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

6 months to
22 Jul 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 100 81 85
Rank change year-on-year -19 +4 -4
Contract jobs citing Service Management 1,318 942 1,022
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 2.50% 2.89% 2.47%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 2.94% 3.20% 2.90%
Number of daily rates quoted 852 569 703
10th Percentile £250 £209 £254
25th Percentile £402 £350 £414
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £520 £497 £525
Median % change year-on-year +4.63% -5.33% +0.96%
75th Percentile £603 £588 £608
90th Percentile £700 £688 £688
UK excluding London median daily rate £510 £496 £525
% change year-on-year +2.72% -5.52% +5.00%
Number of hourly rates quoted 85 68 19
10th Percentile £15.00 - £16.47
25th Percentile £20.31 £12.62 £18.75
Median hourly rate £60.00 £20.66 £27.00
Median % change year-on-year +190.42% -23.48% -35.52%
75th Percentile £85.25 £23.92 £48.75
90th Percentile £96.50 £55.05 £54.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £60.00 £19.74 £27.00
% change year-on-year +203.95% -26.89% +26.70%

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 44,825 29,480 35,296
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 84.99% 90.35% 85.43%
Number of daily rates quoted 27,802 18,519 22,641
10th Percentile £325 £300 £306
25th Percentile £419 £404 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £520 £500 £525
Median % change year-on-year +4.00% -4.76% -4.11%
75th Percentile £625 £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 2,641 1,572 2,187
10th Percentile £14.82 £14.20 £13.06
25th Percentile £20.00 £17.44 £16.86
Median hourly rate £43.96 £25.15 £38.12
Median % change year-on-year +74.79% -34.02% -10.31%
75th Percentile £68.50 £50.75 £62.50
90th Percentile £83.00 £68.75 £73.60
UK excluding London median hourly rate £45.00 £24.34 £40.00
% change year-on-year +84.88% -39.15% -1.95%

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 22 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 22 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 22 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 -16 1,149 £520 +4.00% 464
UK excluding London -19 791 £510 +2.72% 344
London +9 403 £525 +5.00% 163
Work from Home +11 388 £510 +2.00% 209
South East +31 268 £538 +19.44% 117
North of England -32 200 £456 -0.65% 101
South West -31 125 £500 -9.09% 42
North West -36 111 £490 -0.46% 53
Midlands -42 89 £495 +4.21% 46
Yorkshire -19 83 £443 +18.13% 37
West Midlands -42 79 £500 - 30
Scotland -23 58 £500 - 12
East of England -22 38 £525 -4.55% 26
Wales -9 13 £800 +188.29% 9
East Midlands -16 10 £350 +16.67% 16
Northern Ireland +10 7 - - 3
North East -36 6 £440 +125.64% 13

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 88 (6.68%) SharePoint
2 54 (4.10%) Confluence
3 37 (2.81%) Microsoft Exchange
4 7 (0.53%) Skype for Business
5 6 (0.46%) Mattermost
6 5 (0.38%) OpenStack
7 3 (0.23%) CMS
7 3 (0.23%) IIS
8 2 (0.15%) Apache
9 1 (0.076%) CICS
9 1 (0.076%) JBoss
