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 13 March 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
13 Mar 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 355 370 467
Rank change year-on-year +15 +97 +78
Contract jobs citing GRC 277 163 129
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 0.65% 0.55% 0.29%
As % of the Quality Assurance & Compliance category 3.73% 3.65% 2.00%
Number of daily rates quoted 183 100 96
10th Percentile £366 £409 £381
25th Percentile £450 £513 £475
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £663 £575
Median % change year-on-year -20.78% +15.26% +1.01%
75th Percentile £638 £732 £756
90th Percentile £732 £900 £913
UK excluding London median daily rate £525 £550 £575
% change year-on-year -4.55% -4.35% -4.17%
Number of hourly rates quoted 9 0 0
10th Percentile - - -
25th Percentile - - -
Median hourly rate £33.50 - -
75th Percentile £36.00 - -
90th Percentile - - -
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 7,426 4,471 6,455
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 17.34% 15.17% 14.49%
Number of daily rates quoted 4,782 2,834 4,121
10th Percentile £331 £260 £300
25th Percentile £413 £375 £406
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £500 £515
Median % change year-on-year - -2.91% -1.90%
75th Percentile £600 £625 £625
90th Percentile £700 £725 £738
UK excluding London median daily rate £500 £475 £480
% change year-on-year +5.26% -1.04% +1.05%
Number of hourly rates quoted 396 170 389
10th Percentile £15.46 £16.25 £11.00
25th Percentile £18.48 £22.04 £14.00
Median hourly rate £27.94 £31.88 £24.50
Median % change year-on-year -12.36% +30.12% -34.67%
75th Percentile £65.00 £65.00 £46.75
90th Percentile £79.93 £79.13 £67.60
UK excluding London median hourly rate £30.58 £32.00 £22.30
% change year-on-year -4.44% +43.50% -31.38%

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 13 March 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 13 March 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 +15 258 £525 -22.22% 159
London -1 136 £525 -25.00% 53
UK excluding London -24 123 £525 -4.55% 124
Work from Home +20 84 £525 -12.50% 118
South East -31 40 £525 -4.11% 41
North of England -43 26 £475 -9.52% 28
Midlands -53 24 £600 - 16
East of England -17 17 £575 -4.17% 13
East Midlands -20 17 £625 +38.89% 3
Yorkshire -39 17 £475 -9.52% 9
South West -13 13 £500 -23.08% 17
North West -29 9 £456 -8.06% 15
West Midlands -62 7 £575 -4.17% 13
Scotland +1 3 £331 -27.99% 7

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 13 (4.69%) Confluence
2 8 (2.89%) SharePoint
Applications
1 16 (5.78%) Microsoft Excel
2 6 (2.17%) Microsoft Project
3 3 (1.08%) Microsoft PowerPoint
3 3 (1.08%) MS Visio
3 3 (1.08%) Trello
4 1 (0.36%) Microsoft Office
Business Applications
1 15 (5.42%) SAP S/4HANA
2 12 (4.33%) SAP GRC
3 1 (0.36%) SAP BPC
3 1 (0.36%) SAP EWM
3 1 (0.36%) SAP FI
3 1 (0.36%) SAP HR
Cloud Services
1 36 (13.00%) Azure
2 29 (10.47%) AWS
3 20 (7.22%) GCP
4 13 (4.69%) Power Platform
5 9 (3.25%) GitHub
6 8 (2.89%) Entra ID
6 8 (2.89%) SuccessFactors
7 7 (2.53%) Microsoft 365
