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

6 months to
9 Jun 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 112 82 83
Rank change year-on-year -30 +1 +2
Contract jobs citing Service Management 1,097 886 1,085
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 2.21% 3.03% 2.51%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 2.61% 3.33% 2.94%
Number of daily rates quoted 715 528 740
10th Percentile £220 £220 £265
25th Percentile £401 £361 £425
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £518 £500 £525
Median % change year-on-year +3.50% -4.76% +2.69%
75th Percentile £600 £600 £608
90th Percentile £678 £688 £700
UK excluding London median daily rate £500 £510 £525
% change year-on-year -1.96% -2.86% +10.53%
Number of hourly rates quoted 68 48 16
10th Percentile £16.15 - £12.53
25th Percentile £21.01 £12.62 £14.91
Median hourly rate £60.00 £22.14 £18.36
Median % change year-on-year +171.00% +20.59% -56.16%
75th Percentile £83.81 £32.63 £26.63
90th Percentile £100.65 £37.88 £28.75
UK excluding London median hourly rate £60.00 £21.71 £17.72
% change year-on-year +176.37% +22.52% -50.78%

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 42,104 26,621 36,920
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 84.75% 90.94% 85.27%
Number of daily rates quoted 26,283 16,896 23,594
10th Percentile £325 £300 £300
25th Percentile £413 £406 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £513 £510 £525
Median % change year-on-year +0.49% -2.86% -4.55%
75th Percentile £615 £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 2,537 1,167 2,565
10th Percentile £14.68 £14.20 £12.75
25th Percentile £20.00 £17.87 £16.00
Median hourly rate £43.96 £27.50 £36.50
Median % change year-on-year +59.85% -24.66% +1.67%
75th Percentile £67.89 £56.00 £61.25
90th Percentile £81.24 £73.75 £72.50
UK excluding London median hourly rate £45.00 £25.15 £38.12
% change year-on-year +78.93% -34.02% +8.91%

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 June 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 June 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 June 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 -29 961 £520 +4.00% 375
UK excluding London -23 664 £500 -1.96% 319
London -15 324 £540 +8.00% 101
Work from Home -5 301 £510 +7.37% 166
North of England -19 195 £500 +6.61% 90
South East +17 186 £525 +26.51% 120
South West -33 111 £500 -11.11% 25
North West -4 109 £550 +9.78% 41
Yorkshire -29 80 £468 +10.12% 40
Midlands -45 74 £450 -18.18% 46
West Midlands -48 60 £475 -13.81% 36
East of England -19 44 £475 -13.64% 27
Scotland -27 44 £475 -8.74% 7
East Midlands -24 14 £200 -54.13% 10
Wales -12 7 £340 +4.62% 6
North East -22 6 £440 +125.64% 11
Northern Ireland - 4 - - 10

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 50 (4.56%) Confluence
2 45 (4.10%) SharePoint
3 34 (3.10%) Microsoft Exchange
4 11 (1.00%) Skype for Business
5 6 (0.55%) Mattermost
6 3 (0.27%) IIS
6 3 (0.27%) OpenStack
7 2 (0.18%) nginx
8 1 (0.091%) Apache
8 1 (0.091%) CICS
8 1 (0.091%) CMS
8 1 (0.091%) JBoss
