Service Management Contract Job Trends

Service Management
UK

The table below provides summary statistics and contractor rates for jobs requiring Service Management skills. It covers contract job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 20 July 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
20 Jul 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 99 82 87
Rank change year-on-year -17 +5 -4
Contract jobs citing Service Management 1,308 949 1,030
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 2.48% 2.89% 2.47%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 2.92% 3.20% 2.89%
Number of daily rates quoted 846 575 706
10th Percentile £250 £209 £255
25th Percentile £403 £353 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £521 £495 £525
Median % change year-on-year +5.20% -5.71% +0.96%
75th Percentile £600 £588 £608
90th Percentile £700 £688 £688
UK excluding London median daily rate £510 £492 £525
% change year-on-year +3.61% -6.29% +6.06%
Number of hourly rates quoted 83 68 19
10th Percentile £15.00 - £16.47
25th Percentile £19.82 £12.62 £18.75
Median hourly rate £60.00 £20.66 £27.00
Median % change year-on-year +190.42% -23.48% -44.33%
75th Percentile £85.00 £23.92 £48.75
90th Percentile £94.51 £55.05 £54.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £60.00 £19.74 £27.00
% change year-on-year +203.95% -26.89% +23.26%

All Process & Methodology Skills
UK

Service 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 44,857 29,633 35,662
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 84.99% 90.35% 85.43%
Number of daily rates quoted 27,817 18,625 22,863
10th Percentile £325 £300 £306
25th Percentile £419 £405 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £520 £500 £525
Median % change year-on-year +4.00% -4.76% -4.02%
75th Percentile £625 £625 £638
90th Percentile £725 £738 £750
UK excluding London median daily rate £500 £475 £500
% change year-on-year +5.26% -5.00% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 2,658 1,571 2,253
10th Percentile £14.84 £14.20 £13.00
25th Percentile £20.00 £17.44 £16.82
Median hourly rate £43.96 £25.15 £38.12
Median % change year-on-year +74.79% -34.02% -10.31%
75th Percentile £68.50 £51.05 £62.00
90th Percentile £82.41 £70.00 £72.50
UK excluding London median hourly rate £45.00 £24.00 £38.12
% change year-on-year +87.50% -37.04% -6.09%

Service Management
Job Vacancy Trend

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

Service Management job vacancy trend in the UK

Service Management
Daily Rate Trend

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

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

Service Management
Daily Rate Histogram

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Service Management over the 6 months to 20 July 2026.

Daily rate histogram for Service Management in the UK

Service Management
Hourly Rate Trend

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

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

Service Management
Hourly Rate Histogram

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Service Management over the 6 months to 20 July 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for Service Management in the UK

Service 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 Service Management within the UK over the 6 months to 20 July 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 -18 1,140 £520 +4.00% 417
UK excluding London -20 790 £510 +3.61% 312
London +7 395 £525 +5.00% 142
Work from Home +7 383 £510 +2.00% 172
South East +31 265 £538 +19.44% 106
North of England -35 199 £464 +0.27% 88
South West -29 126 £500 -9.09% 38
North West -36 109 £488 -0.91% 45
Midlands -33 91 £486 +1.25% 46
Yorkshire -23 84 £445 +18.60% 33
West Midlands -44 80 £500 -0.99% 28
Scotland -25 58 £500 - 11
East of England -17 38 £525 -4.55% 31
Wales -8 13 £800 +188.29% 4
East Midlands -16 11 £250 -16.67% 18
Northern Ireland +9 7 - - 3
North East -36 6 £440 +125.64% 13

