Market Update: Tech & Change Hot Roles (w/c 02/03)

The first week of March saw a noticeable decline in hiring activity, with volumes falling to their lowest level since mid-January. This quieter week follows an interesting pattern: the week immediately after a break (whether half-term or Christmas) tends to see a significant surge in roles, likely a backlog effect, followed by a considerable drop-off the week after. This was evident in the 71 roles that hit the market w/c 23/02, followed by this week's sharper decline. For candidates, this suggests the week immediately following a break may be the optimal time to apply.

📊 Volume & Mix

• 35 roles total this week

• Permanent: ~23

• Interim: ~12

Channel: Agency roles accounted for approximately 65% of the total. Direct hires were concentrated in public sector (Bridgend County Borough Council, Natural England), higher education (University of Gloucestershire, Middlesex University), housing associations, charities (Cancer Research UK, UCAS), and corporate employers.

Down from 71 roles in the previous week.

💡 Key Trends This Week

• Higher education remained notably active despite lower overall volumes, with Director of Digital (University of Gloucestershire, Middlesex University), Programme Director/Digital Portfolio Director, and roles appearing across the sector.

• Public sector and environment showed sustained activity, with Director of Digital and Data (Natural England), Head of Transformation and Digital (Bridgend County Borough Council), and Director of Corporate Services (housing association) roles appearing.

• Interim private equity activity continued with Interim Chief Transformation Officer, AI Transformation Operating Partner, and Interim CTO positions across UK and London-based opportunities.

• Transformation leadership appeared across multiple contexts, including Customer Experience Transformation Director, Head of IT & Digital Transformation, Head of Innovation and Digital Transformation, and interim transformation consultant roles in healthcare, automotive, and transport sectors.

📅 Month-on-Month (rolling view)

• January 2026 (w/c 06/01): 64 roles; permanent hiring dominant; IT Director and Head of IT most common titles; housing and charity sectors notably active.

• January 2026 (w/c 13/01): 54 roles; interim activity up, particularly in private equity; programme and carve-out work more visible; public sector presence reduced.

• January 2026 (w/c 19/01): 37 roles; volumes down by a third; Head-level roles most frequent; change leadership and security roles notable; interim proportion increased.

• January 2026 (w/c 26/01): 57 roles; volumes up; Head of Digital most common; public sector and healthcare more visible; permanent roles returned to majority.

• February 2026 (w/c 02/02): 54 roles; stable volumes; Programme Director most frequent; public sector and healthcare notably strong; engineering leadership prominent.

• February 2026 (w/c 09/02): 65 roles; highest volumes since early January; CISO and security leadership prominent; higher education notably active; interim demand sustained.

• February 2026 (w/c 16/02): 51 roles; volumes down (half-term week); public sector notably strong; data and analytics leadership more visible; Programme Director roles remained frequent.

• February 2026 (w/c 23/02): 71 roles; strong rebound post-half-term; Head-level roles dominant across disciplines; CIO appointments notably frequent; fractional and cyber security leadership prominent.

• March 2026 (w/c 02/03): 35 roles; notably quieter (post-surge week); cyber security and AI specialisms prominent; higher education sustained activity; pattern observed: week following a break surges, subsequent week drops.