3.91%) Def Stans
6 10 (3.91%) NCSC
6 10 (3.91%) SOC 2
7 9 (3.52%) ISO/IEC 27005
8 8 (3.13%) COBIT
8 8 (3.13%) Cyber Essentials
9 7 (2.73%) Actionable Recommendations
10 5 (1.95%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
10 5 (1.95%) ISO/IEC 27002 (supersedes ISO/IEC 17799)
11 4 (1.56%) PMO
11 4 (1.56%) QA
11 4 (1.56%) SLA
12 3 (1.17%) ITGC
12 3 (1.17%) MiFID
12 3 (1.17%) NIST 800
System Software
1 2 (0.78%) Docker
1 2 (0.78%) Virtual Machines
2 1 (0.39%) Active Directory
2 1 (0.39%) IAG
Systems Management
1 11 (4.30%) RSA Archer
2 9 (3.52%) Terraform
3 6 (2.34%) Kubernetes
4 4 (1.56%) Single Sign-On
5 2 (0.78%) QRadar
6 1 (0.39%) Ansible
6 1 (0.39%) Cisco Prime
6 1 (0.39%) Fluentd
6 1 (0.39%) Iperf
6 1 (0.39%) logstash
6 1 (0.39%) Nexpose
6 1 (0.39%) Nmap
Vendors
1 47 (18.36%) ServiceNow
2 21 (8.20%) Microsoft
3 18 (7.03%) SAP
4 7 (2.73%) Google
5 5 (1.95%) Splunk
6 4 (1.56%) Ariba
6 4 (1.56%) Fortinet
6 4 (1.56%) Palo Alto
7 3 (1.17%) Rapid7
8 2 (0.78%) CheckPoint
8 2 (0.78%) CrowdStrike
8 2 (0.78%) CyberArk
8 2 (0.78%) Okta
8 2 (0.78%) Qualys
8 2 (0.78%) Tenable
9 1 (0.39%) Carbon Black
9 1 (0.39%) Concur
9 1 (0.39%) Cribl.io
9 1 (0.39%) OneTrust
9 1 (0.39%) OpenAI