8 1 (0.091%) LiveCycle
8 1 (0.091%) Oracle Collaboration Suite
8 1 (0.091%) Oracle SOA Suite
8 1 (0.091%) Palantir Foundry
8 1 (0.091%) WebSphere
Applications
1 57 (5.20%) Microsoft Office
2 28 (2.55%) Microsoft Excel
3 12 (1.09%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 9 (0.82%) Microsoft Project
4 9 (0.82%) MS Visio
5 7 (0.64%) Chatbot
6 4 (0.36%) PTC Creo
7 2 (0.18%) Spreadsheet
8 1 (0.091%) Camtasia
Business Applications
1 48 (4.38%) Remedy ITSM
2 13 (1.19%) SAP S/4HANA
3 9 (0.82%) Teamcenter
4 6 (0.55%) Primavera
5 3 (0.27%) Oracle ERP
6 2 (0.18%) Oracle Applications
6 2 (0.18%) SAP PS
7 1 (0.091%) ContrOCC
7 1 (0.091%) Dynamics NAV
7 1 (0.091%) NetSuite
7 1 (0.091%) Oracle Payables
7 1 (0.091%) Oracle Procure-to-Pay
7 1 (0.091%) Oracle Receivables
7 1 (0.091%) Oracle Subledger Accounting
7 1 (0.091%) SAP HR
7 1 (0.091%) SAP Payroll
7 1 (0.091%) SAP PM
7 1 (0.091%) SAP SM
Cloud Services
1 162 (14.77%) Azure
2 109 (9.94%) Microsoft 365
3 60 (5.47%) AWS
4 49 (4.47%) Power Platform
5 46 (4.19%) Entra ID
6 37 (3.37%) SaaS
7 30 (2.73%) Azure DevOps
8 25 (2.28%) OneDrive
9 22 (2.01%) GCP
10 18 (1.64%) GitHub
10 18 (1.64%) PaaS
11 14 (1.28%) OCI
12 10 (0.91%) Amazon CloudWatch
12 10 (0.91%) AWS Lambda
12 10 (0.91%) IaaS
12 10 (0.91%) Microsoft Copilot
12 10 (0.91%) Serverless
13 9 (0.82%) Google Workspace
14 6 (0.55%) Amazon S3
14 6 (0.55%) Slack
Communications & Networking
1 62 (5.65%) Firewall
2 46 (4.19%) DNS
3 37 (3.37%) WAN
4 34 (3.10%) VPN
5 33 (3.01%) LAN
6 28 (2.55%) Network Security
7 22 (2.01%) DHCP
8 21 (1.91%) TCP/IP
9 16 (1.46%) BGP
10 13 (1.19%) OSPF
10 13 (1.19%) SD-WAN
10 13 (1.19%) VLAN
10 13 (1.19%) Wi-Fi
11 12 (1.09%) BIG-IP
11 12 (1.09%) Wireless
12 11 (1.00%) Cisco ISE
12 11 (1.00%) Skype
13 10 (0.91%) VXLAN
14 8 (0.73%) Ethernet VPN
14 8 (0.73%) Junos
Database & Business Intelligence
1 40 (3.65%) Power BI
2 15 (1.37%) SQL Server
3 7 (0.64%) Oracle Database
3 7 (0.64%) Oracle Reports
3 7 (0.64%) PostgreSQL
4 6 (0.55%) Oracle Database 11g
4 6 (0.55%) Relational Database
5 4 (0.36%) SQL Server Integration Services
5 4 (0.36%) SQL Server Reporting Services
6 3 (0.27%) Azure SQL Database
6 3 (0.27%) Elasticsearch
6 3 (0.27%) MySQL
6 3 (0.27%) SQL Server Analysis Services
7 2 (0.18%) Amazon RDS
7 2 (0.18%) Amazon Redshift
7 2 (0.18%) GIS
7 2 (0.18%) InfluxDB
7 2 (0.18%) MariaDB
7 2 (0.18%) Microsoft Analysis Services
8 1 (0.091%) OpenStack Swift
Development Applications
1 122 (11.12%) JIRA
2 18 (1.64%) Git
3 16 (1.46%) Jenkins
4 15 (1.37%) GitLab
5 13 (1.19%) Bitbucket
6 7 (0.64%) ScriptRunner
7 5 (0.46%) Atlassian Bamboo
7 5 (0.46%) Browser DevTools
8 4 (0.36%) MLflow
9 3 (0.27%) Fiddler
9 3 (0.27%) Hudson
9 3 (0.27%) IntelliJ
10 2 (0.18%) Firebug
10 2 (0.18%) Selenium
10 2 (0.18%) TestRail
11 1 (0.091%) Gemini Tracker
11 1 (0.091%) IBM UrbanCode
11 1 (0.091%) Postman
11 1 (0.091%) Protractor
11 1 (0.091%) webpack
General
1 359 (32.73%) Social Skills
2 178 (16.23%) Finance
3 143 (13.04%) Analytical Skills
4 110 (10.03%) Public Sector
5 53 (4.83%) Legal
6 42 (3.83%) Banking
