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

6 months to
12 Jun 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 112 81 84
Rank change year-on-year -31 +3 +1
Contract jobs citing Service Management 1,119 891 1,096
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 2.24% 3.03% 2.51%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 2.64% 3.33% 2.95%
Number of daily rates quoted 732 538 750
10th Percentile £221 £220 £263
25th Percentile £405 £355 £425
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £520 £500 £525
Median % change year-on-year +4.00% -4.76% +2.94%
75th Percentile £600 £599 £608
90th Percentile £675 £688 £701
UK excluding London median daily rate £500 £500 £525
% change year-on-year - -4.76% +10.53%
Number of hourly rates quoted 70 47 16
10th Percentile £16.16 - £12.53
25th Percentile £22.38 £12.62 £14.91
Median hourly rate £60.00 £22.14 £18.36
Median % change year-on-year +171.00% +20.59% -47.54%
75th Percentile £83.94 £32.75 £26.63
90th Percentile £98.55 £39.25 £28.75
UK excluding London median hourly rate £60.00 £21.28 £17.72
% change year-on-year +181.95% +20.09% -16.81%

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 42,365 26,787 37,171
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 84.77% 91.01% 85.18%
Number of daily rates quoted 26,429 17,005 23,768
10th Percentile £325 £300 £300
25th Percentile £413 £406 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £513 £508 £525
Median % change year-on-year +0.99% -3.33% -4.55%
75th Percentile £619 £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 2,540 1,187 2,585
10th Percentile £14.68 £14.20 £12.75
25th Percentile £20.00 £17.87 £16.00
Median hourly rate £43.96 £27.21 £36.50
Median % change year-on-year +61.56% -25.45% +4.20%
75th Percentile £68.00 £56.00 £61.25
90th Percentile £81.25 £73.75 £72.50
UK excluding London median hourly rate £45.00 £25.15 £38.12
% change year-on-year +78.93% -34.02% +15.02%

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 12 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 12 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 12 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 -22 982 £520 +4.00% 368
UK excluding London -25 680 £500 - 310
London -14 330 £540 +8.00% 103
Work from Home -2 317 £510 +7.37% 138
North of England -15 201 £500 +7.82% 85
South East +14 195 £531 +31.14% 108
North West -6 113 £550 +14.46% 39
South West -34 110 £500 -11.11% 31
Yorkshire -22 81 £465 +9.47% 38
Midlands -49 77 £462 -12.00% 49
West Midlands -46 64 £475 -13.64% 37
Scotland -25 45 £475 -8.74% 7
East of England -14 43 £475 -13.64% 27
East Midlands -19 13 £200 -54.13% 12
Wales -16 7 £340 +4.62% 5
North East -30 7 £440 +125.64% 10
Northern Ireland - 4 - - 9

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 53 (4.74%) Confluence
2 52 (4.65%) SharePoint
3 33 (2.95%) Microsoft Exchange
4 11 (0.98%) Skype for Business
5 6 (0.54%) Mattermost
6 3 (0.27%) IIS
6 3 (0.27%) OpenStack
7 1 (0.089%) Apache
7 1 (0.089%) CICS
7 1 (0.089%) CMS
