IT Manager Contract Job Trends
IT Manager
UK
The median IT Manager daily rate in the UK is £525, according to job vacancies posted in the 6 months leading up to 27 October 2026.
The table below compares current contractor rates and summary statistics with the previous two years.
| 6 months to 27 Oct 2026 |
Same period 2025 | Same period 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | 274 | 268 | 180 |
| Rank change year-on-year | -6 | -88 | +16 |
| Contract IT Manager jobs | 547 | 343 | 524 |
| As % of all contract jobs in the UK | 1.00% | 1.02% | 1.43% |
| As % of the Job Titles category | 1.09% | 1.12% | 1.54% |
| Number of daily rates quoted | 300 | 226 | 326 |
| 10th Percentile | £400 | £325 | £323 |
| 25th Percentile | £450 | £421 | £450 |
| Median daily rate (50th Percentile) | £525 | £525 | £525 |
| Median % change year-on-year | - | - | -4.55% |
| 75th Percentile | £600 | £623 | £608 |
| 90th Percentile | £700 | £691 | £700 |
| UK excluding London median daily rate | £523 | £500 | £500 |
| % change year-on-year | +4.50% | - | -4.76% |
| Number of hourly rates quoted | 43 | 8 | 7 |
| 10th Percentile | £50.57 | - | - |
| 25th Percentile | £65.00 | £60.00 | £21.19 |
| Median hourly rate | £82.41 | £62.75 | £35.00 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +31.33% | +79.29% | -36.36% |
| 75th Percentile | £88.00 | £73.63 | £37.50 |
| 90th Percentile | - | £88.14 | £50.00 |
| UK excluding London median hourly rate | £85.00 | £62.50 | £22.56 |
| % change year-on-year | +36.00% | +177.04% | -54.88% |
All Contract IT Job Roles
UK
For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract IT job adverts matching a recognised job title. The table also shows what proportion of all contract IT job adverts they make up.
| 6 months to 27 Oct 2026 |
Same period 2025 | Same period 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contract job adverts in the UK matching a recognised job title | 50,338 | 30,609 | 34,008 |
| % of contract job adverts matching a recognised job title | 91.71% | 90.89% | 92.92% |
| Number of daily rates quoted | 29,641 | 19,342 | 20,502 |
| 10th Percentile | £325 | £280 | £300 |
| 25th Percentile | £425 | £402 | £413 |
| Median daily rate (50th Percentile) | £525 | £500 | £525 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +5.00% | -4.76% | - |
| 75th Percentile | £638 | £621 | £638 |
| 90th Percentile | £738 | £725 | £738 |
| UK excluding London median daily rate | £500 | £475 | £490 |
| % change year-on-year | +5.26% | -3.06% | -2.00% |
| Number of hourly rates quoted | 4,179 | 1,703 | 1,313 |
| 10th Percentile | £14.22 | £13.81 | £15.07 |
| 25th Percentile | £18.75 | £17.30 | £20.30 |
| Median hourly rate | £41.00 | £25.15 | £40.00 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +63.02% | -37.13% | -10.11% |
| 75th Percentile | £67.89 | £50.00 | £65.00 |
| 90th Percentile | £80.00 | £69.25 | £73.75 |
| UK excluding London median hourly rate | £40.00 | £25.00 | £40.00 |
| % change year-on-year | +60.00% | -37.50% | -10.11% |
IT Manager Job Vacancy Trend
Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT Manager job postings relative to all contract IT jobs advertised.
IT Manager Daily Rate Trend
Contractor daily rate distribution trend for IT Manager job vacancies in the UK.
IT Manager Daily Rate Histogram
Daily rate distribution for IT Manager jobs over the 6 months to 27 October 2026.
IT Manager Hourly Rate Trend
Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for IT Manager job vacancies in the UK.
IT Manager Hourly Rate Histogram
Hourly rate distribution for IT Manager jobs over the 6 months to 27 October 2026.