9 1 (0.076%) LiveCycle
9 1 (0.076%) Oracle Collaboration Suite
9 1 (0.076%) Palantir Foundry
Applications
1 61 (4.63%) Microsoft Office
2 28 (2.12%) Microsoft Excel
3 14 (1.06%) Microsoft PowerPoint
3 14 (1.06%) MS Visio
4 10 (0.76%) Microsoft Project
5 7 (0.53%) Chatbot
6 2 (0.15%) PTC Creo
6 2 (0.15%) Spreadsheet
7 1 (0.076%) Camtasia
7 1 (0.076%) Maple
Business Applications
1 55 (4.17%) Remedy ITSM
2 15 (1.14%) SAP S/4HANA
3 7 (0.53%) Primavera
4 6 (0.46%) Teamcenter
5 5 (0.38%) ContrOCC
6 4 (0.30%) SAP SM
7 3 (0.23%) Oracle ERP
7 3 (0.23%) SAP CO
7 3 (0.23%) SAP FI
7 3 (0.23%) SAP FI/CO
8 2 (0.15%) Oracle Applications
8 2 (0.15%) SAP PS
9 1 (0.076%) Dynamics NAV
9 1 (0.076%) Misys Equation
9 1 (0.076%) Misys Midas
9 1 (0.076%) NetSuite
9 1 (0.076%) SAP HR
9 1 (0.076%) SAP Payroll
9 1 (0.076%) SAP PM
Cloud Services
1 217 (16.46%) Azure
2 148 (11.23%) Microsoft 365
3 88 (6.68%) AWS
4 83 (6.30%) Entra ID
5 63 (4.78%) Power Platform
6 53 (4.02%) SaaS
7 43 (3.26%) OneDrive
8 37 (2.81%) Azure DevOps
9 28 (2.12%) GCP
10 18 (1.37%) GitHub
11 17 (1.29%) PaaS
12 15 (1.14%) OCI
13 14 (1.06%) Azure Monitor
14 13 (0.99%) Microsoft Copilot
15 11 (0.83%) Amazon CloudWatch
15 11 (0.83%) AWS Lambda
15 11 (0.83%) IaaS
15 11 (0.83%) Serverless
16 9 (0.68%) Amazon S3
17 8 (0.61%) Amazon EC2
Communications & Networking
1 76 (5.77%) Firewall
2 64 (4.86%) DNS
3 42 (3.19%) TCP/IP
3 42 (3.19%) VPN
4 39 (2.96%) WAN
5 38 (2.88%) LAN
6 37 (2.81%) DHCP
7 36 (2.73%) Network Security
8 20 (1.52%) BGP
9 19 (1.44%) Wireless
10 16 (1.21%) OSPF
11 14 (1.06%) Wi-Fi
12 12 (0.91%) BIG-IP
12 12 (0.91%) Cisco ISE
12 12 (0.91%) SD-WAN
12 12 (0.91%) VXLAN
13 11 (0.83%) VLAN
14 10 (0.76%) Junos
15 9 (0.68%) Ethernet VPN
15 9 (0.68%) SSH
Database & Business Intelligence
1 51 (3.87%) Power BI
2 22 (1.67%) SQL Server
3 8 (0.61%) Oracle Database
3 8 (0.61%) PostgreSQL
4 6 (0.46%) Oracle Database 11g
4 6 (0.46%) Oracle Reports
4 6 (0.46%) Relational Database
4 6 (0.46%) SQL Server Reporting Services
5 5 (0.38%) MySQL
5 5 (0.38%) SQL Server Analysis Services
5 5 (0.38%) SQL Server Integration Services
6 3 (0.23%) Amazon RDS
6 3 (0.23%) Azure SQL Database
6 3 (0.23%) MariaDB
7 2 (0.15%) Amazon Redshift
7 2 (0.15%) Elasticsearch
7 2 (0.15%) Microsoft Analysis Services
7 2 (0.15%) SQLite
8 1 (0.076%) Data Warehouse
8 1 (0.076%) Db2
Development Applications
1 145 (11.00%) JIRA
2 25 (1.90%) Git
3 24 (1.82%) Jenkins
4 13 (0.99%) Bitbucket
5 12 (0.91%) GitLab
6 5 (0.38%) Atlassian Bamboo
6 5 (0.38%) Browser DevTools
7 4 (0.30%) MLflow
7 4 (0.30%) Rational DOORS
7 4 (0.30%) ScriptRunner
8 3 (0.23%) Fiddler
8 3 (0.23%) Hudson
8 3 (0.23%) IntelliJ
9 2 (0.15%) Firebug
9 2 (0.15%) Maven
9 2 (0.15%) Selenium
9 2 (0.15%) Sonatype Nexus
9 2 (0.15%) webpack
10 1 (0.076%) IBM UrbanCode
10 1 (0.076%) TestRail
General
1 474 (35.96%) Social Skills
2 204 (15.48%) Finance
3 198 (15.02%) Analytical Skills
4 146 (11.08%) Public Sector
5 62 (4.70%) Telecoms
6 52 (3.95%) Legal
7 42 (3.19%) Banking
8 41 (3.11%) Influencing Skills
9 40 (3.03%) Documentation Skills