7 1 (0.089%) JBoss
7 1 (0.089%) LiveCycle
7 1 (0.089%) Oracle Collaboration Suite
7 1 (0.089%) Oracle SOA Suite
7 1 (0.089%) Palantir Foundry
7 1 (0.089%) WebSphere
Applications
1 56 (5.00%) Microsoft Office
2 29 (2.59%) Microsoft Excel
3 12 (1.07%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 10 (0.89%) Microsoft Project
4 10 (0.89%) MS Visio
5 7 (0.63%) Chatbot
6 4 (0.36%) PTC Creo
7 2 (0.18%) Spreadsheet
8 1 (0.089%) Camtasia
Business Applications
1 51 (4.56%) Remedy ITSM
2 14 (1.25%) SAP S/4HANA
3 9 (0.80%) Teamcenter
4 6 (0.54%) Primavera
5 3 (0.27%) Oracle ERP
6 2 (0.18%) Oracle Applications
6 2 (0.18%) SAP PS
7 1 (0.089%) Dynamics NAV
7 1 (0.089%) NetSuite
7 1 (0.089%) Oracle Payables
7 1 (0.089%) Oracle Procure-to-Pay
7 1 (0.089%) Oracle Receivables
7 1 (0.089%) Oracle Subledger Accounting
7 1 (0.089%) SAP CO
7 1 (0.089%) SAP FI
7 1 (0.089%) SAP FI/CO
7 1 (0.089%) SAP HR
7 1 (0.089%) SAP Payroll
7 1 (0.089%) SAP PM
7 1 (0.089%) SAP SM
Cloud Services
1 168 (15.01%) Azure
2 109 (9.74%) Microsoft 365
3 60 (5.36%) AWS
4 52 (4.65%) Power Platform
5 50 (4.47%) Entra ID
6 40 (3.57%) SaaS
7 30 (2.68%) Azure DevOps
8 25 (2.23%) OneDrive
9 22 (1.97%) GCP
10 19 (1.70%) PaaS
11 18 (1.61%) GitHub
12 14 (1.25%) OCI
13 11 (0.98%) Amazon CloudWatch
13 11 (0.98%) IaaS
14 10 (0.89%) AWS Lambda
14 10 (0.89%) Microsoft Copilot
14 10 (0.89%) Serverless
15 9 (0.80%) Google Workspace
16 6 (0.54%) Datadog
16 6 (0.54%) Slack
Communications & Networking
1 62 (5.54%) Firewall
2 44 (3.93%) DNS
3 38 (3.40%) WAN
4 33 (2.95%) LAN
4 33 (2.95%) VPN
5 27 (2.41%) Network Security
6 22 (1.97%) DHCP
7 21 (1.88%) TCP/IP
8 16 (1.43%) BGP
9 13 (1.16%) OSPF
9 13 (1.16%) SD-WAN
9 13 (1.16%) VLAN
9 13 (1.16%) Wi-Fi
10 12 (1.07%) BIG-IP
10 12 (1.07%) Wireless
11 11 (0.98%) Cisco ISE
11 11 (0.98%) Skype
12 10 (0.89%) VXLAN
13 8 (0.71%) Ethernet VPN
13 8 (0.71%) Junos
Database & Business Intelligence
1 43 (3.84%) Power BI
2 15 (1.34%) SQL Server
3 7 (0.63%) Oracle Database
3 7 (0.63%) Oracle Reports
3 7 (0.63%) PostgreSQL
4 6 (0.54%) Oracle Database 11g
5 5 (0.45%) Relational Database
6 4 (0.36%) SQL Server Integration Services
6 4 (0.36%) SQL Server Reporting Services
7 3 (0.27%) Azure SQL Database
7 3 (0.27%) MySQL
7 3 (0.27%) SQL Server Analysis Services
8 2 (0.18%) Amazon Redshift
8 2 (0.18%) GIS
8 2 (0.18%) MariaDB
8 2 (0.18%) Microsoft Analysis Services
9 1 (0.089%) Db2
9 1 (0.089%) DTS
9 1 (0.089%) InfluxDB
9 1 (0.089%) OpenStack Swift
Development Applications
1 128 (11.44%) JIRA
2 18 (1.61%) Git
3 16 (1.43%) Jenkins
4 12 (1.07%) Bitbucket
4 12 (1.07%) GitLab
5 7 (0.63%) ScriptRunner
6 5 (0.45%) Atlassian Bamboo
6 5 (0.45%) Browser DevTools
7 4 (0.36%) MLflow
8 3 (0.27%) Fiddler
8 3 (0.27%) Hudson
8 3 (0.27%) IntelliJ
9 2 (0.18%) Firebug
9 2 (0.18%) Selenium
9 2 (0.18%) TestRail
10 1 (0.089%) Gemini Tracker
10 1 (0.089%) IBM UrbanCode
10 1 (0.089%) Postman
10 1 (0.089%) Protractor
10 1 (0.089%) webpack
General
1 362 (32.35%) Social Skills
2 186 (16.62%) Finance
3 145 (12.96%) Analytical Skills
