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

6 months to
4 Mar 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 103 88 78
Rank change year-on-year -15 -10 +12
Contract jobs citing Service Management 1,039 839 1,162
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 2.47% 2.79% 2.63%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 2.85% 3.10% 3.02%
Number of daily rates quoted 704 525 792
10th Percentile £200 £220 £285
25th Percentile £353 £408 £425
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £525 £540
Median % change year-on-year -4.76% -2.78% +8.00%
75th Percentile £600 £618 £615
90th Percentile £716 £700 £731
UK excluding London median daily rate £500 £525 £545
% change year-on-year -4.76% -3.67% +14.74%
Number of hourly rates quoted 82 29 16
10th Percentile £15.78 £12.62 £12.53
25th Percentile £16.86 £22.14 £15.46
Median hourly rate £29.60 £29.00 £17.72
Median % change year-on-year +2.07% +63.66% -39.22%
75th Percentile £69.62 £33.75 £27.19
90th Percentile £83.60 £69.00 £60.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £29.60 £29.00 £17.29
% change year-on-year +2.07% +67.78% -65.45%

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 36,453 27,072 38,415
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 86.50% 90.11% 86.78%
Number of daily rates quoted 23,124 16,979 25,034
10th Percentile £313 £305 £300
25th Percentile £413 £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 £725 £738 £738
UK excluding London median daily rate £483 £493 £500
% change year-on-year -2.13% -1.40% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 2,168 886 2,250
10th Percentile £14.64 £15.62 £13.25
25th Percentile £18.25 £21.05 £16.13
Median hourly rate £27.94 £32.50 £32.85
Median % change year-on-year -14.03% -1.05% -6.16%
75th Percentile £63.75 £64.31 £58.75
90th Percentile £73.46 £75.13 £71.90
UK excluding London median hourly rate £25.15 £31.76 £33.50
% change year-on-year -20.81% -5.19% -4.29%

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 4 March 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 4 March 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 4 March 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 -12 945 £507 -3.43% 415
UK excluding London -8 707 £500 -4.76% 364
London -58 251 £507 -3.52% 91
Work from Home -15 248 £460 -12.38% 160
South East +35 201 £500 +11.11% 114
North of England -5 171 £500 +17.65% 83
South West -9 162 £575 +2.22% 47
Midlands -17 101 £415 -24.68% 69
North West -10 93 £550 +17.27% 51
West Midlands -29 77 £415 -25.73% 34
Yorkshire -24 65 £468 +108.00% 23
East of England -11 47 £452 -17.82% 46
Scotland -26 28 £488 -3.51% 11
East Midlands -10 24 £419 -9.95% 32
North East -6 16 £280 -53.04% 9
Wales -8 2 £245 -36.77% 11
Northern Ireland - 1 £500 - 2

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 91 (8.76%) Confluence
2 63 (6.06%) Microsoft Exchange
3 57 (5.49%) SharePoint
4 13 (1.25%) Skype for Business
5 5 (0.48%) Mattermost
5 5 (0.48%) SharePoint Server
