IT Manager Job Trends in the Thames Valley

IT Manager
South East > Thames Valley

The median IT Manager salary in the Thames Valley is £49,000 per year, according to job vacancies posted during the 6 months leading to 6 January 2026.

The table below compares current salary benchmarking and summary statistics with the previous two years.

6 months to
6 Jan 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 126 138 115
Rank change year-on-year +12 -23 +27
Permanent jobs requiring an IT Manager 46 44 73
As % of all permanent jobs in the Thames Valley 1.15% 1.28% 1.99%
As % of the Job Titles category 1.24% 1.46% 2.10%
Number of salaries quoted 42 26 64
10th Percentile £35,000 £50,000 £47,500
25th Percentile £45,000 £57,500 £51,250
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £49,000 £65,000 £62,500
Median % change year-on-year -24.62% +4.00% -3.85%
75th Percentile £67,500 £71,875 £80,000
90th Percentile £75,000 £73,125 £105,000
South East median annual salary £49,000 £57,500 £57,750
% change year-on-year -14.78% -0.43% -3.75%

All Permanent IT Job Roles
Thames Valley

For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all permanent IT job vacancies in the Thames Valley. Most job vacancies include a discernible job title that can be normalized. As such, the figures in the second row provide an indication of the number of permanent jobs in our overall sample.

Permanent vacancies in the Thames Valley with a recognized job title 3,709 3,008 3,480
% of permanent jobs with a recognized job title 92.36% 87.29% 94.82%
Number of salaries quoted 2,136 1,518 2,484
10th Percentile £30,000 £35,000 £30,500
25th Percentile £35,000 £43,750 £38,552
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £49,000 £60,000 £54,000
Median % change year-on-year -18.33% +11.11% -1.82%
75th Percentile £65,000 £75,000 £67,500
90th Percentile £80,000 £90,000 £83,200
South East median annual salary £50,000 £56,000 £52,500
% change year-on-year -10.71% +6.67% -4.55%

IT Manager
Job Vacancy Trend in the Thames Valley

Historical trend showing the proportion of permanent IT job postings featuring 'IT Manager' in the job title relative to all permanent IT jobs advertised in the Thames Valley.

IT Manager job vacancy trend in the Thames Valley

IT Manager
Salary Trend in the Thames Valley

Salary distribution trend for IT Manager job vacancies in the Thames Valley.

Salary distribution trend for IT Manager job vacancies in the Thames Valley

IT Manager
Salary Histogram in the Thames Valley

Salary distribution for jobs citing IT Manager in the Thames Valley over the 6 months to 6 January 2026.

Salary histogram for IT Manager in the Thames Valley

IT Manager
Job Locations in the Thames Valley

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median salaries quoted in IT jobs citing IT Manager within the Thames Valley region over the 6 months to 6 January 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
Permanent
IT Job Ads
Median Salary
Past 6 Months
Median Salary
% Change
on Same Period
Last Year
Live
Jobs
Berkshire +14 20 £49,000 -14.78% 5
Buckinghamshire +6 15 £60,000 - 7
Oxfordshire +6 11 £45,000 -35.71%
IT Manager
South East

IT Manager Skill Set
Top 30 Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the Thames Valley

For the 6 months to 6 January 2026, IT Manager job roles required the following skills and capabilities in order of popularity. The figures indicate the absolute number of co-occurrences and as a proportion of all permanent job ads across the Thames Valley region featuring IT Manager in the job title.

1 17 (36.96%) Cybersecurity
1 17 (36.96%) Microsoft
2 14 (30.43%) Microsoft 365
3 11 (23.91%) Project Management
4 8 (17.39%) Azure
5 7 (15.22%) Active Directory
5 7 (15.22%) Firewall
5 7 (15.22%) GDPR
5 7 (15.22%) Mentoring
5 7 (15.22%) Microsoft Intune
5 7 (15.22%) Stakeholder Management
5 7 (15.22%) VMware
5 7 (15.22%) Wi-Fi
5 7 (15.22%) Windows
5 7 (15.22%) Windows Server
6 6 (13.04%) CRM
7 4 (8.70%) Change Management
7 4 (8.70%) Contract Management
7 4 (8.70%) Decision-Making
7 4 (8.70%) Risk Management
7 4 (8.70%) Roadmaps
7 4 (8.70%) SaaS
7 4 (8.70%) Strategic Thinking
8 3 (6.52%) Agile
8 3 (6.52%) Continuous Improvement
8 3 (6.52%) Contract Negotiation
8 3 (6.52%) Customer Service
8 3 (6.52%) E-Procurement
8 3 (6.52%) Information Security
8 3 (6.52%) ISO/IEC 27001

IT Manager Skill Set
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the Thames Valley 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:

Applications
1 2 (4.35%) Microsoft Office
1 2 (4.35%) Microsoft Project
Cloud Services
1 14 (30.43%) Microsoft 365
2 8 (17.39%) Azure
3 4 (8.70%) SaaS
Communications & Networking
1 7 (15.22%) Firewall
1 7 (15.22%) Wi-Fi
General
1 9 (19.57%) Telecoms
2 6 (13.04%) Finance
2 6 (13.04%) Legal
3 4 (8.70%) Social Skills
4 3 (6.52%) Analytical Skills
5 2 (4.35%) Aerospace
5 2 (4.35%) Manufacturing
5 2 (4.35%) Retail
6 1 (2.17%) Inclusion and Diversity
6 1 (2.17%) Organisational Skills
Miscellaneous
1 4 (8.70%) Onboarding
2 2 (4.35%) Cyber Security Posture
2 2 (4.35%) Enterprise Software
2 2 (4.35%) FMCG
3 1 (2.17%) Analytical Mindset
3 1 (2.17%) Management Information System
3 1 (2.17%) Mobile App
Operating Systems
1 7 (15.22%) Windows
1 7 (15.22%) Windows Server
Processes & Methodologies
1 17 (36.96%) Cybersecurity
2 11 (23.91%) Project Management
3 7 (15.22%) Mentoring
3 7 (15.22%) Stakeholder Management
4 6 (13.04%) CRM
5 4 (8.70%) Change Management
5 4 (8.70%) Contract Management
5 4 (8.70%) Decision-Making
5 4 (8.70%) Risk Management
5 4 (8.70%) Roadmaps
5 4 (8.70%) Strategic Thinking
6 3 (6.52%) Agile
6 3 (6.52%) Contract Negotiation
6 3 (6.52%) Customer Service
6 3 (6.52%) E-Procurement
6 3 (6.52%) Information Security
6 3 (6.52%) ITIL
6 3 (6.52%) Pricing Strategy
6 3 (6.52%) Procure-to-Pay
6 3 (6.52%) Software Licensing
Qualifications
1 3 (6.52%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
2 1 (2.17%) Degree
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 7 (15.22%) GDPR
2 3 (6.52%) ISO/IEC 27001
3 1 (2.17%) Cyber Essentials
3 1 (2.17%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
3 1 (2.17%) GRC
System Software
1 7 (15.22%) Active Directory
Systems Management
1 7 (15.22%) Microsoft Intune
Vendors
1 17 (36.96%) Microsoft
2 7 (15.22%) VMware
3 2 (4.35%) Concur
3 2 (4.35%) Salesforce
3 2 (4.35%) SAP
4 1 (2.17%) HubSpot
4 1 (2.17%) ServiceNow