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 9 July 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
9 Jul 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 100 82 87
Rank change year-on-year -18 +5 -2
Contract jobs citing Service Management 1,266 949 1,071
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 2.41% 2.94% 2.47%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 2.83% 3.24% 2.89%
Number of daily rates quoted 819 577 737
10th Percentile £248 £213 £256
25th Percentile £413 £350 £425
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £500 £525
Median % change year-on-year +5.00% -4.76% -
75th Percentile £601 £588 £608
90th Percentile £688 £688 £688
UK excluding London median daily rate £510 £496 £525
% change year-on-year +2.82% -5.52% +9.38%
Number of hourly rates quoted 83 60 20
10th Percentile £15.00 - £13.97
25th Percentile £19.82 £12.62 £17.49
Median hourly rate £60.00 £20.79 £23.37
Median % change year-on-year +188.60% -11.04% -44.19%
75th Percentile £85.00 £22.25 £47.81
90th Percentile £94.51 £35.13 £50.38
UK excluding London median hourly rate £60.00 £20.79 £23.37
% change year-on-year +188.60% -11.04% +9.67%

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 44,694 29,246 37,042
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 85.15% 90.54% 85.41%
Number of daily rates quoted 27,812 18,436 23,663
10th Percentile £325 £300 £300
25th Percentile £415 £405 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £518 £505 £525
Median % change year-on-year +2.50% -3.81% -4.55%
75th Percentile £623 £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 2,657 1,477 2,496
10th Percentile £14.94 £14.20 £12.75
25th Percentile £20.09 £17.61 £16.06
Median hourly rate £43.96 £25.15 £37.50
Median % change year-on-year +74.79% -32.93% -6.25%
75th Percentile £68.00 £53.50 £61.30
90th Percentile £82.25 £70.00 £72.50
UK excluding London median hourly rate £44.50 £24.66 £38.12
% change year-on-year +80.45% -35.31% -3.62%

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 9 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 9 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 9 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 -19 1,102 £525 +5.00% 508
UK excluding London -20 774 £510 +2.82% 428
Work from Home +9 374 £520 +5.69% 200
London -12 371 £550 +10.00% 139
South East +37 239 £538 +41.91% 142
North of England -31 210 £475 +4.17% 98
South West -28 127 £500 -9.09% 68
North West -20 117 £522 +8.99% 54
Yorkshire -19 87 £450 +20.00% 29
Midlands -47 87 £475 -2.06% 66
West Midlands -49 77 £477 -6.01% 44
Scotland -13 57 £500 - 10
East of England -25 42 £525 -4.55% 28
Wales -8 13 £800 +188.29% 10
East Midlands -15 10 £315 -27.75% 22
Northern Ireland +11 6 - - 16
North East -32 6 £440 +125.64% 18

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 72 (5.69%) SharePoint
2 55 (4.34%) Confluence
3 35 (2.76%) Microsoft Exchange
4 11 (0.87%) Skype for Business
5 6 (0.47%) Mattermost
6 5 (0.39%) OpenStack
7 3 (0.24%) IIS
8 2 (0.16%) Apache
9 1 (0.079%) CICS
9 1 (0.079%) CMS
