Growth in the Change & Transformation Market: Trends We’re Seeing in Contract Recruitment

Lately we’ve seen a clear and sustained uplift in day rate contractor demand in the change and transformation space, a trend which has been very much welcomed after a prolonged period of caution in 2024 and early 2025. In fact, our own placement figures reflect this trend with March 2026 placements up 31% compared to March 2025.

But what’s driving this?

Here we explore the key factors causing this growth, as well as diving into the top trends that are currently being felt in the contract change and transformation market.

What trends have we seen in the market?

Stronger demand for change contractors

There has been a stronger demand for change contractors across the whole of the UK over the last few months. This is being brought on by many firms now mobilising and delivering on more projects, creating the need for more contract-based resources.

From a candidate perspective, this demand is meaning we’re seeing fewer quality contractors available, and those candidates that are looking for a new role often have multiple offers running simultaneously due to demand.

Changes in skills requirements

The rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) literacy is becoming even more prevalent in the change and transformation market and is now a skill expected by many clients.

However, while AI is changing how change professionals work by helping them carry out administrative, repeatable and manual tasks, it hasn’t changed what they’re accountable for.

Soft skills, such as emotional intelligence, critical judgement and communication, are something we’re seeing as a key requirement from many clients, as while AI can support manual or analytical tasks, soft skills remain essential because accountability, judgement and leadership cannot be delegated to technology.

What contract roles are the most in demand right now?

Growth is being seen across specific roles in the contractor space, the most in-demand right now are:

• Standard level Project Managers and Business Analysts
• Hands on, standalone PMO Leads
• Business Change and Readiness Managers
• Change contractors with strong data experience
• Change specialists with M&A or integration experience
• Contractors with general Insurance expertise
• Contractors with Finance Transformation experience

What business programmes are causing this growth?

New programmes requiring specialist talent

Many organisations are now commencing large transformation portfolios and prioritising critical programmes that all require specialist interim capability.

This is a trend Sanderson have seen firsthand, as we have been placing candidates in contractor roles for initiatives such as:

• Delivering expert interim expertise into a leading UK retailer on a Cyber & Identity enhancement programme

• Delivering contract change resources to a major UK home improvement retailer to support numerous workstreams including supply chain transformation, customer loyalty and online marketplace transformations

• Mobilising a specialist project team for a major UK charity to support the replacement of their core EPOS platform across all UK locations

Significant contractor hiring programmes

Large financial services organisations are starting to undertake significant contractor hiring campaigns.

For example, in the past few months alone we’ve experienced this having onboarded 40 interim change professionals, including 15 Project Managers and 25 Business Analysts into a leading British wealth management company. This has removed a substantial volume of experienced contractors from the market, which has significantly impacted the market.

M&A driven change activity

A notable rise in M&A driven change activity, particularly across Financial Services, is having a strong impact on the availability of contractors.

Examples of this impact in action include:

• Ageas’s Saga and Esure integrations being extended to Q3 2026, prolonging contractor demand.
• Aviva’s Direct Line integration driving increased contractor hiring into early 2026.
• Further contractor demand expected in late 2026 from NatWest’s integration of Evelyn Partners combined with Zurich’s acquisition of Beazley.

Summary

Overall, the contract market is continuing to recover and gather momentum, with contractors in certain specialist areas becoming increasingly difficult to secure. In fact, growth in this sector is now so pronounced that recently we’ve seen candidates receive more simultaneous opportunities than at any time since the post-COVID hiring peak of 2021–2022. Rates for in-demand roles have also increased by around £50-100 per day over the last six months.

This is causing many organisations to act quickly to lock in contractor talent ahead of any potential further tightening in the market.

Our advice off the back of these trends?

Remember the importance of human skills such as empathy, stakeholder engagement and communication during the hiring process. These are key traits needed to deliver change successfully, and while subject matter knowledge is important, focusing on these human skills will often mean you secure a better-quality resource during the interview process.  Frequently, the best CV on paper, doesn’t translate into the best candidate in practice.

And finally, keep your processes as streamlined as possible and feedback to candidates quickly to allow for prompt scheduling, especially if you have more than one interview stage.

Want any further advice?

Don’t hesitate to get in touch with me at [email protected] if you’d like to chat about these contractor hiring trends and how they might impact your own organisation, the Sanderson team are well placed to help source the best contractor and interim project talent.