6 3 (0.29%) nginx
7 1 (0.096%) Apache
7 1 (0.096%) HCL Notes
7 1 (0.096%) JBoss
7 1 (0.096%) LiveCycle
7 1 (0.096%) Oracle SOA Suite
7 1 (0.096%) WebLogic
7 1 (0.096%) WebSphere
Applications
1 93 (8.95%) Microsoft Office
2 36 (3.46%) Microsoft Project
3 29 (2.79%) Microsoft Excel
4 10 (0.96%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 5 (0.48%) MS Visio
6 4 (0.38%) Autodesk Inventor
6 4 (0.38%) PTC Creo
7 3 (0.29%) Spreadsheet
8 1 (0.096%) Camtasia
Business Applications
1 31 (2.98%) Remedy ITSM
2 14 (1.35%) SAP S/4HANA
3 13 (1.25%) Oracle EBS
4 7 (0.67%) Teamcenter
5 2 (0.19%) Salesforce CRM
6 1 (0.096%) assyst
6 1 (0.096%) Dynamics CRM
6 1 (0.096%) Dynamics NAV
6 1 (0.096%) NetSuite
6 1 (0.096%) Oracle Payables
6 1 (0.096%) Oracle Procure-to-Pay
6 1 (0.096%) Oracle Receivables
6 1 (0.096%) Oracle Subledger Accounting
6 1 (0.096%) SAP ERP
6 1 (0.096%) SAP PM
6 1 (0.096%) SAP SM
6 1 (0.096%) SystmOne
6 1 (0.096%) Workday HCM
Cloud Services
1 163 (15.69%) Azure
2 104 (10.01%) Microsoft 365
3 91 (8.76%) AWS
4 48 (4.62%) GCP
5 44 (4.23%) Entra ID
6 35 (3.37%) Power Platform
6 35 (3.37%) SaaS
7 27 (2.60%) Azure DevOps
8 26 (2.50%) OneDrive
9 14 (1.35%) IaaS
10 13 (1.25%) PaaS
11 11 (1.06%) Serverless
12 10 (0.96%) AWS Lambda
12 10 (0.96%) GitHub
13 8 (0.77%) Amazon CloudWatch
13 8 (0.77%) Dynamics 365
13 8 (0.77%) OpenShift
13 8 (0.77%) PowerApps
14 7 (0.67%) Salesforce Service Cloud
15 6 (0.58%) Slack
Communications & Networking
1 71 (6.83%) DNS
2 64 (6.16%) Firewall
3 38 (3.66%) DHCP
4 33 (3.18%) VPN
5 32 (3.08%) LAN
6 31 (2.98%) WAN
7 24 (2.31%) Network Security
8 22 (2.12%) VLAN
9 21 (2.02%) Skype
9 21 (2.02%) TCP/IP
10 19 (1.83%) Junos
11 18 (1.73%) Cisco ISE
12 15 (1.44%) BGP
12 15 (1.44%) Wi-Fi
13 13 (1.25%) Cisco IOS
14 12 (1.15%) Cisco Firepower
15 11 (1.06%) WebEx
16 9 (0.87%) HTTP
16 9 (0.87%) OSPF
17 8 (0.77%) SSH
Database & Business Intelligence
1 25 (2.41%) Power BI
2 15 (1.44%) SQL Server
3 13 (1.25%) Relational Database
4 7 (0.67%) PostgreSQL
5 5 (0.48%) Metadata
6 4 (0.38%) Amazon RDS
6 4 (0.38%) Elasticsearch
6 4 (0.38%) InfluxDB
6 4 (0.38%) Tableau
7 2 (0.19%) Azure SQL Database
7 2 (0.19%) Big Data
7 2 (0.19%) GIS
7 2 (0.19%) MongoDB
8 1 (0.096%) Data Mining
8 1 (0.096%) Electronic Patient Records
8 1 (0.096%) KNIME
8 1 (0.096%) Oracle Reports
8 1 (0.096%) RDBMS
8 1 (0.096%) SQL Server Integration Services
8 1 (0.096%) SQL Server Reporting Services
Development Applications
1 144 (13.86%) JIRA
2 17 (1.64%) Git
3 15 (1.44%) Jenkins
4 13 (1.25%) Bitbucket
5 12 (1.15%) GitLab
6 6 (0.58%) Atlassian Bamboo
7 3 (0.29%) ScriptRunner
7 3 (0.29%) TestRail
8 2 (0.19%) Cypress.io
8 2 (0.19%) Selenium
9 1 (0.096%) MLflow
9 1 (0.096%) Rational DOORS
9 1 (0.096%) Visual Studio Code
General
1 394 (37.92%) Social Skills
2 167 (16.07%) Analytical Skills
3 143 (13.76%) Finance
4 126 (12.13%) Public Sector
5 56 (5.39%) Legal
6 46 (4.43%) Military
7 37 (3.56%) Banking
8 36 (3.46%) Influencing Skills
9 34 (3.27%) Organisational Skills