9 1 (0.079%) JBoss
9 1 (0.079%) LiveCycle
9 1 (0.079%) Oracle Collaboration Suite
9 1 (0.079%) Palantir Foundry
Applications
1 60 (4.74%) Microsoft Office
2 27 (2.13%) Microsoft Excel
3 14 (1.11%) MS Visio
4 12 (0.95%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 10 (0.79%) Microsoft Project
6 7 (0.55%) Chatbot
7 4 (0.32%) PTC Creo
8 2 (0.16%) Spreadsheet
9 1 (0.079%) Camtasia
Business Applications
1 54 (4.27%) Remedy ITSM
2 17 (1.34%) SAP S/4HANA
3 9 (0.71%) Teamcenter
4 7 (0.55%) Primavera
5 5 (0.39%) ContrOCC
6 4 (0.32%) SAP SM
7 3 (0.24%) Oracle ERP
7 3 (0.24%) SAP CO
7 3 (0.24%) SAP FI
7 3 (0.24%) SAP FI/CO
8 2 (0.16%) Oracle Applications
8 2 (0.16%) SAP PS
9 1 (0.079%) Dynamics NAV
9 1 (0.079%) Misys Equation
9 1 (0.079%) Misys Midas
9 1 (0.079%) NetSuite
9 1 (0.079%) SAP HR
9 1 (0.079%) SAP Payroll
9 1 (0.079%) SAP PM
Cloud Services
1 198 (15.64%) Azure
2 138 (10.90%) Microsoft 365
3 83 (6.56%) AWS
4 63 (4.98%) Entra ID
5 60 (4.74%) Power Platform
6 46 (3.63%) SaaS
7 35 (2.76%) Azure DevOps
8 33 (2.61%) OneDrive
9 28 (2.21%) GCP
10 18 (1.42%) PaaS
11 16 (1.26%) GitHub
12 14 (1.11%) OCI
13 12 (0.95%) Amazon CloudWatch
13 12 (0.95%) Microsoft Copilot
14 11 (0.87%) AWS Lambda
14 11 (0.87%) Serverless
15 10 (0.79%) IaaS
16 9 (0.71%) Amazon S3
16 9 (0.71%) Azure Monitor
16 9 (0.71%) Google Workspace
Communications & Networking
1 67 (5.29%) Firewall
2 52 (4.11%) DNS
3 41 (3.24%) WAN
4 39 (3.08%) LAN
5 36 (2.84%) VPN
6 29 (2.29%) Network Security
7 26 (2.05%) DHCP
7 26 (2.05%) TCP/IP
8 18 (1.42%) BGP
8 18 (1.42%) Wireless
9 15 (1.18%) OSPF
9 15 (1.18%) VLAN
10 14 (1.11%) Wi-Fi
11 12 (0.95%) BIG-IP
11 12 (0.95%) Cisco ISE
11 12 (0.95%) SD-WAN
12 11 (0.87%) Skype
12 11 (0.87%) VXLAN
13 10 (0.79%) Junos
14 8 (0.63%) SSL
Database & Business Intelligence
1 49 (3.87%) Power BI
2 18 (1.42%) SQL Server
3 8 (0.63%) Oracle Database
4 6 (0.47%) Oracle Database 11g
4 6 (0.47%) Oracle Reports
4 6 (0.47%) PostgreSQL
4 6 (0.47%) Relational Database
5 5 (0.39%) MySQL
5 5 (0.39%) SQL Server Reporting Services
6 4 (0.32%) SQL Server Analysis Services
6 4 (0.32%) SQL Server Integration Services
7 3 (0.24%) Amazon RDS
7 3 (0.24%) Azure SQL Database
7 3 (0.24%) MariaDB
8 2 (0.16%) Amazon Redshift
8 2 (0.16%) Elasticsearch
8 2 (0.16%) GIS
8 2 (0.16%) Microsoft Analysis Services
9 1 (0.079%) InfluxDB
9 1 (0.079%) OpenStack Swift
Development Applications
1 142 (11.22%) JIRA
2 22 (1.74%) Git
2 22 (1.74%) Jenkins
3 13 (1.03%) Bitbucket
4 12 (0.95%) GitLab
5 5 (0.39%) Atlassian Bamboo
5 5 (0.39%) Browser DevTools
6 4 (0.32%) MLflow
6 4 (0.32%) ScriptRunner
7 3 (0.24%) Fiddler
7 3 (0.24%) Hudson
7 3 (0.24%) IntelliJ
8 2 (0.16%) Firebug
8 2 (0.16%) Maven
8 2 (0.16%) Rational DOORS
8 2 (0.16%) Selenium
8 2 (0.16%) webpack
9 1 (0.079%) Protractor
9 1 (0.079%) Sonatype Nexus
9 1 (0.079%) Visual Studio Code
General
1 438 (34.60%) Social Skills
2 206 (16.27%) Finance
3 178 (14.06%) Analytical Skills
4 134 (10.58%) Public Sector
5 52 (4.11%) Telecoms
6 51 (4.03%) Legal
7 43 (3.40%) Banking
8 37 (2.92%) Influencing Skills
9 36 (2.84%) Documentation Skills