Service 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 84 (6.42%) SharePoint
2 54 (4.13%) Confluence
3 36 (2.75%) Microsoft Exchange
4 7 (0.54%) Skype for Business
5 6 (0.46%) Mattermost
6 5 (0.38%) OpenStack
7 3 (0.23%) CMS
7 3 (0.23%) IIS
8 2 (0.15%) Apache
9 1 (0.076%) CICS
9 1 (0.076%) JBoss
9 1 (0.076%) LiveCycle
9 1 (0.076%) Oracle Collaboration Suite
9 1 (0.076%) Palantir Foundry
Applications
1 58 (4.43%) Microsoft Office
2 27 (2.06%) Microsoft Excel
3 14 (1.07%) MS Visio
4 13 (0.99%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 10 (0.76%) Microsoft Project
6 7 (0.54%) Chatbot
7 2 (0.15%) PTC Creo
7 2 (0.15%) Spreadsheet
8 1 (0.076%) Camtasia
8 1 (0.076%) Maple
Business Applications
1 55 (4.20%) Remedy ITSM
2 13 (0.99%) SAP S/4HANA
3 7 (0.54%) Primavera
4 6 (0.46%) Teamcenter
5 5 (0.38%) ContrOCC
6 4 (0.31%) SAP SM
7 3 (0.23%) Oracle ERP
7 3 (0.23%) SAP CO
7 3 (0.23%) SAP FI
7 3 (0.23%) SAP FI/CO
8 2 (0.15%) Oracle Applications
8 2 (0.15%) SAP PS
9 1 (0.076%) Dynamics NAV
9 1 (0.076%) Misys Equation
9 1 (0.076%) Misys Midas
9 1 (0.076%) NetSuite
9 1 (0.076%) SAP HR
9 1 (0.076%) SAP Payroll
9 1 (0.076%) SAP PM
Cloud Services
1 211 (16.13%) Azure
2 146 (11.16%) Microsoft 365
3 85 (6.50%) AWS
4 79 (6.04%) Entra ID
5 62 (4.74%) Power Platform
6 51 (3.90%) SaaS
7 40 (3.06%) OneDrive
8 36 (2.75%) Azure DevOps
9 28 (2.14%) GCP
10 17 (1.30%) GitHub
10 17 (1.30%) PaaS
11 14 (1.07%) OCI
12 13 (0.99%) Microsoft Copilot
13 12 (0.92%) Azure Monitor
14 11 (0.84%) Amazon CloudWatch
14 11 (0.84%) AWS Lambda
14 11 (0.84%) IaaS
14 11 (0.84%) Serverless
15 9 (0.69%) Amazon S3
16 8 (0.61%) Amazon EC2
Communications & Networking
1 71 (5.43%) Firewall
2 58 (4.43%) DNS
3 39 (2.98%) VPN
4 36 (2.75%) LAN
4 36 (2.75%) TCP/IP
4 36 (2.75%) WAN
5 32 (2.45%) Network Security
6 31 (2.37%) DHCP
7 19 (1.45%) BGP
7 19 (1.45%) Wireless
8 15 (1.15%) OSPF
9 12 (0.92%) BIG-IP
9 12 (0.92%) Cisco ISE
10 11 (0.84%) SD-WAN
10 11 (0.84%) VLAN
10 11 (0.84%) VXLAN
10 11 (0.84%) Wi-Fi
11 10 (0.76%) Junos
12 8 (0.61%) Ethernet VPN
12 8 (0.61%) SSH
Database & Business Intelligence
1 51 (3.90%) Power BI
2 19 (1.45%) SQL Server
3 8 (0.61%) Oracle Database
3 8 (0.61%) PostgreSQL
4 6 (0.46%) Oracle Database 11g
4 6 (0.46%) Oracle Reports
4 6 (0.46%) Relational Database
4 6 (0.46%) SQL Server Reporting Services
5 5 (0.38%) MySQL
5 5 (0.38%) SQL Server Analysis Services
5 5 (0.38%) SQL Server Integration Services
6 3 (0.23%) Amazon RDS
6 3 (0.23%) Azure SQL Database
6 3 (0.23%) MariaDB
7 2 (0.15%) Amazon Redshift
7 2 (0.15%) Elasticsearch
7 2 (0.15%) Microsoft Analysis Services
7 2 (0.15%) SQLite
8 1 (0.076%) Data Warehouse
8 1 (0.076%) Db2
Development Applications
1 145 (11.09%) JIRA
2 24 (1.83%) Git
3 23 (1.76%) Jenkins
4 13 (0.99%) Bitbucket
5 11 (0.84%) GitLab
6 5 (0.38%) Atlassian Bamboo
6 5 (0.38%) Browser DevTools
7 4 (0.31%) MLflow
7 4 (0.31%) Rational DOORS
7 4 (0.31%) ScriptRunner
8 3 (0.23%) Fiddler
8 3 (0.23%) Hudson
8 3 (0.23%) IntelliJ
9 2 (0.15%) Firebug
9 2 (0.15%) Maven
9 2 (0.15%) Selenium
9 2 (0.15%) webpack
10 1 (0.076%) Protractor
10 1 (0.076%) Sonatype Nexus
10 1 (0.076%) Visual Studio Code
General
1 471 (36.01%) Social Skills
