Programme Management Contract Job Trends

Programme Management (Program Management)
UK

The table below provides summary statistics and contractor rates for jobs requiring Programme Management skills. It covers contract job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 4 February 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
4 Feb 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 198 127 121
Rank change year-on-year -71 -6 +47
Contract jobs citing Programme Management 568 652 896
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.45% 2.11% 2.00%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 1.67% 2.36% 2.30%
Number of daily rates quoted 350 359 652
10th Percentile £170 £262 £300
25th Percentile £435 £438 £442
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £550 £550 £575
Median % change year-on-year - -4.35% -
75th Percentile £650 £658 £689
90th Percentile £800 £775 £788
UK excluding London median daily rate £536 £550 £575
% change year-on-year -2.55% -4.35% +4.55%
Number of hourly rates quoted 71 22 13
10th Percentile £17.50 £20.26 £24.76
25th Percentile £20.50 £22.50 £26.24
Median hourly rate £23.83 £30.05 £57.50
Median % change year-on-year -20.72% -47.74% +76.92%
75th Percentile £41.95 £42.31 £72.33
90th Percentile £70.00 £64.13 £79.78
UK excluding London median hourly rate £23.83 £23.00 £70.50
% change year-on-year +3.59% -67.37% -11.88%

All Process & Methodology Skills
UK

Programme Management 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.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for process or methodology skills 34,038 27,619 38,984
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 87.15% 89.27% 87.11%
Number of daily rates quoted 21,556 16,812 25,649
10th Percentile £306 £306 £300
25th Percentile £406 £413 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £525 £525
Median % change year-on-year -4.76% - -4.55%
75th Percentile £613 £638 £638
90th Percentile £719 £738 £738
UK excluding London median daily rate £480 £497 £500
% change year-on-year -3.34% -0.69% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 2,054 864 2,107
10th Percentile £14.50 £15.62 £13.29
25th Percentile £17.69 £21.00 £16.40
Median hourly rate £25.15 £32.50 £35.00
Median % change year-on-year -22.62% -7.14% +9.38%
75th Percentile £58.75 £62.50 £61.00
90th Percentile £70.00 £75.00 £73.75
UK excluding London median hourly rate £25.00 £31.29 £35.00
% change year-on-year -20.10% -10.60% +20.69%

Programme Management
Job Vacancy Trend

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

Programme Management job vacancy trend in the UK

Programme Management
Daily Rate Trend

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

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing Programme Management

Programme Management
Daily Rate Histogram

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Programme Management over the 6 months to 4 February 2026.

Daily rate histogram for Programme Management in the UK

Programme Management
Hourly Rate Trend

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

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing Programme Management

Programme Management
Hourly Rate Histogram

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Programme Management over the 6 months to 4 February 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for Programme Management in the UK

Programme Management
Top 17 Contract Job Locations

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing Programme Management within the UK over the 6 months to 4 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 -68 503 £550 - 107
UK excluding London -58 329 £536 -2.55% 81
London -44 205 £550 - 40
Work from Home -64 130 £565 -1.74% 58
North of England -43 69 £519 +2.67% 16
South East -54 66 £563 -6.25% 34
Midlands -42 65 £550 -4.35% 15
South West -44 56 £538 -0.92% 9
East Midlands 0 39 £537 +10.15% 4
Yorkshire -30 31 £537 -2.36% 9
East of England -12 29 £638 +27.82% 2
West Midlands -58 26 £600 - 11
North West -33 25 £488 -3.47% 5
Scotland -6 22 £500 - 1
North East -14 13 £175 -55.70% 2
Wales +8 12 £160 -72.47% 1
Northern Ireland +7 10 £358 - 5

