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

6 months to
5 Sep 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 91 81 94
Rank change year-on-year -10 +13 -7
Contract jobs citing Service Management 1,575 961 904
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 2.92% 2.95% 2.38%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 3.45% 3.27% 2.79%
Number of daily rates quoted 1,034 581 602
10th Percentile £263 £208 £213
25th Percentile £414 £350 £382
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £496 £514
Median % change year-on-year +5.85% -3.45% -2.14%
75th Percentile £625 £575 £600
90th Percentile £725 £675 £681
UK excluding London median daily rate £525 £498 £501
% change year-on-year +5.42% -0.50% +0.10%
Number of hourly rates quoted 81 72 16
10th Percentile £14.50 - £16.84
25th Percentile £16.30 £12.62 £24.31
Median hourly rate £55.00 £18.73 £36.25
Median % change year-on-year +193.65% -48.33% -33.49%
75th Percentile £85.00 £31.40 £49.06
90th Percentile £92.53 £53.35 £54.38
UK excluding London median hourly rate £35.53 £18.73 £36.25
% change year-on-year +89.70% -48.33% +61.11%

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 45,646 29,409 32,455
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 84.59% 90.41% 85.44%
Number of daily rates quoted 27,910 18,256 20,327
10th Percentile £325 £300 £310
25th Percentile £425 £402 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £500 £525
Median % change year-on-year +5.00% -4.76% -3.67%
75th Percentile £625 £625 £638
90th Percentile £725 £725 £750
UK excluding London median daily rate £500 £475 £500
% change year-on-year +5.26% -5.00% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 2,932 1,750 1,541
10th Percentile £14.00 £14.20 £14.41
25th Percentile £17.72 £17.30 £20.00
Median hourly rate £41.00 £25.15 £42.88
Median % change year-on-year +63.02% -41.35% +3.33%
75th Percentile £67.85 £45.79 £65.00
90th Percentile £80.00 £67.03 £75.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £42.50 £22.63 £43.00
% change year-on-year +87.80% -47.37% +12.13%

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 5 September 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 5 September 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 5 September 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 -11 1,361 £525 +5.00% 905
UK excluding London -12 911 £525 +5.42% 680
London +26 498 £525 +5.00% 337
Work from Home +10 421 £516 +3.10% 416
South East +10 298 £572 +14.40% 237
North of England -19 256 £473 +4.47% 165
North West -18 154 £480 +3.23% 92
South West -31 110 £575 +6.48% 75
Midlands -44 108 £500 -0.99% 98
West Midlands -29 101 £525 +0.96% 60
Yorkshire -12 94 £443 +21.37% 58
Scotland -1 89 £520 +12.43% 25
East of England -10 47 £518 -5.91% 60
Wales -11 13 £800 +247.83% 14
Northern Ireland +8 8 - - 16
North East -39 8 £535 +174.36% 16
East Midlands -33 7 £206 -31.25% 38

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
1 115 (7.30%) SharePoint
2 59 (3.75%) Microsoft Exchange
3 56 (3.56%) Confluence
4 15 (0.95%) Skype for Business