4 112 (10.01%) Public Sector
5 52 (4.65%) Legal
6 43 (3.84%) Banking
6 43 (3.84%) Telecoms
7 31 (2.77%) Documentation Skills
8 28 (2.50%) Influencing Skills
8 28 (2.50%) Organisational Skills
9 19 (1.70%) Inclusion and Diversity
10 18 (1.61%) Military
11 15 (1.34%) Retail
12 13 (1.16%) Local Government
13 12 (1.07%) Aerospace
13 12 (1.07%) Financial Institution
14 10 (0.89%) Police
14 10 (0.89%) Presentation Skills
15 8 (0.71%) Investment Banking
15 8 (0.71%) Manufacturing
Job Titles
1 132 (11.80%) Analyst
2 109 (9.74%) Service Manager
3 105 (9.38%) Architect
4 102 (9.12%) Lead
5 90 (8.04%) Senior
6 77 (6.88%) Consultant
7 71 (6.34%) IT Manager
8 56 (5.00%) Project Manager
9 50 (4.47%) Service Analyst
10 44 (3.93%) Developer
11 39 (3.49%) Delivery Manager
12 33 (2.95%) Support Engineer
13 32 (2.86%) IT Analyst
14 30 (2.68%) ServiceNow Architect
15 29 (2.59%) Transition Manager
16 28 (2.50%) IT Services Manager
16 28 (2.50%) Network Engineer
17 26 (2.32%) Designer
17 26 (2.32%) Hardware Engineer
17 26 (2.32%) IT Support
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 49 (4.38%) REST
2 28 (2.50%) SOAP
3 14 (1.25%) HTML
4 13 (1.16%) CSS
5 9 (0.80%) 802.1X
5 9 (0.80%) Middleware
5 9 (0.80%) OAuth
6 7 (0.63%) JSON
6 7 (0.63%) Oracle Fusion
7 6 (0.54%) XML
8 5 (0.45%) AngularJS
8 5 (0.45%) Lightning Web Components
8 5 (0.45%) OpenID
8 5 (0.45%) SAML
8 5 (0.45%) Web Services
9 4 (0.36%) Bootstrap
9 4 (0.36%) Elastic Stack
9 4 (0.36%) Microsoft Graph
9 4 (0.36%) OAuth2
9 4 (0.36%) XMPP
Miscellaneous
1 91 (8.13%) CMDB
2 84 (7.51%) Onboarding
3 58 (5.18%) Product Ownership
4 49 (4.38%) Data Centre
5 33 (2.95%) Virtual Team
6 27 (2.41%) PKI
7 26 (2.32%) Management Information System
8 25 (2.23%) Enterprise Software
9 21 (1.88%) Clustering
10 16 (1.43%) Data Protection Act
10 16 (1.43%) Driving Licence
10 16 (1.43%) Operational Technology
11 11 (0.98%) Analytical Mindset
12 10 (0.89%) Algorithms
12 10 (0.89%) Cloud Native
13 9 (0.80%) PMI
13 9 (0.80%) Self-Motivation
14 8 (0.71%) Legacy Systems
14 8 (0.71%) Replication
15 7 (0.63%) Linux Command Line
Operating Systems
1 199 (17.78%) Windows
2 53 (4.74%) Linux
3 42 (3.75%) Windows 10
4 41 (3.66%) Windows Server
5 17 (1.52%) Unix
6 15 (1.34%) Windows 7
7 13 (1.16%) Android
7 13 (1.16%) Apple iOS
7 13 (1.16%) Mac OS
8 9 (0.80%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
9 4 (0.36%) VMS
9 4 (0.36%) Windows Server 2019
10 3 (0.27%) Ubuntu
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 (0.089%) Rocky
12 1 (0.089%) Windows Server 2008
Processes & Methodologies
1 571 (51.03%) ITIL
2 483 (43.16%) ITSM
3 262 (23.41%) Stakeholder Management
4 256 (22.88%) Continuous Improvement
5 226 (20.20%) Agile
6 215 (19.21%) Problem-Solving
7 195 (17.43%) Service Delivery
8 162 (14.48%) Stakeholder Engagement
9 150 (13.40%) Change Management
10 122 (10.90%) DevOps
11 112 (10.01%) Customer Service
12 96 (8.58%) Roadmaps
13 91 (8.13%) Incident Management
14 87 (7.77%) Problem Management
15 76 (6.79%) Migration
15 76 (6.79%) Service Design