10 35 (2.66%) Organisational Skills
11 27 (2.05%) Inclusion and Diversity
11 27 (2.05%) Military
12 19 (1.44%) Local Government
13 17 (1.29%) Aerospace
14 15 (1.14%) Presentation Skills
15 14 (1.06%) Retail
16 13 (0.99%) Financial Institution
17 12 (0.91%) Police
18 9 (0.68%) Manufacturing
19 7 (0.53%) Investment Banking
Job Titles
1 155 (11.76%) Analyst
2 121 (9.18%) Lead
3 119 (9.03%) Senior
4 116 (8.80%) Architect
5 113 (8.57%) Service Manager
6 90 (6.83%) Consultant
7 77 (5.84%) IT Manager
8 62 (4.70%) Project Manager
9 59 (4.48%) Service Analyst
10 54 (4.10%) Developer
11 45 (3.41%) Delivery Manager
12 41 (3.11%) Support Engineer
13 35 (2.66%) IT Analyst
13 35 (2.66%) Network Engineer
14 34 (2.58%) ServiceNow Developer
15 33 (2.50%) Solutions Architect
16 32 (2.43%) Business Analyst
17 31 (2.35%) Administrator
18 30 (2.28%) Infrastructure Engineer
18 30 (2.28%) ServiceNow Architect
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 66 (5.01%) REST
2 32 (2.43%) SOAP
3 17 (1.29%) HTML
4 16 (1.21%) CSS
5 11 (0.83%) Web Services
6 10 (0.76%) JSON
6 10 (0.76%) Middleware
6 10 (0.76%) XML
7 9 (0.68%) 802.1X
7 9 (0.68%) OAuth
8 7 (0.53%) SAML
9 6 (0.46%) AngularJS
9 6 (0.46%) ARM Templates
9 6 (0.46%) Elastic Stack
10 5 (0.38%) Lightning Web Components
10 5 (0.38%) Microsoft Graph
10 5 (0.38%) OpenID
10 5 (0.38%) Oracle Fusion
11 4 (0.30%) Bootstrap
11 4 (0.30%) XMPP
Miscellaneous
1 129 (9.79%) Onboarding
2 109 (8.27%) CMDB
3 65 (4.93%) Product Ownership
4 50 (3.79%) Management Information System
5 43 (3.26%) Data Centre
6 32 (2.43%) Enterprise Software
6 32 (2.43%) PKI
6 32 (2.43%) Virtual Team
7 24 (1.82%) Clustering
7 24 (1.82%) Operational Technology
8 19 (1.44%) Data Protection Act
9 14 (1.06%) Analytical Mindset
9 14 (1.06%) Self-Motivation
10 13 (0.99%) Cloud Native
10 13 (0.99%) Hybrid Cloud
11 12 (0.91%) AI Agents
11 12 (0.91%) Driving Licence
12 11 (0.83%) Greenfield Project
12 11 (0.83%) Video Conferencing
13 10 (0.76%) Security Operations Centre
Operating Systems
1 236 (17.91%) Windows
2 64 (4.86%) Linux
3 50 (3.79%) Windows Server
4 40 (3.03%) Windows 10
5 24 (1.82%) Mac OS
6 18 (1.37%) Unix
7 16 (1.21%) Apple iOS
8 12 (0.91%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
9 10 (0.76%) Android
9 10 (0.76%) Windows 7
10 5 (0.38%) Windows Server 2019
11 4 (0.30%) VMS
12 3 (0.23%) Ubuntu
13 2 (0.15%) Solaris
13 2 (0.15%) Windows Server 2012
13 2 (0.15%) Windows Server 2016
13 2 (0.15%) Windows XP
13 2 (0.15%) zOS
14 1 (0.076%) Rocky
14 1 (0.076%) Windows Server 2008
Processes & Methodologies
1 709 (53.79%) ITIL
2 590 (44.76%) ITSM
3 340 (25.80%) Stakeholder Management
4 334 (25.34%) Continuous Improvement
5 283 (21.47%) Service Delivery
6 274 (20.79%) Agile
7 263 (19.95%) Problem-Solving
8 207 (15.71%) Change Management
9 192 (14.57%) Stakeholder Engagement
10 151 (11.46%) DevOps
11 146 (11.08%) Customer Service
12 134 (10.17%) Incident Management
13 124 (9.41%) Roadmaps
14 109 (8.27%) Project Delivery
15 104 (7.89%) Problem Management
16 99 (7.51%) Cybersecurity
17 96 (7.28%) Migration
