Role Purpose
The SAP Service Manager is responsible for the effective end-to-end management and delivery of SAP application and integration services across a complex SAP landscape including SAP ECC, SAP APO, SAP BW and SAP PI.
The role provides the key service management interface between business stakeholders, internal IT teams, SAP functional and technical teams, infrastructure teams and third-party service providers.
The successful candidate will have a good working knowledge of SAP landscapes and integration, sufficient to understand system dependencies, assess service impact, challenge technical teams and coordinate resolution of incidents and problems.
The position does not require deep hands-on SAP configuration, development or Basis expertise.
The role will ensure that SAP services are stable, supported effectively and continuously improved in line with agreed service levels and business requirements.
Key Responsibilities
SAP Service Management
Take overall responsibility for the day-to-day service management of the SAP landscape.
Act as the primary service management point of contact for SAP-related operational issues.
Monitor service performance against agreed SLAs, KPIs and operational targets.
Lead regular SAP service reviews with internal teams, business stakeholders and third-party suppliers.
Identify service risks, recurring issues and opportunities for service improvement.
Maintain and drive Continual Service Improvement (CSI) activities.
Ensure agreed operational processes, governance and escalation routes are followed.
Provide clear reporting on service health, incidents, problems, changes, risks and improvement activities.
SAP Landscape & Integration
Maintain a good working understanding of the overall SAP landscape, particularly:
SAP ECC and core business processes
SAP APO and supply chain/planning processes
SAP BW and business reporting/data warehouse processes
SAP PI and system-to-system integration
Interfaces between SAP applications and external/non-SAP systems
Batch processing, scheduled jobs and process chains
IDocs, RFCs, interfaces, file transfers and integration dependencies
General understanding of SAP Basis, infrastructure, database and security dependencies
The Service Manager is not expected to be the technical SME in these areas but must be able to understand technical explanations, recognise dependencies and challenge support teams appropriately.
Major Incident Management
Coordinate and lead the service response to high-priority SAP incidents.
Ensure appropriate technical and business teams are engaged quickly.
Assess and communicate business impact and service risk.
Drive technical teams toward restoration of service.
Maintain clear stakeholder communications throughout major incidents.
Coordinate post-incident reviews where appropriate.
Ensure corrective and preventative actions are captured and tracked through to completion.
Problem Management
Identify recurring SAP incidents and service trends requiring formal problem investigation.
Ensure effective Root Cause Analysis (RCA) is undertaken.
Challenge technical teams where RCA does not adequately explain the underlying cause or preventative actions.
Ensure problems have appropriate owners and remediation plans.
Track preventative actions through to closure.
Use incident and problem trend information to identify areas for service improvement.
Change Management
Review SAP changes from a service and operational perspective.
Assess potential impact across interconnected SAP systems and interfaces.
Ensure dependencies between ECC, APO, BW, PI and external systems have been considered.
Support Change Advisory Board (CAB) processes as required.
Ensure implementation, testing, rollback and business impact considerations are appropriately addressed.
Monitor significant changes following implementation and ensure unsuccessful changes are appropriately reviewed.
Supplier & Vendor Management
Manage operational relationships with SAP support suppliers and third-party service providers.
Ensure suppliers deliver against contractual service levels and operational commitments.
Challenge poor-quality incident, problem or RCA responses.
Coordinate issues where responsibility crosses multiple suppliers or technical teams.
Track supplier actions and service improvement commitments.
Service Reporting & Governance
Produce or coordinate regular service reporting.
Present service performance clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
Business & Stakeholder Management
Build effective relationships with SAP business stakeholders and IT teams.
Translate technical issues into clear explanations of business and service impact.
Set realistic expectations during incidents and service degradation.
Ensure business priorities are understood by technical support teams.
Escalate service risks appropriately through IT and supplier management.
Knowledge & Experience
Essential
Strong Experience within IT Service Management, ideally supporting enterprise SAP environments.
Good working understanding of SAP ECC and how SAP supports end-to-end business processes.
Working knowledge of SAP APO, SAP BW and SAP PI or comparable SAP integration technologies.
Good understanding of integration between SAP applications and external systems.
Ability to understand and discuss technical subjects without necessarily being a hands-on technical specialist.
Understanding of ITIL-based service management practices.
Experience working with multi-vendor or outsourced support models.
Ability to challenge technical teams constructively and ensure issues are driven to resolution.
Strong stakeholder management and communication skills.
Strong analytical and service-reporting skills.
Desirable
Experience of large-scale or multinational SAP environments.
Knowledge of SAP Basis concepts and architecture.
Understanding of SAP interfaces including IDocs, RFCs and PI integration.
Understanding of SAP background jobs, BW process chains and batch dependencies.
Experience using ServiceNow or a comparable ITSM platform.
ITIL certification.
Experience working with third-party SAP Application Management Services (AMS) providers.