🚨 Market Update: Tech & Change Hot Roles (w/c 11/05)

The second week of May delivered a marked step-up in activity, with 71 roles representing the strongest week since March and a substantial increase on 53 the previous week. Permanent hiring dominated, with interim demand notably concentrated in ERP and transformation leadership. The week was characterised by breadth across sectors - housing, public sector, financial services, insurance, education, and technology all active simultaneously.

📊 Volume & Mix

71 roles total this week
Permanent: ~48
Interim: ~23

Channel: Agency-led ~70%. Direct appointments across AXA UK, Barts Health NHS Trust, Aston Martin F1 Team, City of London Corporation, Westminster City Council, Lifeways Group, PZ Cussons, and the UK Home Office. Up significantly from 53 last week - the largest week-on-week increase since February.

💡 Key Trends

ERP programme leadership was unusually prominent in the interim market, with five separate mandates visible across Oracle Fusion, SAP S/4HANA, and Workday - spanning higher education, international business, and consulting environments.
Interim transformation leadership featured heavily, with three Chief Transformation Officer mandates across PE-backed healthcare, PE-backed SaaS, and a pre-IPO environment - all requiring MBB consulting backgrounds and immediate availability.
Public sector and central government hiring was notably active, with Director General of Digital and Infrastructure at the Department for Education, CTO at the UK Home Office, Head of PMO roles for FCDO and a government department, and Deputy Director at the Money and Pensions Service all appearing in the same week.
Data and AI leadership was broad across both markets, with Director of Data & AI, Head of Data & AI, Head of AI & Emerging Technology, Interim Director of Data, and Head of Data all visible across sectors including social care, reinsurance, e-commerce, and financial services.
Social housing was notably active with three appointments - Director of IT and Data at Delta Housing, Executive Director of People, Technology & Transformation at Saxon Weald, and Board Member roles at Housing 21 - continuing a recurring theme across recent weeks.

📅 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 up in private equity; programme and carve-out work more visible; public sector presence reduced.
January 2026 (w/c 19/01): 37 roles; quietest week of the year; volumes down sharply; limited sector breadth.
January 2026 (w/c 26/01): 57 roles; strong rebound; transformation and IT director roles dominant; broader sector mix returning.
February 2026 (w/c 02/02): 54 roles; stable; permanent hiring sustained; ERP and programme roles more visible.
February 2026 (w/c 09/02): 65 roles; CISO and security leadership prominent; higher education notably active; interim demand sustained.
February 2026 (w/c 16/02): 51 roles; slight dip; IT operations and infrastructure more visible; permanent roles dominant.
February 2026 (w/c 23/02): 71 roles; strong rebound; Head-level roles dominant across disciplines; CIO appointments notably frequent.
March 2026 (w/c 02/03): 35 roles; sharp drop; quieter week; limited breadth.
March 2026 (w/c 09/03): 77 roles; highest weekly total recorded; AI and data leadership dominant; broad sector spread.
March 2026 (w/c 23/03): 57 roles; public sector exceptionally strong; Director General appointments notable; AI leadership sustained.
April 2026 (w/c 20/04): 52 roles; AI transformation leadership standout theme; interim Chief-level roles prominent; infrastructure more visible.
May 2026 (w/c 04/05): 53 roles; stable; cyber security leadership prominent; CTO demand unusually strong; insurance and Lloyd's market active.
May 2026 (w/c 11/05): 71 roles; sharp rebound; ERP interim leadership dominant; central government hiring strong; data and AI appointments broad.

Role

Type

Employment

Sector

Location

Link

Senior Technology Delivery Manager (x2)

UK Home Office

Permanent

Public Sector