10 31 (2.98%) Documentation Skills
11 22 (2.12%) Retail
12 19 (1.83%) Telecoms
13 12 (1.15%) Manufacturing
14 11 (1.06%) Aerospace
15 10 (0.96%) Inclusion and Diversity
15 10 (0.96%) Presentation Skills
16 9 (0.87%) Investment Banking
17 8 (0.77%) Law
18 7 (0.67%) Local Government
19 6 (0.58%) Financial Institution
Job Titles
1 143 (13.76%) Analyst
2 122 (11.74%) Lead
3 116 (11.16%) Architect
4 94 (9.05%) Service Manager
5 57 (5.49%) Service Analyst
6 56 (5.39%) Senior
7 54 (5.20%) Consultant
8 53 (5.10%) Service Architect
9 48 (4.62%) Support Engineer
10 38 (3.66%) IT Manager
10 38 (3.66%) IT Support
11 34 (3.27%) Hardware Engineer
12 30 (2.89%) Business Analyst
13 29 (2.79%) Network Engineer
14 27 (2.60%) Delivery Manager
14 27 (2.60%) IT Analyst
15 26 (2.50%) 2nd Line Support
15 26 (2.50%) Platform Engineer
15 26 (2.50%) Support Analyst
16 25 (2.41%) Administrator
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 44 (4.23%) REST
2 20 (1.92%) SOAP
3 11 (1.06%) XMPP
4 9 (0.87%) LDAP
4 9 (0.87%) Web Services
5 8 (0.77%) 802.1X
6 7 (0.67%) Elastic Stack
7 5 (0.48%) .NET
8 4 (0.38%) ARM Templates
8 4 (0.38%) JSON
8 4 (0.38%) Middleware
8 4 (0.38%) RabbitMQ
8 4 (0.38%) RFC 2544
9 3 (0.29%) CSS
9 3 (0.29%) EDI
9 3 (0.29%) Lightning Web Components
9 3 (0.29%) Microsoft Graph
9 3 (0.29%) OAuth
9 3 (0.29%) Oracle Fusion
9 3 (0.29%) XML
Miscellaneous
1 90 (8.66%) Product Ownership
2 62 (5.97%) CMDB
3 46 (4.43%) Onboarding
4 43 (4.14%) Data Centre
5 39 (3.75%) Management Information System
6 29 (2.79%) PKI
6 29 (2.79%) Virtual Team
7 19 (1.83%) Analytical Mindset
8 18 (1.73%) Driving Licence
8 18 (1.73%) Self-Motivation
9 14 (1.35%) PMI
10 12 (1.15%) Data Protection Act
11 10 (0.96%) Clustering
11 10 (0.96%) Enterprise Software
12 8 (0.77%) Hybrid Cloud
13 7 (0.67%) Algorithms
13 7 (0.67%) NHS
14 6 (0.58%) Smartphone
15 5 (0.48%) Replication
15 5 (0.48%) Taxonomies
Operating Systems
1 221 (21.27%) Windows
2 63 (6.06%) Linux
3 60 (5.77%) Windows Server
4 57 (5.49%) Windows 10
5 14 (1.35%) Android
5 14 (1.35%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
6 13 (1.25%) Mac OS
7 12 (1.15%) Apple iOS
8 11 (1.06%) Windows 7
9 8 (0.77%) Windows Server 2012
10 7 (0.67%) Unix
11 5 (0.48%) Ubuntu
11 5 (0.48%) Windows Server 2016
12 4 (0.38%) VMS
12 4 (0.38%) Windows Server 2003
13 3 (0.29%) CentOS
13 3 (0.29%) Windows Server 2019
14 1 (0.096%) Data ONTAP
14 1 (0.096%) Windows Server 2008
14 1 (0.096%) Windows XP
Processes & Methodologies
1 589 (56.69%) ITIL
2 462 (44.47%) ITSM
3 226 (21.75%) Agile
4 218 (20.98%) Problem-Solving
5 203 (19.54%) Continuous Improvement
6 188 (18.09%) Stakeholder Management
7 157 (15.11%) Change Management
8 153 (14.73%) Service Delivery
9 138 (13.28%) Stakeholder Engagement
10 114 (10.97%) Customer Service
11 108 (10.39%) DevOps
11 108 (10.39%) Service Design
12 87 (8.37%) Incident Management
13 86 (8.28%) Problem Management
14 80 (7.70%) Project Management
15 78 (7.51%) Configuration Management
16 72 (6.93%) Acceptance Criteria