10 33 (2.61%) Organisational Skills
11 23 (1.82%) Inclusion and Diversity
12 22 (1.74%) Military
13 19 (1.50%) Local Government
14 16 (1.26%) Aerospace
14 16 (1.26%) Retail
15 14 (1.11%) Presentation Skills
16 13 (1.03%) Financial Institution
17 11 (0.87%) Police
18 9 (0.71%) Manufacturing
19 8 (0.63%) Investment Banking
Job Titles
1 149 (11.77%) Analyst
2 121 (9.56%) Lead
3 118 (9.32%) Service Manager
4 111 (8.77%) Architect
5 107 (8.45%) Senior
6 91 (7.19%) Consultant
7 77 (6.08%) IT Manager
8 58 (4.58%) Project Manager
9 57 (4.50%) Service Analyst
10 46 (3.63%) Developer
11 44 (3.48%) Delivery Manager
12 38 (3.00%) Support Engineer
13 34 (2.69%) IT Analyst
14 33 (2.61%) Network Engineer
15 30 (2.37%) Administrator
15 30 (2.37%) IT Services Manager
16 29 (2.29%) Business Analyst
16 29 (2.29%) Solutions Architect
17 28 (2.21%) Service Delivery Manager
17 28 (2.21%) ServiceNow Architect
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 57 (4.50%) REST
2 29 (2.29%) SOAP
3 14 (1.11%) HTML
4 13 (1.03%) CSS
5 12 (0.95%) Middleware
6 9 (0.71%) 802.1X
6 9 (0.71%) JSON
6 9 (0.71%) OAuth
7 7 (0.55%) Elastic Stack
7 7 (0.55%) Web Services
7 7 (0.55%) XML
8 6 (0.47%) AngularJS
8 6 (0.47%) Oracle Fusion
9 5 (0.39%) Lightning Web Components
9 5 (0.39%) Microsoft Graph
9 5 (0.39%) OpenID
9 5 (0.39%) SAML
10 4 (0.32%) .NET
10 4 (0.32%) Software Packaging
10 4 (0.32%) XMPP
Miscellaneous
1 112 (8.85%) Onboarding
2 107 (8.45%) CMDB
3 63 (4.98%) Product Ownership
4 46 (3.63%) Data Centre
5 44 (3.48%) Management Information System
6 32 (2.53%) Enterprise Software
6 32 (2.53%) Virtual Team
7 30 (2.37%) PKI
8 23 (1.82%) Clustering
9 20 (1.58%) Data Protection Act
9 20 (1.58%) Operational Technology
10 15 (1.18%) Analytical Mindset
11 14 (1.11%) Driving Licence
12 12 (0.95%) Cloud Native
12 12 (0.95%) Self-Motivation
13 10 (0.79%) Algorithms
13 10 (0.79%) Linux Command Line
13 10 (0.79%) PMI
13 10 (0.79%) Security Posture
14 9 (0.71%) Replication
Operating Systems
1 226 (17.85%) Windows
2 58 (4.58%) Linux
3 43 (3.40%) Windows 10
4 38 (3.00%) Windows Server
5 18 (1.42%) Unix
6 17 (1.34%) Mac OS
7 15 (1.18%) Windows 7
8 13 (1.03%) Apple iOS
9 11 (0.87%) Android
10 10 (0.79%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
11 5 (0.39%) Windows Server 2019
12 4 (0.32%) VMS
13 3 (0.24%) Ubuntu
13 3 (0.24%) Windows XP
14 2 (0.16%) Solaris
14 2 (0.16%) Windows Server 2012
14 2 (0.16%) Windows Server 2016
14 2 (0.16%) zOS
15 1 (0.079%) Rocky
15 1 (0.079%) Windows Server 2008
Processes & Methodologies
1 669 (52.84%) ITIL
2 559 (44.15%) ITSM
3 322 (25.43%) Stakeholder Management
4 321 (25.36%) Continuous Improvement
5 263 (20.77%) Agile
6 256 (20.22%) Service Delivery
7 249 (19.67%) Problem-Solving
8 192 (15.17%) Stakeholder Engagement
9 181 (14.30%) Change Management
10 141 (11.14%) DevOps
11 132 (10.43%) Customer Service
12 122 (9.64%) Roadmaps
13 114 (9.00%) Incident Management
14 100 (7.90%) Problem Management
15 96 (7.58%) Project Delivery
16 91 (7.19%) Decision-Making
17 90 (7.11%) Migration
18 87 (6.87%) Configuration Management
