Market Update: Tech & Change Hot Roles (w/c 16/02)

The third week of February saw a decline in hiring activity, with volumes falling to their lowest level since mid-January. This dip is typical for a half-term week, when recruitment activity tends to slow. Permanent roles remained the majority, though interim positions continued to account for a meaningful proportion of the total. Public sector hiring was particularly visible, with notable senior appointments across government and local authorities.

📊 Volume & Mix

• 51 roles total this week

• Permanent: ~35

• Interim: ~16

Channel: Agency roles accounted for approximately 70% of the total. Direct hires were concentrated in public sector (DSIT, Office for Nuclear Regulation, City of London Corporation, Bury Council, Greater Manchester Combined Authority), higher education (University of Manchester, University of Gloucestershire), charities (Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, Little Village), and corporate employers including Bank of England and Southbank Centre.

Down from 65 roles in the previous week.

💡 Key Trends This Week

• Public sector hiring was notably strong, with Director General for Emerging Technology and AI (DSIT), Transformation Director (Office for Nuclear Regulation), Group Digital Data and Technology Director (Greater Manchester Combined Authority), Head of Enterprise Architecture (City of London Corporation), and multiple local government roles including Deputy Head of ICT & Digital and Assistant Director of DDaT positions.

• Programme Director roles remained frequent across interim and permanent markets, appearing in finance transformation, LGR (Local Government Reorganisation), supply chain, and higher education contexts, with Bank of England posting a permanent Programme Director position.

• Higher education showed sustained activity, with Head of PMO/PMO Lead, Programme/Transformation Director, Director of Digital (University of Gloucestershire), and Head of Digital Workplace (University of Manchester) roles.

• Data and analytics leadership featured more prominently this week, with Group Head of Data & Analytics, Group Data & Analytics Director, Head of Analytics, and AI Programme Lead positions across investment management, e-commerce, and FMCG sectors.

• Private equity interim activity continued, with Interim Chief Transformation Officer roles across Europe, alongside VSM/Interim CIO, Interim Chief Digital Officer, and Transformation Director positions in public and financial services 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.