GRC Lead Job Trends
Governance, Risk, and Compliance Lead
UK
The median Governance, Risk, and Compliance Lead salary in the UK is £68,750 per year, according to job vacancies posted during the 6 months leading to 13 November 2026.
The table below compares current salary benchmarking and summary statistics with the previous two years.
| 6 months to 13 Nov 2026 |
Same period 2025 | Same period 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | 802 | 656 | 750 |
| Rank change year-on-year | -146 | +94 | -38 |
| Permanent GRC Lead jobs | 21 | 2 | 1 |
| As % of all permanent jobs in the UK | 0.017% | 0.004% | 0.001% |
| As % of the Job Titles category | 0.019% | 0.004% | 0.002% |
| Number of salaries quoted | 10 | 2 | 1 |
| 10th Percentile | £52,500 | £67,125 | - |
| 25th Percentile | £60,625 | £75,938 | - |
| Median annual salary (50th Percentile) | £68,750 | £91,250 | £65,000 |
| Median % change year-on-year | -24.66% | +40.38% | -35.00% |
| 75th Percentile | £90,313 | £105,938 | - |
| 90th Percentile | £95,500 | £114,375 | - |
| UK excluding London median annual salary | £62,500 | £62,500 | £65,000 |
| % change year-on-year | - | -3.85% | - |
All Permanent IT Job Roles
UK
For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all permanent IT job adverts matching a recognised job title. The table also shows what proportion of all permanent IT job adverts they make up.
| 6 months to 13 Nov 2026 |
Same period 2025 | Same period 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Permanent job adverts in the UK matching a recognised job title | 113,313 | 47,341 | 64,128 |
| % of permanent job adverts matching a recognised job title | 91.79% | 89.91% | 94.88% |
| Number of salaries quoted | 74,793 | 29,269 | 36,014 |
| 10th Percentile | £31,250 | £28,250 | £31,250 |
| 25th Percentile | £41,250 | £35,000 | £42,500 |
| Median annual salary (50th Percentile) | £60,000 | £52,500 | £57,500 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +14.29% | -8.70% | -4.17% |
| 75th Percentile | £76,500 | £73,750 | £75,000 |
| 90th Percentile | £98,000 | £92,500 | £95,000 |
| UK excluding London median annual salary | £55,000 | £46,500 | £50,055 |
| % change year-on-year | +18.28% | -7.10% | -4.66% |
GRC Lead Job Vacancy Trend
Historical trend showing the proportion of permanent GRC Lead job postings relative to all permanent IT jobs advertised.
GRC Lead Salary Trend
Salary distribution trend for GRC Lead job vacancies in the UK.
GRC Lead Salary Histogram
Salary distribution for GRC Lead jobs over the 6 months to 13 November 2026.
GRC Lead Top 9 Job Locations
The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median salaries quoted in GRC Lead jobs within the UK over the 6 months to 13 November 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 |
Job Ads Past 6 Months |
Median Salary Past 6 Months |
Median Salary % Change on Same Period Last Year |
Live Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England | -161 | 15 | £68,750 | -24.66% | 1 |
| UK excluding London | -153 | 12 | £62,500 | - | |
| North of England | - | 7 | £57,500 | - | |
| London | -69 | 5 | £95,000 | -20.83% | 1 |
| Yorkshire | - | 5 | £55,000 | - | |
| Work from Home | - | 4 | £57,500 | - | 1 |
| Scotland | - | 3 | - | - | |
| North West | - | 2 | £72,500 | - | |
| East of England | - | 2 | £65,000 | - |
GRC Lead Skill Set Top 30 Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities
For the 6 months to 13 November 2026, GRC Lead job ads cited 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 GRC Lead job ads.
| Rank | Skill | Share | Job Ads |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GRC | 90.5% | 19 |
| 2 | Information Security | 66.7% | 14 |
| 2 | ISO/IEC 27001 | 66.7% | 14 |
| 2 | Risk Management | 66.7% | 14 |
| 5 | Cybersecurity | 57.1% | 12 |
| 6 | ISMS | 52.4% | 11 |
| 7 | Information Security Governance | 33.3% | 7 |
| 7 | NIST | 33.3% | 7 |
| 9 | Cyber Essentials | 28.6% | 6 |
| 10 | Risk Assessment | 23.8% | 5 |
| 11 | CISSP | 19.0% | 4 |
| 11 | Continuous Improvement | 19.0% | 4 |
| 11 | Culture Change | 19.0% | 4 |
| 11 | Cyber Essentials PLUS | 19.0% | 4 |
| 11 | Information Security Management | 19.0% | 4 |
| 11 | ISO 27001 Lead Implementer | 19.0% | 4 |
| 11 | ISO 31000 | 19.0% | 4 |
| 11 | ISO/IEC 27002 (supersedes ISO/IEC 17799) | 19.0% | 4 |
| 11 | ISO/IEC 27005 | 19.0% | 4 |
| 11 | Risk Register | 19.0% | 4 |
| 11 | Security Management | 19.0% | 4 |
| 11 | Vulnerability Management | 19.0% | 4 |
| 23 | Business Continuity | 14.3% | 3 |
| 23 | CISM | 14.3% | 3 |
| 23 | CRISC | 14.3% | 3 |
| 23 | Disaster Recovery | 14.3% | 3 |
| 23 | Incident Response | 14.3% | 3 |
| 23 | SaaS | 14.3% | 3 |
| 23 | Stakeholder Management | 14.3% | 3 |
| 23 | Vulnerability Remediation | 14.3% | 3 |
GRC Lead Skill Set Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities by Category
The table below expands on the one above by listing co-occurrences one category at a time. It covers the same employment type, locality and period, with up to 20 co-occurrences in each category.
Job Titles
| Rank | Job Title | Share | Job Ads |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GRC Consultant | 14.3% | 3 |
| 1 | Lead Consultant | 14.3% | 3 |