18 87 (6.87%) Cybersecurity
19 85 (6.71%) Project Management
Programming Languages
1 97 (7.66%) PowerShell
2 73 (5.77%) Python
3 61 (4.82%) SQL
4 51 (4.03%) JavaScript
5 30 (2.37%) Bash
6 18 (1.42%) Java
7 11 (0.87%) PL/SQL
7 11 (0.87%) VB
7 11 (0.87%) VBScript
8 7 (0.55%) Groovy
9 6 (0.47%) Apex Code
10 5 (0.39%) C
10 5 (0.39%) C#
10 5 (0.39%) Kotlin
10 5 (0.39%) Shell Script
10 5 (0.39%) T-SQL
11 4 (0.32%) Perl
12 3 (0.24%) SOQL
13 2 (0.16%) Search Processing Language
13 2 (0.16%) TypeScript
Qualifications
1 458 (36.18%) Security Cleared
2 304 (24.01%) SC Cleared
3 148 (11.69%) DV Cleared
4 108 (8.53%) Degree
5 64 (5.06%) ITIL Certification
6 40 (3.16%) PMI Certification
7 39 (3.08%) PMP
8 29 (2.29%) BPSS Clearance
9 28 (2.21%) Cisco Certification
10 23 (1.82%) Computer Science Degree
11 22 (1.74%) Microsoft Certification
12 16 (1.26%) A+ Certification
12 16 (1.26%) CISM
13 15 (1.18%) CCNA
13 15 (1.18%) CISSP
14 14 (1.11%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
14 14 (1.11%) Master's Degree
15 11 (0.87%) DBS Check
16 10 (0.79%) Azure Certification
16 10 (0.79%) CCNP
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 89 (7.03%) SLA
2 46 (3.63%) ISO/IEC 27001
3 40 (3.16%) QA
4 37 (2.92%) Data Quality
5 29 (2.29%) PMO
6 26 (2.05%) GDPR
7 24 (1.90%) ISO/IEC 20000
8 23 (1.82%) NCSC
9 20 (1.58%) COBIT
9 20 (1.58%) GRC
10 14 (1.11%) ISO 9001
10 14 (1.11%) NIST
11 8 (0.63%) Accessibility
11 8 (0.63%) Cyber Essentials
11 8 (0.63%) PCI DSS
12 7 (0.55%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
12 7 (0.55%) Disclosure Scotland
12 7 (0.55%) Government Security Classifications
13 6 (0.47%) ISO 31000
13 6 (0.47%) ISO/IEC 27005
System Software
1 125 (9.87%) Active Directory
2 47 (3.71%) VMware Infrastructure
3 17 (1.34%) VMware ESXi
4 14 (1.11%) Docker
5 12 (0.95%) BitLocker
6 11 (0.87%) VMware NSX
7 9 (0.71%) Hyper-V
7 9 (0.71%) vSphere
8 8 (0.63%) Virtual Desktop
9 7 (0.55%) vCloud
10 5 (0.39%) NFS
10 5 (0.39%) Virtual Machines
11 4 (0.32%) IAG
11 4 (0.32%) Oracle RAC
12 3 (0.24%) Firmware
13 2 (0.16%) GPFS
13 2 (0.16%) KVM
14 1 (0.079%) iptables
14 1 (0.079%) Slurm Workload Manager
14 1 (0.079%) Virtual Servers
Systems Management
1 54 (4.27%) SCCM
2 49 (3.87%) Microsoft Intune
3 33 (2.61%) Ansible
4 32 (2.53%) Terraform
5 18 (1.42%) Kubernetes
6 15 (1.18%) Jamf Pro
7 13 (1.03%) Single Sign-On
8 11 (0.87%) SCOM
9 9 (0.71%) FortiGate
9 9 (0.71%) vCenter Server
10 7 (0.55%) Data Guard
10 7 (0.55%) Grafana
10 7 (0.55%) Oracle RMAN
10 7 (0.55%) WSUS
11 6 (0.47%) Puppet
12 5 (0.39%) Prometheus
12 5 (0.39%) vMotion
13 4 (0.32%) PowerCLI
13 4 (0.32%) Progress Chef
14 3 (0.24%) NetBackup
Vendors
1 361 (28.52%) ServiceNow
2 233 (18.40%) Microsoft
3 64 (5.06%) VMware
4 58 (4.58%) Remedy
5 45 (3.55%) Cisco
6 38 (3.00%) Oracle
7 33 (2.61%) BMC
7 33 (2.61%) SAP
8 25 (1.97%) Atlassian
9 24 (1.90%) Splunk
10 22 (1.74%) IFS
11 21 (1.66%) SolarWinds
12 18 (1.42%) Salesforce
13 17 (1.34%) Citrix
14 16 (1.26%) Dynatrace
15 15 (1.18%) HP
15 15 (1.18%) Juniper
16 14 (1.11%) Dell
17 13 (1.03%) F5
17 13 (1.03%) IBM