16 75 (6.70%) Configuration Management
16 75 (6.70%) Project Delivery
16 75 (6.70%) Project Management
17 73 (6.52%) Decision-Making
Programming Languages
1 79 (7.06%) PowerShell
2 52 (4.65%) SQL
3 50 (4.47%) Python
4 47 (4.20%) JavaScript
5 18 (1.61%) Bash
6 14 (1.25%) Java
7 11 (0.98%) PL/SQL
7 11 (0.98%) VB
7 11 (0.98%) VBScript
8 6 (0.54%) Apex Code
8 6 (0.54%) Groovy
9 5 (0.45%) C#
9 5 (0.45%) Kotlin
10 4 (0.36%) C
11 3 (0.27%) Shell Script
11 3 (0.27%) SOQL
11 3 (0.27%) T-SQL
12 2 (0.18%) ActionScript
12 2 (0.18%) ActionScript 2.0
12 2 (0.18%) Perl
Qualifications
1 400 (35.75%) Security Cleared
2 279 (24.93%) SC Cleared
3 123 (10.99%) DV Cleared
4 86 (7.69%) Degree
5 59 (5.27%) ITIL Certification
6 30 (2.68%) PMI Certification
7 29 (2.59%) PMP
8 28 (2.50%) Cisco Certification
9 22 (1.97%) BPSS Clearance
10 18 (1.61%) Computer Science Degree
11 16 (1.43%) CCNA
11 16 (1.43%) Microsoft Certification
12 13 (1.16%) Master's Degree
13 11 (0.98%) CISM
13 11 (0.98%) CISSP
14 10 (0.89%) A+ Certification
14 10 (0.89%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
15 9 (0.80%) JNCIA
15 9 (0.80%) JNCIP
15 9 (0.80%) JNCIS
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 75 (6.70%) SLA
2 37 (3.31%) Data Quality
2 37 (3.31%) ISO/IEC 27001
3 28 (2.50%) PMO
4 27 (2.41%) QA
5 26 (2.32%) GDPR
6 21 (1.88%) COBIT
7 20 (1.79%) NCSC
8 19 (1.70%) GRC
9 15 (1.34%) NIST
10 14 (1.25%) ISO/IEC 20000
11 11 (0.98%) Cyber Essentials
12 9 (0.80%) PCI DSS
13 8 (0.71%) Accessibility
14 7 (0.63%) Government Security Classifications
15 6 (0.54%) ISO 31000
15 6 (0.54%) ISO/IEC 27005
15 6 (0.54%) Sarbanes-Oxley
16 5 (0.45%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
16 5 (0.45%) ISO 9001
System Software
1 111 (9.92%) Active Directory
2 39 (3.49%) VMware Infrastructure
3 15 (1.34%) VMware ESXi
4 12 (1.07%) BitLocker
4 12 (1.07%) Docker
5 8 (0.71%) VMware NSX
6 7 (0.63%) Virtual Desktop
7 6 (0.54%) Hyper-V
7 6 (0.54%) vCloud
7 6 (0.54%) vSphere
8 5 (0.45%) NFS
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 (0.089%) iptables
12 1 (0.089%) Slurm Workload Manager
12 1 (0.089%) Virtual Servers
Systems Management
1 42 (3.75%) SCCM
2 37 (3.31%) Microsoft Intune
3 25 (2.23%) Ansible
4 19 (1.70%) Terraform
5 16 (1.43%) Kubernetes
6 13 (1.16%) Jamf Pro
7 10 (0.89%) FortiGate
8 9 (0.80%) Single Sign-On
9 8 (0.71%) Grafana
9 8 (0.71%) vCenter Server
10 7 (0.63%) WSUS
11 6 (0.54%) Data Guard
11 6 (0.54%) Oracle RMAN
11 6 (0.54%) SCOM
12 5 (0.45%) Prometheus
12 5 (0.45%) Puppet
12 5 (0.45%) vMotion
13 4 (0.36%) PowerCLI
13 4 (0.36%) Progress Chef
14 3 (0.27%) Cisco Prime
Vendors
1 310 (27.70%) ServiceNow
2 181 (16.18%) Microsoft
3 57 (5.09%) Remedy
4 55 (4.92%) VMware
5 46 (4.11%) Cisco
6 37 (3.31%) Oracle
7 28 (2.50%) Atlassian
7 28 (2.50%) SAP
8 27 (2.41%) HP
9 25 (2.23%) BMC
10 24 (2.14%) IFS
11 21 (1.88%) Splunk
12 17 (1.52%) Dell
13 15 (1.34%) SolarWinds
14 14 (1.25%) Canon
15 13 (1.16%) Citrix
15 13 (1.16%) F5
15 13 (1.16%) Salesforce
15 13 (1.16%) Zscaler
16 12 (1.07%) Dynatrace