Product and Operations Lead – ServiceNow

As a Partner in our business your number one focus is to work collaboratively to create more value for our customers and our business.
As the Product and Operations Lead - ServiceNow, you will lead the development and operational maintenance of the JLP ServiceNow environment, supporting ITSM and CMDB. You will define and own the multi-year ServiceNow roadmap, aligning platform capabilities with the Service Management and organisational goals and digital transformation initiatives. You will seek to improve the operational efficiency of the organisation through the use of ServiceNow by identifying and developing opportunities for integrations and automations and associated process improvements.
Note that all development and operations of ServiceNow are provided by our 3rd party infrastructure partner and therefore you will not have admin access to the platform.
You will maintain a holistic view of technical services, projects and outcomes for ServiceNow, assuring technical delivery and operational performance of services provisioned via offshore 3rd party suppliers. You will be a key touch point for the business and for colleagues within IT. You will also focus on developing and maintaining stakeholder relationships, demonstrating effective influencing skills.
You will have the opportunity to develop and stretch personally and professionally to achieve your potential.

• Expected salary - The expected salary for this role is up to £75000

• Contract type - This position is a permanent contract. 

• Working pattern/flexible working: The Partnership has adopted a hybrid working approach, meaning you'll be able to work a mixture between the office and home based upon your personal needs, whilst balancing the needs of the business. 

• Location -  This role is based at our Bracknell Head Office campus.  Please note, any cost incurred as a result of travel to the office is the responsibility of the successful candidate.

Key responsibilities

• Strategic Vision & Roadmap: Define and own the multi-year ServiceNow roadmap, aligning platform capabilities with organisational goals and digital transformation initiatives.

• Stakeholder & Governance Leadership: Establish and chair governance boards to ensure cross-functional transparency and lead engagement with senior directors to translate complex needs into deliverable requirements.

• Commercial & Vendor Management: Oversee licensing strategy, manage vendor relationships, and lead procurement activities, including the creation of Statements of Work (SOWs).

• Platform Development: Keep abreast of ServiceNow product development understanding how this would be useful for JLP.  Network with other ServiceNow customers to understand best practice and ways of working.

• Platform Advocacy: Champion the platform across the business, identifying opportunities for workflow automation, integrations with other relevant platforms (such as Jira, Confluence, Slack, SalesForce etc.) and driving adoption of new modules and features beyond our initial use of ITSM Pro.

General

• Set clear intent, direction and guardrails to achieve outcomes, aligned to the Partnership and business area strategy. 

• Empower and support 3rd party offshore team to make decisions and resolve challenges in line with the strategy. 

• As a co-owner, actively share the responsibilities of ownership and support Partners and colleagues to have a voice in our business. 

• Invest in your personal and professional development, utilising the opportunities available to you through your Profession to develop your skills and capabilities. 

• Engage with your function, supporting your lead to continuously develop and improve it.

• Implements architectural and business commerce strategy to maximise the benefit and use of ServiceNow. 

• Mitigate business risk while protecting throughput and business value. 

• Assure operability delivery of ServiceNow

• Owns ways of working in capabilities and encourages safe experimentation in build and run 

• Ensures services meet business need and manage major incidents as point of escalation 

• Ensures all teams / services have clear OKRs 

• Measure service(s) throughput and value released to ensure it is meeting required business impact 

• Optimise cost of delivery by effectively using Partners and 3rd Parties by finding and removing all waste in the process 

• Fights for balance of sensible prioritisation to remove technical debt and closes services, applications and infrastructure safely

Essential skills/experience you’ll need

Skills

• Can plan effectively and is heavily outcome focused 

• Has owned business problems and transformed business process with defined business impact 

• Strong stakeholder management skills 

• Demonstrates integrity by tenaciously doing the right thing in the face of mounting pressure 

• Demonstrates a high level of personal accountability

• Experience: Typically 8-10+ years in product management or enterprise platform ownership, with significant exposure to the ServiceNow ecosystem, particularly ITSM and CMDB.

• Technical Certifications: Certified System Administrator (CSA) or Certified Implementation Specialist (CIS) in modules like ITSM, CMDB, ITOM and CSDM.

• Leadership: Proven ability to manage multidisciplinary teams, working extensively in a matrix management environment

• Business Literacy: Strong financial acumen, including budget ownership, ROI assessment, and benefit realisation planning

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We’re the largest employee owned business in the UK and home of our cherished brands, John Lewis and Waitrose. We’re not just employees, we’re Partners, driven by our purpose to build a happier world. As we look to our future, there’s never been a more exciting time to join us.  

We’re ruthlessly focused on being brilliant at retail. We continue to innovate, adapt and diversify. Never Knowingly Undersold on price, quality and service in John Lewis and passionately serving food-lovers in Waitrose.   

As Partners we all share the responsibility of ownership and in its rewards. We use our voices to contribute to our success, working together through the good and challenging times, holding true to our behaviours and treating everyone with kindness and respect. 

We all own making the Partnership somewhere we belong. Embracing our differences and creating an environment where we’re free to be ourselves and can THRIVE. Growing ourselves individually, and as a collective. 

As Partners, we make all the difference. And, we all own it.  

Important points to note:  

It’s important to note that some of our roles are subject to pre-employment vetting (which may include DBS checks for successful candidates). If required, you’ll be informed and provided with information about vetting during the recruitment process and we encourage you to complete any vetting documents quickly to avoid delays. Any DBS checks required will be carried out by a third-party registered body and financial probity checks may also be required for some of our roles.  

We occasionally close vacancies early in the event we receive a high volume of applications, and therefore, we recommend you apply early. If you require a reasonable adjustment due to a disability which means you may need longer to complete your application please contact us as soon as possible.

We want all of our Partners to have a good work-life balance and we support flexible working. This might mean flexible or compressed hours, job sharing or shorter hour contracts, where possible. Please discuss this further with the hiring manager during your interview.