2 202 (15.44%) Finance
3 194 (14.83%) Analytical Skills
4 144 (11.01%) Public Sector
5 59 (4.51%) Telecoms
6 52 (3.98%) Legal
7 41 (3.13%) Banking
8 40 (3.06%) Influencing Skills
9 39 (2.98%) Documentation Skills
10 34 (2.60%) Organisational Skills
11 27 (2.06%) Military
12 26 (1.99%) Inclusion and Diversity
13 19 (1.45%) Local Government
14 16 (1.22%) Aerospace
15 14 (1.07%) Presentation Skills
15 14 (1.07%) Retail
16 13 (0.99%) Financial Institution
17 11 (0.84%) Police
18 9 (0.69%) Manufacturing
19 7 (0.54%) Investment Banking
Job Titles
1 155 (11.85%) Analyst
2 120 (9.17%) Lead
3 119 (9.10%) Service Manager
4 115 (8.79%) Architect
4 115 (8.79%) Senior
5 88 (6.73%) Consultant
6 79 (6.04%) IT Manager
7 62 (4.74%) Project Manager
8 60 (4.59%) Service Analyst
9 51 (3.90%) Developer
10 47 (3.59%) Delivery Manager
11 42 (3.21%) Support Engineer
12 35 (2.68%) IT Analyst
13 33 (2.52%) Network Engineer
13 33 (2.52%) Solutions Architect
14 31 (2.37%) Administrator
14 31 (2.37%) Business Analyst
14 31 (2.37%) ServiceNow Developer
15 30 (2.29%) ServiceNow Architect
16 29 (2.22%) Service Architect
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 62 (4.74%) REST
2 32 (2.45%) SOAP
3 17 (1.30%) HTML
4 16 (1.22%) CSS
5 11 (0.84%) Web Services
6 10 (0.76%) Middleware
6 10 (0.76%) XML
7 9 (0.69%) 802.1X
7 9 (0.69%) JSON
7 9 (0.69%) OAuth
8 7 (0.54%) SAML
9 6 (0.46%) AngularJS
9 6 (0.46%) Elastic Stack
9 6 (0.46%) Oracle Fusion
10 5 (0.38%) Lightning Web Components
10 5 (0.38%) Microsoft Graph
10 5 (0.38%) OpenID
11 4 (0.31%) ARM Templates
11 4 (0.31%) Bootstrap
11 4 (0.31%) XMPP
Miscellaneous
1 127 (9.71%) Onboarding
2 107 (8.18%) CMDB
3 65 (4.97%) Product Ownership
4 48 (3.67%) Management Information System
5 43 (3.29%) Data Centre
6 32 (2.45%) Enterprise Software
6 32 (2.45%) PKI
7 31 (2.37%) Virtual Team
8 24 (1.83%) Clustering
8 24 (1.83%) Operational Technology
9 19 (1.45%) Data Protection Act
10 13 (0.99%) Analytical Mindset
10 13 (0.99%) Self-Motivation
11 12 (0.92%) Cloud Native
11 12 (0.92%) Driving Licence
12 11 (0.84%) Video Conferencing
13 10 (0.76%) Algorithms
13 10 (0.76%) Hybrid Cloud
13 10 (0.76%) Linux Command Line
13 10 (0.76%) Security Operations Centre
Operating Systems
1 231 (17.66%) Windows
2 61 (4.66%) Linux
3 45 (3.44%) Windows Server
4 41 (3.13%) Windows 10
5 24 (1.83%) Mac OS
6 17 (1.30%) Unix
7 15 (1.15%) Apple iOS
8 12 (0.92%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
9 10 (0.76%) Windows 7
10 9 (0.69%) Android
11 6 (0.46%) Windows Server 2019
12 4 (0.31%) VMS
13 3 (0.23%) Ubuntu
13 3 (0.23%) Windows Server 2012
13 3 (0.23%) Windows Server 2016
14 2 (0.15%) Solaris
14 2 (0.15%) Windows XP
14 2 (0.15%) zOS
15 1 (0.076%) Rocky
15 1 (0.076%) Windows Server 2008
Processes & Methodologies
1 705 (53.90%) ITIL
2 586 (44.80%) ITSM
3 338 (25.84%) Stakeholder Management
4 328 (25.08%) Continuous Improvement
5 285 (21.79%) Service Delivery
6 270 (20.64%) Agile
7 258 (19.72%) Problem-Solving
8 203 (15.52%) Change Management
9 193 (14.76%) Stakeholder Engagement
10 147 (11.24%) DevOps
11 143 (10.93%) Customer Service
12 130 (9.94%) Incident Management
13 122 (9.33%) Roadmaps