7 7 (2.53%) SaaS
8 6 (2.17%) Miro
9 5 (1.81%) Microsoft Purview
10 4 (1.44%) Amazon CloudWatch
10 4 (1.44%) Amazon GuardDuty
10 4 (1.44%) AWS CloudFormation
10 4 (1.44%) Azure DevOps
10 4 (1.44%) Azure Sentinel
11 3 (1.08%) Asana
11 3 (1.08%) GitHub Actions
11 3 (1.08%) OneDrive
12 2 (0.72%) AWS KMS
Communications & Networking
1 15 (5.42%) Network Security
2 7 (2.53%) Firewall
3 3 (1.08%) NGFW
3 3 (1.08%) Reverse Proxy
4 2 (0.72%) VPN
5 1 (0.36%) BGP
5 1 (0.36%) Cisco ASA
5 1 (0.36%) DMZ
5 1 (0.36%) Fibre Channel
5 1 (0.36%) Internet
5 1 (0.36%) iSCSI
5 1 (0.36%) LAN
5 1 (0.36%) MPLS
5 1 (0.36%) Multicast
5 1 (0.36%) NAS
5 1 (0.36%) OSPF
5 1 (0.36%) SAN
5 1 (0.36%) SD-WAN
5 1 (0.36%) VLAN
5 1 (0.36%) Wireshark
Database & Business Intelligence
1 11 (3.97%) Metadata
1 11 (3.97%) Power BI
2 4 (1.44%) SAP HANA
3 3 (1.08%) SAP BW
3 3 (1.08%) Tableau
4 2 (0.72%) Data Warehouse
5 1 (0.36%) Amazon Redshift
5 1 (0.36%) Data Vault
5 1 (0.36%) SQL Server Reporting Services
Development Applications
1 14 (5.05%) JIRA
2 3 (1.08%) Jaeger
3 1 (0.36%) Git
General
1 109 (39.35%) Social Skills
2 68 (24.55%) Finance
3 38 (13.72%) Analytical Skills
4 33 (11.91%) Public Sector
5 25 (9.03%) Banking
5 25 (9.03%) Legal
6 10 (3.61%) Telecoms
7 9 (3.25%) Organisational Skills
8 8 (2.89%) Influencing Skills
9 6 (2.17%) Law
9 6 (2.17%) Presentation Skills
10 5 (1.81%) Financial Institution
10 5 (1.81%) Marketing
11 4 (1.44%) Documentation Skills
12 3 (1.08%) Aerospace
12 3 (1.08%) Inclusion and Diversity
13 2 (0.72%) Arabic Language
13 2 (0.72%) Military
13 2 (0.72%) Pharmaceutical
13 2 (0.72%) Police
Job Titles
1 58 (20.94%) Analyst
2 43 (15.52%) Consultant
3 31 (11.19%) Architect
4 24 (8.66%) Lead
4 24 (8.66%) Senior
5 19 (6.86%) Security Analyst
6 15 (5.42%) Risk Manager
7 14 (5.05%) ServiceNow Architect
8 13 (4.69%) Risk Analyst
8 13 (4.69%) Security Consultant
9 12 (4.33%) Business Analyst
9 12 (4.33%) Project Manager
10 11 (3.97%) Governance Manager
10 11 (3.97%) Security Specialist
10 11 (3.97%) Solutions Architect
11 10 (3.61%) Security Engineer
11 10 (3.61%) Security Manager
12 9 (3.25%) Compliance Manager
12 9 (3.25%) Information Analyst
12 9 (3.25%) Information Security Analyst
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 19 (6.86%) REST
2 17 (6.14%) SOAP
3 6 (2.17%) SAP Fiori
4 4 (1.44%) .NET
5 3 (1.08%) Loki
5 3 (1.08%) OAuth
5 3 (1.08%) OAuth2
5 3 (1.08%) OpenID
5 3 (1.08%) OpenTelemetry
5 3 (1.08%) SAML
6 2 (0.72%) SailPoint
7 1 (0.36%) ADO
7 1 (0.36%) ARM Templates
7 1 (0.36%) IDoc
7 1 (0.36%) JSON
7 1 (0.36%) LDAP
7 1 (0.36%) Middleware
7 1 (0.36%) SAP PI
7 1 (0.36%) Spring
7 1 (0.36%) Web Services
Miscellaneous
1 27 (9.75%) Security Posture
2 22 (7.94%) Management Information System
3 20 (7.22%) Product Ownership
4 19 (6.86%) CMDB
5 11 (3.97%) Onboarding
5 11 (3.97%) Operational Technology
6 8 (2.89%) Virtual Team
7 7 (2.53%) Taxonomies
8 6 (2.17%) Cloud Native
8 6 (2.17%) Data Protection Act
9 5 (1.81%) Hybrid Cloud
9 5 (1.81%) IoT
9 5 (1.81%) Public Cloud
10 4 (1.44%) Cyber Threat
10 4 (1.44%) Data Centre
10 4 (1.44%) Distributed Systems