IT Manager Top 16 Contract Job Locations
The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT Manager jobs within the UK over the 6 months to 27 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 |
Job Ads Past 6 Months |
Median Daily Rate Past 6 Months |
Median Daily Rate % Change on Same Period Last Year |
Live Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England | -22 | 476 | £525 | - | 187 |
| UK excluding London | -11 | 302 | £523 | +4.50% | 167 |
| London | -21 | 200 | £550 | +3.53% | 45 |
| Work from Home | -42 | 148 | £539 | +2.62% | 80 |
| South East | -15 | 91 | £525 | - | 52 |
| North of England | -39 | 80 | £475 | -5.75% | 44 |
| Midlands | -40 | 42 | £575 | +9.52% | 26 |
| North West | -23 | 41 | £438 | -16.67% | 22 |
| East of England | +1 | 38 | £523 | +4.50% | 11 |
| Yorkshire | -27 | 26 | £458 | -8.50% | 20 |
| Scotland | -10 | 25 | £475 | +11.76% | 7 |
| West Midlands | -44 | 25 | £563 | +8.17% | 17 |
| South West | -53 | 21 | £550 | +18.92% | 24 |
| East Midlands | -10 | 17 | £600 | +14.29% | 9 |
| North East | -28 | 13 | £775 | +72.22% | 3 |
| Wales | -4 | 6 | £375 | -23.08% | 7 |
IT Manager Skill Set Top 30 Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities
For the 6 months to 27 October 2026, IT Manager contract job ads cited the following skills and capabilities in order of popularity. The figures indicate the absolute number of co-occurrences and as a proportion of all contract IT Manager job ads.
| Rank | Skill | Share | Job Ads |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stakeholder Management | 41.1% | 225 |
| 2 | Project Management | 20.8% | 114 |
| 3 | Agile | 18.8% | 103 |
| 4 | Microsoft | 16.5% | 90 |
| 5 | Continuous Improvement | 16.1% | 88 |
| 6 | Project Delivery | 14.8% | 81 |
| 7 | ITIL | 14.3% | 78 |
| 8 | Supplier Management | 14.1% | 77 |
| 9 | Azure | 13.5% | 74 |
| 10 | Stakeholder Engagement | 13.2% | 72 |
| 11 | Security Cleared | 12.6% | 69 |
| 12 | Cybersecurity | 12.4% | 68 |
| 13 | Service Management | 12.2% | 67 |
| 14 | PRINCE2 | 11.2% | 61 |
| 15 | SC Cleared | 11.0% | 60 |
| 16 | Problem-Solving | 10.8% | 59 |
| 17 | Risk Management | 10.2% | 56 |
| 18 | Decision-Making | 10.1% | 55 |
| 19 | Service Delivery | 9.7% | 53 |
| 20 | Change Management | 9.5% | 52 |
| 20 | ITSM | 9.5% | 52 |
| 22 | Degree | 9.3% | 51 |
| 22 | Microsoft 365 | 9.3% | 51 |
| 24 | Roadmaps | 9.1% | 50 |
| 25 | Migration | 8.4% | 46 |
| 25 | PMP | 8.4% | 46 |
| 27 | Project Governance | 8.2% | 45 |
| 28 | ServiceNow | 8.0% | 44 |
| 29 | PMI Certification | 7.7% | 42 |
| 29 | Waterfall | 7.7% | 42 |
IT Manager Skill Set Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities by Category
The table below expands on the one above by listing co-occurrences one category at a time. It covers the same employment type, locality and period, with up to 20 co-occurrences in each category.
Job Titles
| Rank | Job Title | Share | Job Ads |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | IT Project Manager | 41.3% | 226 |
| 2 | Senior IT Manager | 13.9% | 76 |
| 3 | IT Services Manager | 12.8% | 70 |
| 4 | Service Manager | 8.8% | 48 |
| 5 | Category Manager | 6.2% | 34 |
| 5 | Senior IT Project Manager | 6.2% | 34 |
| 7 | IT Infrastructure Manager | 5.5% | 30 |
| 8 | IT Programme Manager | 4.4% | 24 |
| 9 | IT Procurement Manager | 3.8% | 21 |
| 9 | Senior Service Manager | 3.8% | 21 |
| 9 | Supplier Manager | 3.8% | 21 |
| 12 | Systems Manager | 3.7% | 20 |
| 13 | Senior Category Manager | 3.1% | 17 |
| 14 | Delivery Manager | 2.9% | 16 |
| 15 | Integration Manager | 2.7% | 15 |
| 15 | Sourcing Manager | 2.7% | 15 |
| 17 | IT Change Manager | 2.6% | 14 |
| 17 | IT Finance Manager | 2.6% | 14 |
| 17 | IT Infrastructure Project Manager | 2.6% | 14 |
| 17 | IT Operations Manager | 2.6% | 14 |