7 41 (3.74%) Telecoms
8 31 (2.83%) Documentation Skills
9 28 (2.55%) Organisational Skills
10 22 (2.01%) Influencing Skills
11 18 (1.64%) Inclusion and Diversity
11 18 (1.64%) Military
12 16 (1.46%) Retail
13 12 (1.09%) Aerospace
13 12 (1.09%) Local Government
14 10 (0.91%) Financial Institution
14 10 (0.91%) Police
15 8 (0.73%) Investment Banking
15 8 (0.73%) Manufacturing
15 8 (0.73%) Presentation Skills
Job Titles
1 127 (11.58%) Analyst
2 107 (9.75%) Service Manager
3 103 (9.39%) Architect
4 100 (9.12%) Lead
5 87 (7.93%) Senior
6 75 (6.84%) Consultant
7 70 (6.38%) IT Manager
8 53 (4.83%) Project Manager
9 47 (4.28%) Service Analyst
10 39 (3.56%) Delivery Manager
11 37 (3.37%) Developer
12 35 (3.19%) Support Engineer
13 31 (2.83%) IT Analyst
14 29 (2.64%) ServiceNow Architect
15 28 (2.55%) IT Services Manager
16 27 (2.46%) Hardware Engineer
16 27 (2.46%) Network Engineer
16 27 (2.46%) Transition Manager
17 26 (2.37%) IT Support
18 25 (2.28%) Designer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 48 (4.38%) REST
2 27 (2.46%) SOAP
3 12 (1.09%) HTML
4 11 (1.00%) CSS
5 9 (0.82%) 802.1X
5 9 (0.82%) Middleware
5 9 (0.82%) OAuth
6 7 (0.64%) Oracle Fusion
7 6 (0.55%) Web Services
7 6 (0.55%) XML
8 5 (0.46%) Elastic Stack
8 5 (0.46%) JSON
8 5 (0.46%) Lightning Web Components
8 5 (0.46%) OpenID
8 5 (0.46%) SAML
9 4 (0.36%) LDAP
9 4 (0.36%) Microsoft Graph
9 4 (0.36%) OAuth2
9 4 (0.36%) Software Packaging
9 4 (0.36%) XMPP
Miscellaneous
1 84 (7.66%) CMDB
2 83 (7.57%) Onboarding
3 59 (5.38%) Product Ownership
4 49 (4.47%) Data Centre
5 29 (2.64%) Virtual Team
6 27 (2.46%) Management Information System
6 27 (2.46%) PKI
7 26 (2.37%) Enterprise Software
8 21 (1.91%) Clustering
9 16 (1.46%) Data Protection Act
9 16 (1.46%) Driving Licence
9 16 (1.46%) Operational Technology
10 10 (0.91%) Algorithms
10 10 (0.91%) Analytical Mindset
10 10 (0.91%) Cloud Native
10 10 (0.91%) PMI
11 8 (0.73%) Legacy Systems
11 8 (0.73%) Replication
12 6 (0.55%) Linux Command Line
12 6 (0.55%) Smartphone
Operating Systems
1 197 (17.96%) Windows
2 55 (5.01%) Linux
3 42 (3.83%) Windows 10
3 42 (3.83%) Windows Server
4 17 (1.55%) Unix
5 15 (1.37%) Windows 7
6 13 (1.19%) Mac OS
7 11 (1.00%) Android
7 11 (1.00%) Apple iOS
8 8 (0.73%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
9 4 (0.36%) VMS
10 3 (0.27%) Ubuntu
10 3 (0.27%) Windows Server 2019
10 3 (0.27%) Windows XP
11 2 (0.18%) Solaris
11 2 (0.18%) Windows Server 2012
11 2 (0.18%) Windows Server 2016
11 2 (0.18%) zOS
12 1 (0.091%) Rocky
12 1 (0.091%) Windows Server 2008
Processes & Methodologies
1 558 (50.87%) ITIL
2 473 (43.12%) ITSM
3 254 (23.15%) Stakeholder Management
4 248 (22.61%) Continuous Improvement
5 218 (19.87%) Agile
6 209 (19.05%) Problem-Solving
7 189 (17.23%) Service Delivery
8 159 (14.49%) Stakeholder Engagement
9 150 (13.67%) Change Management
10 117 (10.67%) DevOps
11 110 (10.03%) Customer Service
12 95 (8.66%) Roadmaps
13 91 (8.30%) Incident Management
14 87 (7.93%) Problem Management
15 78 (7.11%) Configuration Management
16 77 (7.02%) Service Design
17 74 (6.75%) Project Management