5 5 (0.32%) OpenStack
6 3 (0.19%) CMS
7 2 (0.13%) CICS
8 1 (0.063%) Apache
8 1 (0.063%) Exchange Server 2010
8 1 (0.063%) HCL Notes
8 1 (0.063%) Mattermost
8 1 (0.063%) Oracle Collaboration Suite
8 1 (0.063%) Palantir Foundry
Applications
1 89 (5.65%) Microsoft Office
2 40 (2.54%) Microsoft Excel
3 17 (1.08%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 13 (0.83%) Microsoft Project
5 12 (0.76%) MS Visio
6 9 (0.57%) Chatbot
7 2 (0.13%) Spreadsheet
8 1 (0.063%) Maple
Business Applications
1 58 (3.68%) Remedy ITSM
2 11 (0.70%) SAP S/4HANA
3 7 (0.44%) Primavera
4 5 (0.32%) ContrOCC
4 5 (0.32%) Dynamics CRM
4 5 (0.32%) NEC Housing
4 5 (0.32%) Workday HCM
5 3 (0.19%) Oracle ERP
5 3 (0.19%) SAP CO
5 3 (0.19%) SAP FI
5 3 (0.19%) SAP FI/CO
5 3 (0.19%) SAP SM
6 2 (0.13%) Exchequer
6 2 (0.13%) Oracle Applications
6 2 (0.13%) Oracle EBS
6 2 (0.13%) Remedy AR System
6 2 (0.13%) SAP PS
6 2 (0.13%) Teamcenter
7 1 (0.063%) Salesforce CRM
7 1 (0.063%) SAP HR
Cloud Services
1 278 (17.65%) Azure
2 200 (12.70%) Microsoft 365
3 133 (8.44%) AWS
4 118 (7.49%) Entra ID
5 73 (4.63%) Power Platform
6 68 (4.32%) SaaS
7 55 (3.49%) OneDrive
8 36 (2.29%) Azure DevOps
9 33 (2.10%) GCP
10 20 (1.27%) GitHub
10 20 (1.27%) Microsoft Copilot
11 17 (1.08%) Azure Monitor
12 14 (0.89%) OCI
13 11 (0.70%) Google Workspace
14 10 (0.63%) Power Automate
14 10 (0.63%) Serverless
15 9 (0.57%) Azure Sentinel
15 9 (0.57%) IaaS
15 9 (0.57%) PaaS
16 8 (0.51%) Amazon S3
Communications & Networking
1 82 (5.21%) Firewall
2 68 (4.32%) DNS
3 55 (3.49%) VPN
4 49 (3.11%) DHCP
5 48 (3.05%) TCP/IP
6 44 (2.79%) WAN
7 42 (2.67%) Network Security
8 36 (2.29%) LAN
9 23 (1.46%) Wi-Fi
10 21 (1.33%) Wireless
11 17 (1.08%) SD-WAN
12 16 (1.02%) Skype
13 14 (0.89%) VLAN
14 13 (0.83%) BGP
15 11 (0.70%) Intrusion Detection
16 10 (0.63%) SSH
17 9 (0.57%) 5G
17 9 (0.57%) Internet
17 9 (0.57%) OSPF
17 9 (0.57%) SSL
Database & Business Intelligence
1 50 (3.17%) Power BI
2 32 (2.03%) SQL Server
3 19 (1.21%) Metadata
4 9 (0.57%) Oracle Database
5 8 (0.51%) SQL Server Integration Services
6 7 (0.44%) MySQL
6 7 (0.44%) Oracle Database 11g
6 7 (0.44%) PostgreSQL
7 6 (0.38%) Oracle Reports
7 6 (0.38%) SQL Server Reporting Services
8 5 (0.32%) Amazon RDS
8 5 (0.32%) MariaDB
8 5 (0.32%) Relational Database
8 5 (0.32%) SQL Server Analysis Services
9 3 (0.19%) Amazon Aurora
10 2 (0.13%) Amazon Redshift
10 2 (0.13%) Azure SQL Database
10 2 (0.13%) Looker
10 2 (0.13%) Microsoft Analysis Services
10 2 (0.13%) SQLite
Development Applications
1 147 (9.33%) JIRA
2 24 (1.52%) Git
3 23 (1.46%) Jenkins
4 19 (1.21%) Bitbucket
5 12 (0.76%) Atlassian Bamboo
6 8 (0.51%) GitLab
7 5 (0.32%) Browser DevTools
8 4 (0.25%) Maven
8 4 (0.25%) ScriptRunner
8 4 (0.25%) webpack
9 3 (0.19%) Fiddler
9 3 (0.19%) Gradle
9 3 (0.19%) Hudson
9 3 (0.19%) MLflow
9 3 (0.19%) Rational DOORS
10 2 (0.13%) Firebug
10 2 (0.13%) IntelliJ
10 2 (0.13%) Sonatype Nexus
11 1 (0.063%) Artifactory
11 1 (0.063%) MSI
General
1 617 (39.17%) Social Skills
2 258 (16.38%) Analytical Skills
2 258 (16.38%) Finance
3 194 (12.32%) Public Sector
4 76 (4.83%) Telecoms