17 71 (6.83%) Knowledge Transfer
18 65 (6.26%) Performance Metrics
19 64 (6.16%) Business Continuity
Programming Languages
1 96 (9.24%) PowerShell
2 61 (5.87%) Python
3 45 (4.33%) SQL
4 23 (2.21%) JavaScript
5 19 (1.83%) Java
6 17 (1.64%) Bash
7 13 (1.25%) Perl
8 11 (1.06%) Shell Script
9 9 (0.87%) VB
9 9 (0.87%) VBScript
10 6 (0.58%) Kotlin
11 4 (0.38%) C#
11 4 (0.38%) Go
12 2 (0.19%) ActionScript
12 2 (0.19%) ActionScript 2.0
12 2 (0.19%) Apex Code
12 2 (0.19%) Bicep
12 2 (0.19%) PHP
13 1 (0.096%) Search Processing Language
13 1 (0.096%) TypeScript
Qualifications
1 428 (41.19%) Security Cleared
2 317 (30.51%) SC Cleared
3 129 (12.42%) Degree
4 121 (11.65%) DV Cleared
5 54 (5.20%) ITIL Certification
6 30 (2.89%) Microsoft Certification
6 30 (2.89%) TOGAF Certification
7 29 (2.79%) BPSS Clearance
8 27 (2.60%) PMI Certification
9 25 (2.41%) Cisco Certification
10 23 (2.21%) PMP
11 17 (1.64%) CCNP
12 16 (1.54%) Computer Science Degree
13 15 (1.44%) CCNA
13 15 (1.44%) MCSE
14 13 (1.25%) A+ Certification
15 11 (1.06%) Azure Certification
16 8 (0.77%) JNCIA
16 8 (0.77%) JNCIP
16 8 (0.77%) JNCIS
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 44 (4.23%) SLA
2 30 (2.89%) ISO/IEC 27001
3 26 (2.50%) Data Quality
4 22 (2.12%) GDPR
4 22 (2.12%) QA
5 15 (1.44%) ISO/IEC 20000
6 12 (1.15%) PMO
7 10 (0.96%) NIST
7 10 (0.96%) Sarbanes-Oxley
8 9 (0.87%) Accessibility
8 9 (0.87%) COBIT
8 9 (0.87%) NCSC
9 7 (0.67%) GRC
10 6 (0.58%) PCI DSS
11 5 (0.48%) Cyber Essentials
11 5 (0.48%) Government Security Classifications
12 4 (0.38%) HIPAA
12 4 (0.38%) ISO 9001
13 3 (0.29%) Disclosure Scotland
13 3 (0.29%) HMG Security Policy Framework
System Software
1 134 (12.90%) Active Directory
2 40 (3.85%) VMware Infrastructure
3 17 (1.64%) Docker
3 17 (1.64%) VMware NSX
4 9 (0.87%) BitLocker
4 9 (0.87%) Hyper-V
4 9 (0.87%) Virtual Desktop
5 5 (0.48%) Microsoft Virtual Server
5 5 (0.48%) Virtual Servers
6 4 (0.38%) NDS
6 4 (0.38%) NetIQ eDirectory
7 3 (0.29%) Virtual Machines
8 2 (0.19%) VMware ESXi
9 1 (0.096%) NFS
9 1 (0.096%) Slurm Workload Manager
Systems Management
1 39 (3.75%) SCCM
2 31 (2.98%) Microsoft Intune
3 30 (2.89%) OPNET
4 29 (2.79%) Ansible
5 25 (2.41%) Terraform
6 24 (2.31%) Kubernetes
7 18 (1.73%) vCenter Server
8 16 (1.54%) WSUS
9 11 (1.06%) FortiGate
10 10 (0.96%) Active Directory Federation Services
11 8 (0.77%) Jamf Pro
11 8 (0.77%) Single Sign-On
12 7 (0.67%) Grafana
12 7 (0.67%) Progress Chef
13 6 (0.58%) Prometheus
14 5 (0.48%) Puppet
14 5 (0.48%) SCOM
15 4 (0.38%) Nessus
15 4 (0.38%) Packer
16 3 (0.29%) HP ALM
Vendors
1 269 (25.89%) ServiceNow
2 171 (16.46%) Microsoft
3 69 (6.64%) Atlassian
4 65 (6.26%) Remedy
5 64 (6.16%) Cisco
6 57 (5.49%) VMware
7 38 (3.66%) Google
8 37 (3.56%) HP
9 35 (3.37%) Oracle
10 33 (3.18%) SolarWinds
11 30 (2.89%) Splunk
12 28 (2.69%) SAP
13 21 (2.02%) Juniper
14 18 (1.73%) Citrix
15 17 (1.64%) Salesforce
16 16 (1.54%) Dell
16 16 (1.54%) Red Hat
17 13 (1.25%) Canon
18 12 (1.15%) IFS
18 12 (1.15%) Veeam