18 71 (6.47%) Decision-Making
18 71 (6.47%) Migration
18 71 (6.47%) Project Delivery
Programming Languages
1 72 (6.56%) PowerShell
2 55 (5.01%) SQL
3 45 (4.10%) JavaScript
3 45 (4.10%) Python
4 17 (1.55%) Bash
5 15 (1.37%) Java
6 11 (1.00%) PL/SQL
6 11 (1.00%) VB
6 11 (1.00%) VBScript
7 6 (0.55%) Apex Code
7 6 (0.55%) Groovy
8 5 (0.46%) C#
8 5 (0.46%) Kotlin
9 4 (0.36%) C
9 4 (0.36%) Shell Script
10 3 (0.27%) SOQL
10 3 (0.27%) T-SQL
11 2 (0.18%) ActionScript 2.0
11 2 (0.18%) Bicep
11 2 (0.18%) Search Processing Language
Qualifications
1 398 (36.28%) Security Cleared
2 276 (25.16%) SC Cleared
3 124 (11.30%) DV Cleared
4 87 (7.93%) Degree
5 56 (5.10%) ITIL Certification
6 30 (2.73%) PMI Certification
7 28 (2.55%) Cisco Certification
7 28 (2.55%) PMP
8 22 (2.01%) BPSS Clearance
9 19 (1.73%) Computer Science Degree
10 16 (1.46%) CCNA
10 16 (1.46%) Microsoft Certification
11 13 (1.19%) Master's Degree
12 12 (1.09%) A+ Certification
13 11 (1.00%) CISM
13 11 (1.00%) CISSP
14 10 (0.91%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
15 9 (0.82%) JNCIA
15 9 (0.82%) JNCIS
15 9 (0.82%) Network+ Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 74 (6.75%) SLA
2 36 (3.28%) Data Quality
2 36 (3.28%) ISO/IEC 27001
3 27 (2.46%) PMO
4 25 (2.28%) GDPR
4 25 (2.28%) QA
5 21 (1.91%) COBIT
6 19 (1.73%) GRC
6 19 (1.73%) NCSC
7 15 (1.37%) NIST
8 14 (1.28%) ISO/IEC 20000
9 11 (1.00%) Cyber Essentials
10 9 (0.82%) Accessibility
10 9 (0.82%) PCI DSS
11 7 (0.64%) Government Security Classifications
12 6 (0.55%) ISO 31000
12 6 (0.55%) ISO/IEC 27005
12 6 (0.55%) Sarbanes-Oxley
13 5 (0.46%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
13 5 (0.46%) ISO 9001
System Software
1 111 (10.12%) Active Directory
2 40 (3.65%) VMware Infrastructure
3 15 (1.37%) Docker
3 15 (1.37%) VMware ESXi
4 12 (1.09%) BitLocker
5 8 (0.73%) VMware NSX
6 7 (0.64%) Hyper-V
7 6 (0.55%) vCloud
7 6 (0.55%) vSphere
8 5 (0.46%) NFS
8 5 (0.46%) Virtual Desktop
9 4 (0.36%) Virtual Machines
10 3 (0.27%) Firmware
10 3 (0.27%) Oracle RAC
11 2 (0.18%) GPFS
11 2 (0.18%) IAG
11 2 (0.18%) KVM
12 1 (0.091%) iptables
12 1 (0.091%) Slurm Workload Manager
12 1 (0.091%) Virtual Servers
Systems Management
1 35 (3.19%) SCCM
2 30 (2.73%) Microsoft Intune
3 25 (2.28%) Ansible
4 19 (1.73%) Terraform
5 17 (1.55%) Kubernetes
6 13 (1.19%) Jamf Pro
7 10 (0.91%) FortiGate
8 9 (0.82%) Grafana
8 9 (0.82%) Single Sign-On
8 9 (0.82%) WSUS
9 8 (0.73%) vCenter Server
10 6 (0.55%) Data Guard
10 6 (0.55%) Oracle RMAN
10 6 (0.55%) Prometheus
10 6 (0.55%) SCOM
11 5 (0.46%) Progress Chef
11 5 (0.46%) Puppet
11 5 (0.46%) vMotion
12 4 (0.36%) PowerCLI
13 3 (0.27%) vRealize
Vendors
1 286 (26.07%) ServiceNow
2 173 (15.77%) Microsoft
3 56 (5.10%) VMware
4 54 (4.92%) Remedy
5 46 (4.19%) Cisco
6 37 (3.37%) Oracle
7 30 (2.73%) HP
8 29 (2.64%) Atlassian
9 27 (2.46%) SAP
10 24 (2.19%) IFS
11 22 (2.01%) BMC
12 21 (1.91%) Splunk
13 19 (1.73%) Dell
14 14 (1.28%) Canon
15 13 (1.19%) Citrix
15 13 (1.19%) F5
15 13 (1.19%) Google
15 13 (1.19%) Salesforce
15 13 (1.19%) SolarWinds
15 13 (1.19%) Zscaler