5 62 (3.94%) Organisational Skills
6 60 (3.81%) Documentation Skills
7 56 (3.56%) Banking
8 53 (3.37%) Influencing Skills
9 46 (2.92%) Legal
10 35 (2.22%) Inclusion and Diversity
11 32 (2.03%) Aerospace
12 31 (1.97%) Military
13 22 (1.40%) Local Government
14 21 (1.33%) Presentation Skills
15 18 (1.14%) Retail
16 14 (0.89%) Manufacturing
16 14 (0.89%) Police
17 10 (0.63%) Financial Institution
17 10 (0.63%) Law
Job Titles
1 166 (10.54%) Architect
2 157 (9.97%) Analyst
3 152 (9.65%) Lead
4 119 (7.56%) Senior
5 114 (7.24%) Service Manager
6 110 (6.98%) Consultant
7 74 (4.70%) Project Manager
8 73 (4.63%) IT Manager
9 72 (4.57%) Support Engineer
10 62 (3.94%) Developer
11 58 (3.68%) Delivery Manager
12 52 (3.30%) IT Support
12 52 (3.30%) Solutions Architect
13 49 (3.11%) Service Analyst
14 43 (2.73%) Service Architect
15 40 (2.54%) ServiceNow Developer
16 37 (2.35%) Transition Manager
17 35 (2.22%) IT Engineer
17 35 (2.22%) ServiceNow Architect
18 34 (2.16%) IT Analyst
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 78 (4.95%) REST
2 50 (3.17%) Terraform
3 32 (2.03%) SOAP
4 19 (1.21%) HTML
5 18 (1.14%) CSS
5 18 (1.14%) XML
6 17 (1.08%) Web Services
7 14 (0.89%) Middleware
8 12 (0.76%) JSON
9 10 (0.63%) SAML
10 9 (0.57%) AngularJS
10 9 (0.57%) Elastic Stack
11 8 (0.51%) .NET
12 7 (0.44%) ARM Templates
13 6 (0.38%) OAuth
14 5 (0.32%) LDAP
14 5 (0.32%) Node.js
14 5 (0.32%) OpenID
15 4 (0.25%) Oracle Fusion
15 4 (0.25%) XSLT
Miscellaneous
1 169 (10.73%) Onboarding
2 124 (7.87%) CMDB
3 78 (4.95%) Management Information System
4 58 (3.68%) Product Ownership
5 56 (3.56%) Enterprise Software
6 48 (3.05%) Data Centre
7 33 (2.10%) PKI
8 30 (1.90%) Virtual Team
9 28 (1.78%) Data Protection Act
9 28 (1.78%) Operational Technology
10 24 (1.52%) Hybrid Cloud
11 23 (1.46%) Security Operations Centre
12 20 (1.27%) Cloud Native
13 18 (1.14%) Clustering
14 17 (1.08%) Self-Motivation
15 16 (1.02%) AI Agents
15 16 (1.02%) Analytical Mindset
16 14 (0.89%) NHS
16 14 (0.89%) Video Conferencing
17 13 (0.83%) Cyber Threat
Operating Systems
1 312 (19.81%) Windows
2 90 (5.71%) Windows Server
3 84 (5.33%) Linux
4 69 (4.38%) Windows 10
5 31 (1.97%) Apple iOS
6 29 (1.84%) Mac OS
7 22 (1.40%) Unix
8 20 (1.27%) Windows 7
9 17 (1.08%) Android
10 11 (0.70%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
11 6 (0.38%) Windows Server 2019
12 3 (0.19%) Windows Server 2012
12 3 (0.19%) Windows Server 2016
12 3 (0.19%) zOS
13 2 (0.13%) Solaris
13 2 (0.13%) Windows XP
14 1 (0.063%) Ubuntu
14 1 (0.063%) VMS
14 1 (0.063%) Windows Server 2008
Processes & Methodologies
1 830 (52.70%) ITIL
2 699 (44.38%) ITSM
3 481 (30.54%) Stakeholder Management
4 424 (26.92%) Continuous Improvement
5 335 (21.27%) Service Delivery
6 320 (20.32%) Agile
7 315 (20.00%) Problem-Solving
8 244 (15.49%) Stakeholder Engagement
9 243 (15.43%) Change Management
10 202 (12.83%) Roadmaps
11 184 (11.68%) Customer Service
12 165 (10.48%) Incident Management
13 159 (10.10%) DevOps
14 157 (9.97%) Cybersecurity
15 139 (8.83%) Decision-Making
15 139 (8.83%) Project Delivery
16 131 (8.32%) AI