Programme Management
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 31 (5.46%) Confluence
2 21 (3.70%) SharePoint
3 12 (2.11%) Microsoft Exchange
4 3 (0.53%) Apache
5 2 (0.35%) Apache Spark
5 2 (0.35%) Oracle Service Bus
5 2 (0.35%) Oracle SOA Suite
6 1 (0.18%) Apache Superset
6 1 (0.18%) CMS
6 1 (0.18%) Exchange Server 2013
Applications
1 48 (8.45%) Microsoft Office
2 37 (6.51%) Microsoft Project
3 36 (6.34%) Microsoft Excel
4 22 (3.87%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 3 (0.53%) MS Visio
6 2 (0.35%) Chatbot
6 2 (0.35%) Spreadsheet
6 2 (0.35%) Trello
7 1 (0.18%) Adobe After Effects
7 1 (0.18%) Adobe Creative Suite
7 1 (0.18%) Blender
7 1 (0.18%) CINEMA 4D
7 1 (0.18%) Siemens NX
Business Applications
1 16 (2.82%) SAP S/4HANA
2 5 (0.88%) Oracle ERP
3 3 (0.53%) Primavera
4 2 (0.35%) Dynamics CRM
4 2 (0.35%) Maximo
4 2 (0.35%) NetSuite
4 2 (0.35%) Oracle EBS
4 2 (0.35%) Salesforce CRM
4 2 (0.35%) SAP ERP
4 2 (0.35%) SAP IBP
5 1 (0.18%) Dynamics NAV
5 1 (0.18%) SAP CRM
5 1 (0.18%) Unit4 Business World
Cloud Services
1 46 (8.10%) Microsoft 365
2 40 (7.04%) Azure
3 33 (5.81%) AWS
4 26 (4.58%) Power Platform
5 22 (3.87%) Google Workspace
6 21 (3.70%) Cloud Computing
7 20 (3.52%) Google Sheets
8 14 (2.46%) GCP
8 14 (2.46%) SaaS
9 10 (1.76%) Smartsheet
10 9 (1.58%) Dynamics 365
11 8 (1.41%) Azure DevOps
12 6 (1.06%) GitHub
13 5 (0.88%) Entra ID
13 5 (0.88%) Figma
13 5 (0.88%) Miro
13 5 (0.88%) OCI
13 5 (0.88%) Power Automate
13 5 (0.88%) Slack
14 4 (0.70%) GitHub Actions
Communications & Networking
1 26 (4.58%) Wireless
2 9 (1.58%) Network Security
3 8 (1.41%) Cisco IOS
3 8 (1.41%) Skype
4 7 (1.23%) LAN
5 6 (1.06%) 5G
5 6 (1.06%) Broadband
5 6 (1.06%) VPN
6 5 (0.88%) Internet
7 4 (0.70%) DNS
7 4 (0.70%) Kerberos
7 4 (0.70%) Unified Communications
7 4 (0.70%) WAN
8 3 (0.53%) BGP
8 3 (0.53%) Firewall
8 3 (0.53%) InfiniBand
8 3 (0.53%) Junos
8 3 (0.53%) OSPF
8 3 (0.53%) SD-WAN
8 3 (0.53%) Structured Cabling
Database & Business Intelligence
1 23 (4.05%) Power BI
2 8 (1.41%) Electronic Patient Records
2 8 (1.41%) Relational Database
3 6 (1.06%) Oracle Reports
4 5 (0.88%) PostgreSQL
5 4 (0.70%) MySQL
5 4 (0.70%) Tableau
6 3 (0.53%) Data Warehouse
7 2 (0.35%) Big Data
7 2 (0.35%) Data Lake
7 2 (0.35%) Power Query
7 2 (0.35%) Qlik Sense
8 1 (0.18%) Data Mining
8 1 (0.18%) Looker
8 1 (0.18%) Metadata
8 1 (0.18%) QlikView
8 1 (0.18%) RDBMS
8 1 (0.18%) SQL Server
Development Applications
1 69 (12.15%) JIRA
2 4 (0.70%) Jenkins
3 3 (0.53%) JUnit
3 3 (0.53%) Storybook
4 1 (0.18%) Artifactory
4 1 (0.18%) GitLab
4 1 (0.18%) Postman
4 1 (0.18%) Rational DOORS