14 106 (8.10%) Project Delivery
15 105 (8.03%) Problem Management
16 95 (7.26%) Cybersecurity
17 93 (7.11%) Migration
18 92 (7.03%) Project Management
19 89 (6.80%) Decision-Making
19 89 (6.80%) Service Design
Programming Languages
1 101 (7.72%) PowerShell
2 77 (5.89%) Python
3 64 (4.89%) SQL
4 54 (4.13%) JavaScript
5 33 (2.52%) Bash
6 19 (1.45%) Java
7 11 (0.84%) PL/SQL
8 7 (0.54%) C
8 7 (0.54%) Groovy
8 7 (0.54%) VB
8 7 (0.54%) VBScript
9 6 (0.46%) Apex Code
9 6 (0.46%) Perl
10 5 (0.38%) Bicep
10 5 (0.38%) C#
10 5 (0.38%) Kotlin
10 5 (0.38%) Shell Script
10 5 (0.38%) T-SQL
11 3 (0.23%) Lua
11 3 (0.23%) SOQL
Qualifications
1 472 (36.09%) Security Cleared
2 308 (23.55%) SC Cleared
3 156 (11.93%) DV Cleared
4 116 (8.87%) Degree
5 65 (4.97%) ITIL Certification
6 45 (3.44%) PMP
7 42 (3.21%) PMI Certification
8 32 (2.45%) BPSS Clearance
9 29 (2.22%) Cisco Certification
10 24 (1.83%) Computer Science Degree
11 23 (1.76%) Microsoft Certification
12 19 (1.45%) A+ Certification
13 18 (1.38%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
14 16 (1.22%) CISM
14 16 (1.22%) CISSP
15 15 (1.15%) CCNA
16 14 (1.07%) Master's Degree
17 12 (0.92%) DBS Check
18 10 (0.76%) CCNP
18 10 (0.76%) Network+ Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 97 (7.42%) SLA
2 45 (3.44%) ISO/IEC 27001
3 37 (2.83%) QA
4 35 (2.68%) Data Quality
5 30 (2.29%) PMO
6 27 (2.06%) ISO/IEC 20000
7 25 (1.91%) GRC
8 24 (1.83%) GDPR
8 24 (1.83%) NCSC
9 20 (1.53%) COBIT
10 15 (1.15%) ISO 9001
10 15 (1.15%) NIST
11 10 (0.76%) Cyber Essentials
12 8 (0.61%) Accessibility
12 8 (0.61%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
12 8 (0.61%) Disclosure Scotland
13 7 (0.54%) Government Security Classifications
13 7 (0.54%) PCI DSS
14 6 (0.46%) ISO 31000
14 6 (0.46%) ISO/IEC 27005
System Software
1 141 (10.78%) Active Directory
2 52 (3.98%) VMware Infrastructure
3 20 (1.53%) VMware ESXi
4 15 (1.15%) Docker
5 12 (0.92%) Virtual Desktop
5 12 (0.92%) VMware NSX
6 10 (0.76%) Hyper-V
6 10 (0.76%) vSphere
7 8 (0.61%) BitLocker
7 8 (0.61%) vCloud
8 5 (0.38%) IAG
8 5 (0.38%) NFS
8 5 (0.38%) Virtual Machines
9 4 (0.31%) Oracle RAC
10 3 (0.23%) Firmware
11 2 (0.15%) GPFS
11 2 (0.15%) KVM
12 1 (0.076%) iptables
12 1 (0.076%) Slurm Workload Manager
12 1 (0.076%) Virtual Servers
Systems Management
1 59 (4.51%) Microsoft Intune
2 53 (4.05%) SCCM
3 37 (2.83%) Terraform
4 36 (2.75%) Ansible
5 17 (1.30%) Kubernetes
6 15 (1.15%) Jamf Pro
6 15 (1.15%) Single Sign-On
7 13 (0.99%) SCOM
8 12 (0.92%) vCenter Server
9 8 (0.61%) FortiGate
10 7 (0.54%) Data Guard
10 7 (0.54%) Oracle RMAN
11 6 (0.46%) Grafana
11 6 (0.46%) Puppet
11 6 (0.46%) WSUS
12 5 (0.38%) vMotion
13 4 (0.31%) PowerCLI
13 4 (0.31%) Progress Chef
13 4 (0.31%) Prometheus
14 3 (0.23%) Dell DRAC
Vendors
1 379 (28.98%) ServiceNow
2 245 (18.73%) Microsoft
3 71 (5.43%) VMware
4 59 (4.51%) Remedy
5 46 (3.52%) Cisco
6 36 (2.75%) Oracle
7 32 (2.45%) BMC
8 28 (2.14%) SAP
9 27 (2.06%) Atlassian
10 24 (1.83%) Splunk
11 22 (1.68%) IFS
12 19 (1.45%) SolarWinds
13 17 (1.30%) Citrix
13 17 (1.30%) Salesforce
14 16 (1.22%) Juniper
15 15 (1.15%) IBM
15 15 (1.15%) Zscaler
16 14 (1.07%) Apple
16 14 (1.07%) Dynatrace
17 13 (0.99%) F5