18 94 (7.13%) Project Management
19 92 (6.98%) Service Design
20 90 (6.83%) Decision-Making
Programming Languages
1 102 (7.74%) PowerShell
2 78 (5.92%) Python
3 64 (4.86%) SQL
4 55 (4.17%) JavaScript
5 36 (2.73%) Bash
6 19 (1.44%) Java
7 11 (0.83%) PL/SQL
8 7 (0.53%) Bicep
8 7 (0.53%) C
8 7 (0.53%) Groovy
8 7 (0.53%) VB
8 7 (0.53%) VBScript
9 6 (0.46%) Apex Code
9 6 (0.46%) Perl
10 5 (0.38%) C#
10 5 (0.38%) Kotlin
10 5 (0.38%) Shell Script
10 5 (0.38%) T-SQL
11 3 (0.23%) Lua
11 3 (0.23%) SOQL
Qualifications
1 475 (36.04%) Security Cleared
2 309 (23.44%) SC Cleared
3 155 (11.76%) DV Cleared
4 121 (9.18%) Degree
5 65 (4.93%) ITIL Certification
6 46 (3.49%) PMP
7 43 (3.26%) PMI Certification
8 33 (2.50%) BPSS Clearance
9 30 (2.28%) Cisco Certification
10 25 (1.90%) Computer Science Degree
11 22 (1.67%) Microsoft Certification
12 19 (1.44%) A+ Certification
13 18 (1.37%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
14 17 (1.29%) CISM
14 17 (1.29%) CISSP
15 15 (1.14%) CCNA
16 14 (1.06%) Master's Degree
17 12 (0.91%) DBS Check
18 11 (0.83%) CCNP
19 10 (0.76%) Network+ Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 100 (7.59%) SLA
2 45 (3.41%) ISO/IEC 27001
3 39 (2.96%) QA
4 35 (2.66%) Data Quality
5 30 (2.28%) PMO
6 28 (2.12%) ISO/IEC 20000
7 25 (1.90%) GRC
8 24 (1.82%) GDPR
8 24 (1.82%) NCSC
9 20 (1.52%) COBIT
10 16 (1.21%) ISO 9001
11 15 (1.14%) NIST
12 10 (0.76%) Cyber Essentials
13 8 (0.61%) Accessibility
13 8 (0.61%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
13 8 (0.61%) Disclosure Scotland
14 7 (0.53%) Government Security Classifications
14 7 (0.53%) PCI DSS
15 6 (0.46%) ISO 31000
15 6 (0.46%) ISO/IEC 27005
System Software
1 144 (10.93%) Active Directory
2 52 (3.95%) VMware Infrastructure
3 20 (1.52%) VMware ESXi
4 16 (1.21%) Docker
5 13 (0.99%) VMware NSX
6 12 (0.91%) Virtual Desktop
7 10 (0.76%) Hyper-V
7 10 (0.76%) vSphere
8 8 (0.61%) BitLocker
8 8 (0.61%) vCloud
9 6 (0.46%) IAG
10 5 (0.38%) NFS
10 5 (0.38%) Virtual Machines
11 4 (0.30%) Oracle RAC
12 3 (0.23%) Firmware
13 2 (0.15%) GPFS
13 2 (0.15%) KVM
14 1 (0.076%) iptables
14 1 (0.076%) Samba
14 1 (0.076%) Slurm Workload Manager
Systems Management
1 64 (4.86%) Microsoft Intune
2 55 (4.17%) SCCM
3 40 (3.03%) Terraform
4 39 (2.96%) Ansible
5 18 (1.37%) Kubernetes
6 15 (1.14%) Jamf Pro
6 15 (1.14%) Single Sign-On
7 13 (0.99%) SCOM
8 12 (0.91%) vCenter Server
9 8 (0.61%) FortiGate
10 7 (0.53%) Data Guard
10 7 (0.53%) Oracle RMAN
10 7 (0.53%) Puppet
11 6 (0.46%) Grafana
11 6 (0.46%) WSUS
12 5 (0.38%) Progress Chef
12 5 (0.38%) vMotion
13 4 (0.30%) PowerCLI
13 4 (0.30%) Prometheus
14 3 (0.23%) Dell DRAC
Vendors
1 385 (29.21%) ServiceNow
2 252 (19.12%) Microsoft
3 74 (5.61%) VMware
4 59 (4.48%) Remedy
5 50 (3.79%) Cisco
6 36 (2.73%) Oracle
7 32 (2.43%) BMC
7 32 (2.43%) SAP
8 27 (2.05%) Atlassian
9 24 (1.82%) Splunk
10 22 (1.67%) IFS
11 19 (1.44%) Salesforce
11 19 (1.44%) SolarWinds
12 18 (1.37%) Zscaler
13 17 (1.29%) Citrix
14 16 (1.21%) Juniper
15 15 (1.14%) IBM
16 14 (1.06%) Dynatrace
16 14 (1.06%) HP
17 13 (0.99%) F5