Service Lead Core ERP

Job Summary

Oversees the end-to-end service lifecycle from conception to delivery. Ensures alignment with business objectives and customer needs. Drives continuous improvement and innovation in service offerings.

Key Areas of Responsibility
Manages the end-to-end lifecycle (from development to retirement) of digital services, ensuring alignment with company strategies working with stakeholders.
Coordinates and maintain a strong relationship with stakeholders to identify service requirements and prioritize development efforts.
Leads/mentors a team of professionals in the design, implementation, and optimization of digital services (SAP & Non- SAP applications).
Monitors service performance and implement improvements based on feedback and analytics within agreed SLAs and budget.
Develops and maintains strong relationships with internal and external partners to enhance service capabilities.
Drives innovation by exploring new technologies and methodologies to improve service offerings. Engages on the same with external partners as well.
Define and own the service strategy and roadmap for technology, application, and Digital services within scope. Drive continuous improvement: identify opportunities for automation, process improvement and cost optimization.
Responsible for cost-control & optimization of the services. Develop and manage service budgets, ensuring that resources are allocated effectively & efficiently in order to ensure cost optimization.
Responsible for Infrastructure Services (including Network, Hosting, Workplace Services) and Virtual bot automation team - This is very specific to the Service Owner of Backbone services

Critical Experiences
Bachelors degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field. extensive hands on experience in digital service management, including lifecycle management and stakeholder engagement. ITIL certification is essential for managing service lifecycle and ensuring alignment with best practices. Domain (SAP, Non-SAP, Identity & Access Management) knowledge

Key Accountabilities and Responsibilities (KARs)

Service Management & Operational Excellence

• Own and drive the day-to-day delivery of SAP services, ensuring alignment with SLAs and business expectations.
• Lead the setup and refinement of ITSM processes such as incident, problem, change, and request management.
• Guide the ASM partner in following structured service delivery practices, ensuring compliance with agreed SLAs and continuous improvement targets.
• Drive operational excellence by identifying inefficiencies and implementing process improvements.

Automation & Innovation

• Identify and eliminate waste caused by repetitive manual activities by introducing automation tools, scripts, or workflow enhancements.
• Work with the ASM partner and internal teams to embed automation in service operations wherever feasible.
• Foster a culture of innovation, leveraging modern tools and techniques to improve service reliability and speed.

Collaboration & Governance

• Collaborate with the Service Owner to align service delivery with strategic objectives and business priorities.
• Work closely with the Product Owner to support service refinement as part of the broader product lifecycle.
• Actively participate in CABs, service review boards, and incident/post-incident review sessions to maintain governance and accountability.
• Coordinate resolution across squads, infrastructure, and partner teams to address cross-functional issues.

Continuous Improvement

• Track service metrics and trends to proactively identify and resolve underlying systemic issues.
• Lead root cause analysis for major incidents and implement preventive measures.
• Promote LEAN principles to create a culture of continuous improvement within the SAP service domain.

People & Stakeholder Engagement

• Mentor and coach team members on service practices and the importance of operational discipline.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to stakeholders by translating technical service details into meaningful business language.
• Promote knowledge sharing across teams to improve support coverage and resilience.

Planning and Execution

• Contribute to sprint, release, and capacity planning from a service readiness perspective.
• Ensure readiness of service documentation, runbooks, monitoring tools, and escalation procedures.
• Maintain an accurate and current service catalogue and participate in roadmap and portfolio discussions.

Financial management

Responsible for cost optimisation by executing service improvement plans

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

• SLA and KPI adherence (incident response time, change success rate, etc.)
• Reduction in repetitive manual tasks via automation
• Business continuity and system uptime
• Quality of service documentation and process maturity
• Stakeholder satisfaction (via NPS or equivalent)
• Execution of service improvement initiatives

Skills & Competencies

• Deep understanding of SAP ERP core modules and service delivery, with desirable exposure to SAP S/4HANA.
• Proven experience in managing service operations and vendor-led support models.
• Strong knowledge of ITSM frameworks (e.g., ITIL), with the ability to design and operationalize support processes.
• Demonstrated success in driving automation and process improvement in an enterprise IT environment.
• Agile mindset with experience working in agile or DevOps-oriented teams.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to work across technical and business domains.
• Strong analytical thinking with a proactive approach to problem-solving.

Experience & Qualifications

• 6-10 years of experience in SAP service delivery, service management, or IT operations roles.
• Prior experience working with or managing ASM/vendor support teams.
• Hands-on experience or understanding of SAP HANA is highly desirable.
• ITIL Foundation certification (or higher) preferred.