4 1 (0.18%) Rational Rhapsody
4 1 (0.18%) Team Foundation Server
General
1 357 (62.85%) Finance
2 253 (44.54%) Social Skills
3 228 (40.14%) Public Sector
4 193 (33.98%) Marketing
5 192 (33.80%) Manufacturing
6 185 (32.57%) Telecoms
7 179 (31.51%) Electronics
8 60 (10.56%) Analytical Skills
9 39 (6.87%) Organisational Skills
10 32 (5.63%) Banking
11 25 (4.40%) Influencing Skills
12 23 (4.05%) Retail
13 17 (2.99%) Presentation Skills
14 16 (2.82%) Legal
15 13 (2.29%) Documentation Skills
16 8 (1.41%) Investment Banking
17 7 (1.23%) Military
17 7 (1.23%) Pharmaceutical
18 6 (1.06%) Automotive
18 6 (1.06%) Publishing
Job Titles
1 106 (18.66%) Programme Manager
2 75 (13.20%) Project Manager
3 59 (10.39%) Lead
4 42 (7.39%) Analyst
4 42 (7.39%) Senior
5 41 (7.22%) IT Support
6 33 (5.81%) Desktop Support
7 32 (5.63%) Technical Manager
8 30 (5.28%) Senior Manager
9 25 (4.40%) 2nd Line Desktop Support
9 25 (4.40%) 2nd Line Support
9 25 (4.40%) SC Cleared Desktop Support
10 22 (3.87%) Architect
11 20 (3.52%) Migration Engineer
12 19 (3.35%) IT Engineer
13 17 (2.99%) Senior Project Manager
14 15 (2.64%) Windows Engineer
15 14 (2.46%) Consultant
15 14 (2.46%) Delivery Manager
15 14 (2.46%) Support Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 12 (2.11%) Oracle Fusion
2 8 (1.41%) SailPoint
3 7 (1.23%) OAuth
3 7 (1.23%) React
4 6 (1.06%) REST
4 6 (1.06%) RESTful
5 5 (0.88%) .NET
5 5 (0.88%) ADO
5 5 (0.88%) CSS
5 5 (0.88%) HTML
5 5 (0.88%) SAML
6 4 (0.70%) XML
7 3 (0.53%) JSON
7 3 (0.53%) Middleware
7 3 (0.53%) SOAP
7 3 (0.53%) Spring
7 3 (0.53%) Spring Boot
7 3 (0.53%) TensorFlow
7 3 (0.53%) Web Services
7 3 (0.53%) XSLT
Miscellaneous
1 41 (7.22%) Data Centre
2 27 (4.75%) NHS
3 25 (4.40%) Data Protection Act
4 22 (3.87%) Product Ownership
5 21 (3.70%) Onboarding
6 20 (3.52%) Management Information System
7 14 (2.46%) Virtual Team
8 13 (2.29%) CMDB
9 12 (2.11%) Legacy Systems
9 12 (2.11%) PMI
10 11 (1.94%) Analytical Mindset
11 10 (1.76%) Self-Motivation
12 9 (1.58%) Cloud Native
12 9 (1.58%) Mobile App
13 7 (1.23%) Public Cloud
14 5 (0.88%) AI Agents
14 5 (0.88%) Cyber Defence
14 5 (0.88%) Cyber Threat
15 4 (0.70%) Enterprise Software
15 4 (0.70%) Operational Technology
Operating Systems
1 32 (5.63%) Mac OS
2 31 (5.46%) Android
3 22 (3.87%) Windows
4 16 (2.82%) Windows 10
5 2 (0.35%) Windows Server
6 1 (0.18%) Apple iOS
6 1 (0.18%) Linux
6 1 (0.18%) VMS
6 1 (0.18%) Windows Server 2016
6 1 (0.18%) Windows Server 2019
Processes & Methodologies
1 204 (35.92%) Business Intelligence
2 184 (32.39%) Digital Marketing
3 175 (30.81%) Stakeholder Management
