IFS career guide

IFS contract vs permanent jobs: how the market splits

How many IFS roles are contract versus permanent, and how to decide between them. Updated 10 October 2026.

Short answer. Of the 155 open IFS roles on this board, 75 are permanent and 11 are contract, with the rest not stating a type. Contract work is concentrated at recruiters and on upgrade and go-live phases. Permanent roles dominate at partners and at IFS itself.

Where each comes from

Permanent: IFS, partners building long-term teams, and customers staffing an internal competence centre.
Contract: specialist recruiters filling project peaks, such as migration, testing, cutover and hypercare.

How to choose

Go permanent to build depth, get certified and work across several implementations. Go contract once you have a module people ask for by name and enough of a network to fill gaps between projects.

Browse IFS contract jobs, the IFS recruiters list, or get featured as a freelancer.

Questions people ask

When should an IFS consultant go freelance?

Usually after several full implementations in one area, when partners and recruiters already contact you directly.

Who posts IFS contract roles?

Mostly specialist recruiters, plus partners that need extra capacity for a project phase.