17 127 (8.06%) Migration
18 117 (7.43%) Project Management
18 117 (7.43%) Risk Management
Programming Languages
1 138 (8.76%) PowerShell
2 86 (5.46%) Python
3 72 (4.57%) SQL
4 55 (3.49%) JavaScript
5 46 (2.92%) Bash
6 17 (1.08%) VBScript
7 15 (0.95%) Java
7 15 (0.95%) VB
8 11 (0.70%) PL/SQL
9 10 (0.63%) Bicep
10 9 (0.57%) C#
11 8 (0.51%) Groovy
12 7 (0.44%) Shell Script
13 6 (0.38%) C
14 5 (0.32%) Apex Code
14 5 (0.32%) Perl
14 5 (0.32%) T-SQL
15 4 (0.25%) TypeScript
16 3 (0.19%) Lua
17 2 (0.13%) Korn
Qualifications
1 585 (37.14%) Security Cleared
2 400 (25.40%) SC Cleared
3 153 (9.71%) Degree
4 150 (9.52%) DV Cleared
5 63 (4.00%) ITIL Certification
6 59 (3.75%) PMP
7 54 (3.43%) PMI Certification
8 50 (3.17%) BPSS Clearance
9 36 (2.29%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
9 36 (2.29%) Microsoft Certification
10 35 (2.22%) CISSP
11 32 (2.03%) CISM
12 29 (1.84%) Computer Science Degree
13 28 (1.78%) Cisco Certification
14 26 (1.65%) A+ Certification
15 17 (1.08%) Azure Certification
16 16 (1.02%) DBS Check
17 14 (0.89%) CCNA
18 11 (0.70%) AWS Certification
18 11 (0.70%) Master's Degree
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 132 (8.38%) SLA
2 56 (3.56%) QA
3 51 (3.24%) Data Quality
4 48 (3.05%) ISO/IEC 27001
5 32 (2.03%) GDPR
6 31 (1.97%) GRC
6 31 (1.97%) PMO
7 30 (1.90%) ISO/IEC 20000
7 30 (1.90%) NCSC
8 21 (1.33%) NIST
9 16 (1.02%) COBIT
9 16 (1.02%) ISO 9001
10 14 (0.89%) Cyber Essentials
11 12 (0.76%) Accessibility
12 9 (0.57%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
12 9 (0.57%) Disclosure Scotland
13 7 (0.44%) PCI DSS
14 6 (0.38%) ISO 31000
14 6 (0.38%) ISO/IEC 27005
15 5 (0.32%) JSP 440
System Software
1 177 (11.24%) Active Directory
2 83 (5.27%) VMware Infrastructure
3 33 (2.10%) Hyper-V
4 26 (1.65%) VMware ESXi
5 20 (1.27%) Docker
6 18 (1.14%) Virtual Desktop
6 18 (1.14%) VMware NSX
7 17 (1.08%) vSphere
8 16 (1.02%) BitLocker
9 13 (0.83%) vCloud
10 6 (0.38%) IAG
10 6 (0.38%) Virtual Servers
11 5 (0.32%) Citrix Hypervisor
11 5 (0.32%) Oracle RAC
11 5 (0.32%) Virtual Machines
11 5 (0.32%) XenApp
11 5 (0.32%) XenDesktop
12 4 (0.25%) Firmware
13 3 (0.19%) Microsoft Virtual Server
13 3 (0.19%) NFS
Systems Management
1 88 (5.59%) Microsoft Intune
2 75 (4.76%) SCCM
3 49 (3.11%) Ansible
4 23 (1.46%) Kubernetes
4 23 (1.46%) SCOM
5 22 (1.40%) Single Sign-On
6 16 (1.02%) vCenter Server
7 12 (0.76%) Jamf Pro
7 12 (0.76%) WSUS
8 8 (0.51%) Data Guard
8 8 (0.51%) Oracle RMAN
9 6 (0.38%) Grafana
10 5 (0.32%) NetBackup
11 4 (0.25%) PowerCLI
11 4 (0.25%) Progress Chef
11 4 (0.25%) Prometheus
11 4 (0.25%) Puppet
11 4 (0.25%) vMotion
12 3 (0.19%) Dell DRAC
12 3 (0.19%) Istio
Vendors
1 451 (28.63%) ServiceNow
2 372 (23.62%) Microsoft
3 114 (7.24%) VMware
4 63 (4.00%) Remedy
5 52 (3.30%) BMC
5 52 (3.30%) Cisco
6 47 (2.98%) Oracle
7 35 (2.22%) Atlassian
8 33 (2.10%) SAP
9 28 (1.78%) Dynatrace
10 26 (1.65%) Splunk
11 22 (1.40%) CyberArk
12 21 (1.33%) Apple
12 21 (1.33%) Citrix
12 21 (1.33%) Salesforce
13 19 (1.21%) IBM
14 18 (1.14%) Google
14 18 (1.14%) IFS
14 18 (1.14%) SolarWinds
15 14 (0.89%) Zscaler