4 151 (26.58%) Agile
5 111 (19.54%) Project Management
6 106 (18.66%) Migration
6 106 (18.66%) Stakeholder Engagement
7 90 (15.85%) Risk Management
8 86 (15.14%) Continuous Improvement
9 84 (14.79%) Problem-Solving
10 72 (12.68%) PRINCE2
11 70 (12.32%) Decision-Making
12 69 (12.15%) Change Management
13 66 (11.62%) Project Delivery
14 53 (9.33%) Roadmaps
15 44 (7.75%) Waterfall
16 43 (7.57%) Workflow
17 42 (7.39%) AI
18 40 (7.04%) Logistics
19 39 (6.87%) ITIL
Programming Languages
1 41 (7.22%) SQL
2 19 (3.35%) Python
3 17 (2.99%) Java
4 11 (1.94%) PowerShell
5 7 (1.23%) JavaScript
6 4 (0.70%) TypeScript
7 3 (0.53%) BeanShell
7 3 (0.53%) Korn
8 2 (0.35%) C
8 2 (0.35%) C#
8 2 (0.35%) C++
8 2 (0.35%) Go
9 1 (0.18%) Google Apps Script
9 1 (0.18%) PHP
9 1 (0.18%) PL/SQL
9 1 (0.18%) Tcl
Qualifications
1 152 (26.76%) Security Cleared
2 123 (21.65%) SC Cleared
3 90 (15.85%) Degree
4 56 (9.86%) PMI Certification
5 52 (9.15%) PMP
6 24 (4.23%) DV Cleared
7 19 (3.35%) Master's Degree
8 17 (2.99%) CISSP
8 17 (2.99%) ITIL Certification
9 12 (2.11%) CISM
10 11 (1.94%) APMP
11 9 (1.58%) TOGAF Certification
12 7 (1.23%) PhD
13 6 (1.06%) Computer Science Degree
13 6 (1.06%) PRINCE2 Practitioner
14 5 (0.88%) PgMP
15 4 (0.70%) OCP
15 4 (0.70%) Oracle Certification
16 3 (0.53%) AWS Certification
16 3 (0.53%) CBAP
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 64 (11.27%) PMO
2 31 (5.46%) QA
3 13 (2.29%) Accessibility
4 11 (1.94%) Data Quality
5 9 (1.58%) ISO/IEC 27001
6 8 (1.41%) GDPR
7 7 (1.23%) JSP 440
7 7 (1.23%) NIST
8 5 (0.88%) NCSC
8 5 (0.88%) P3O
8 5 (0.88%) RMADS
9 4 (0.70%) Sarbanes-Oxley
10 3 (0.53%) Disclosure Scotland
10 3 (0.53%) WCAG
11 2 (0.35%) California Consumer Privacy Act
11 2 (0.35%) GMP
11 2 (0.35%) IEC 61508
11 2 (0.35%) ISO 26262
11 2 (0.35%) ISO 9001
11 2 (0.35%) PCI DSS
System Software
1 20 (3.52%) Active Directory
2 3 (0.53%) Docker
3 2 (0.35%) Hyper-V
4 1 (0.18%) Virtual Desktop
Systems Management
1 6 (1.06%) Single Sign-On
2 5 (0.88%) Kubernetes
3 2 (0.35%) SCCM
3 2 (0.35%) vRealize
4 1 (0.18%) Failover Clustering
4 1 (0.18%) Microsoft Intune
4 1 (0.18%) Systems Management Server (SMS)
4 1 (0.18%) Terraform
Vendors
1 198 (34.86%) SAP
2 80 (14.08%) Microsoft
3 46 (8.10%) Cisco
4 29 (5.11%) Google
5 24 (4.23%) Apple
6 23 (4.05%) Dell
6 23 (4.05%) HP
7 21 (3.70%) Oracle
8 20 (3.52%) ServiceNow
9 15 (2.64%) Salesforce
10 7 (1.23%) BiZZdesign
11 6 (1.06%) CyberArk
12 5 (0.88%) Databricks
12 5 (0.88%) GoldenSource
13 4 (0.70%) Centrify
13 4 (0.70%) VMware
14 3 (0.53%) Computacenter
14 3 (0.53%) Foundry
14 3 (0.53%) Guidewire
14 3 (0.53%) Samsung