10 4 (1.44%) PropTech
11 3 (1.08%) Enterprise Software
11 3 (1.08%) Mainframe
11 3 (1.08%) Self-Motivation
Operating Systems
1 4 (1.44%) Linux
1 4 (1.44%) Windows
2 1 (0.36%) Windows 10
Processes & Methodologies
1 113 (40.79%) Risk Management
2 77 (27.80%) Cybersecurity
3 74 (26.71%) Information Security
3 74 (26.71%) Stakeholder Management
4 53 (19.13%) Stakeholder Engagement
5 41 (14.80%) Roadmaps
6 40 (14.44%) Agile
6 40 (14.44%) Continuous Improvement
7 38 (13.72%) Security Operations
8 36 (13.00%) Problem-Solving
9 31 (11.19%) Risk Assessment
10 29 (10.47%) ITSM
10 29 (10.47%) Risk Register
11 26 (9.39%) ITIL
11 26 (9.39%) Regulatory Compliance
12 25 (9.03%) Cloud Security
12 25 (9.03%) Data Protection
13 22 (7.94%) Identity Access Management
14 21 (7.58%) AI
14 21 (7.58%) Data Modelling
Programming Languages
1 10 (3.61%) JavaScript
2 7 (2.53%) Python
3 5 (1.81%) Bash
4 4 (1.44%) PowerShell
4 4 (1.44%) SQL
5 3 (1.08%) Bicep
5 3 (1.08%) Go
6 1 (0.36%) ABAP
6 1 (0.36%) Data Analysis Expressions
6 1 (0.36%) Java
6 1 (0.36%) Kusto Query Language
Qualifications
1 64 (23.10%) Security Cleared
2 38 (13.72%) SC Cleared
3 36 (13.00%) CISSP
4 30 (10.83%) CISM
5 26 (9.39%) Degree
6 21 (7.58%) CRISC
6 21 (7.58%) DV Cleared
7 13 (4.69%) CISA
8 12 (4.33%) ISO 27001 Lead Implementer
9 11 (3.97%) BPSS Clearance
10 10 (3.61%) ISO 27001 Lead Auditor
10 10 (3.61%) Master's Degree
10 10 (3.61%) PMI Certification
11 9 (3.25%) PMP
12 8 (2.89%) Computer Science Degree
13 5 (1.81%) Cisco Certification
13 5 (1.81%) CISMP
14 4 (1.44%) CCSP
14 4 (1.44%) CGEIT
14 4 (1.44%) CSSLP
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 78 (28.16%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 68 (24.55%) NIST
3 36 (13.00%) GDPR
4 19 (6.86%) PCI DSS
5 12 (4.33%) COBIT
5 12 (4.33%) SOC 2
6 11 (3.97%) QA
6 11 (3.97%) Sarbanes-Oxley
7 10 (3.61%) Cyber Essentials
7 10 (3.61%) ISO/IEC 27005
8 8 (2.89%) Actionable Recommendations
8 8 (2.89%) NCSC
9 7 (2.53%) SLA
10 6 (2.17%) PMO
11 5 (1.81%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
11 5 (1.81%) Def Stans
11 5 (1.81%) ISO 22301
11 5 (1.81%) ISO 31000
11 5 (1.81%) ISO/IEC 27002 (supersedes ISO/IEC 17799)
12 4 (1.44%) NIST 800
System Software
1 7 (2.53%) Active Directory
2 2 (0.72%) Docker
3 1 (0.36%) IAG
3 1 (0.36%) Virtual Machines
Systems Management
1 12 (4.33%) Terraform
2 9 (3.25%) Kubernetes
2 9 (3.25%) Single Sign-On
3 7 (2.53%) RSA Archer
4 3 (1.08%) Grafana
4 3 (1.08%) Istio
4 3 (1.08%) Prometheus
5 2 (0.72%) QRadar
5 2 (0.72%) Rancher
6 1 (0.36%) Ansible
6 1 (0.36%) Cisco Prime
6 1 (0.36%) Fluentd
6 1 (0.36%) Iperf
6 1 (0.36%) logstash
6 1 (0.36%) Microsoft Intune
6 1 (0.36%) NetBackup
6 1 (0.36%) Nmap
Vendors
1 46 (16.61%) ServiceNow
2 24 (8.66%) Microsoft
3 22 (7.94%) SAP
4 7 (2.53%) Google
5 5 (1.81%) Ariba
5 5 (1.81%) Splunk
6 4 (1.44%) Fortinet
6 4 (1.44%) Palo Alto
6 4 (1.44%) Rapid7
7 3 (1.08%) IBM
8 2 (0.72%) CheckPoint
8 2 (0.72%) Commvault
8 2 (0.72%) CrowdStrike
8 2 (0.72%) CyberArk
8 2 (0.72%) Okta
8 2 (0.72%) Veeam
9 1 (0.36%) BT
9 1 (0.36%) Qualys
9 1 (0.36%) Salesforce
9 1 (0.36%) Sitecore