Director - Service Management and Automation

Director, Service Management Automation Lead

Director, Service Management Automation Lead

Syneos Health® is a leading fully-integrated life sciences services organization built to accelerate customer success. We partner with innovators at every point across the drug development and commercialization continuum, helping them navigate complexity, anticipate change and accelerate progress.

Every day we perform better because of how we work together, as one team, each the best at what we do. We bring together talented experts across a broad spectrum of business critical corporate functions. Every role plays an essential part in enabling our customers to achieve their goals. Our teams are agile, collaborative, and committed to delivering—for each other, for our customers, and ultimately for the people who rely on the services we support.
Discover what your 25,000 future colleagues already know:

Why Syneos Health
• We are passionate about developing our people, through career development and progression; supportive and engaged line management; technical and therapeutic area training; peer recognition and total rewards program.
• We are committed to building an inclusive culture – where you can authentically be yourself. Central to this is our purpose – Driven to Deliver – which captures the passion of our colleagues to show up each day and shape solutions that have the ability to dramatically impact someone’s life. 
• We are continuously building the company we all want to work for and our customers want to work with. Why? Because we know that when we bring together smart colleagues from across the world, we can shape the future of healthcare, driving impact for customers and defining the pace of patient progress. 

Job Responsibilities

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategy & Enterprise Alignment
• Define and own the Enterprise Service Strategy across Enterprise Technology & Platforms, ensuring alignment to business priorities, productivity outcomes, and cost optimisation
• Drive the evolution to a modern, AI- and automation-first service model, reducing reliance on manual support and improving employee experience
• Partner with enterprise functions (HR, Finance, Learning & Development, etc.) to design and deliver enterprise-wide service solutions that improve end-user productivity
• Collaborate with industry peers and internal operational leaders to ensure alignment to leading practices and enterprise standards

Partner Accountability & Performance Management
• Hold strategic partners (e.g. HCL) accountable for delivering against SLAs, KPIs, and outcome-based measures, including automation adoption, ticket reduction, and cost efficiency
• Challenge and ensure partners are delivering on committed value, roadmaps, and ROI, not just operational outputs
• Challenge partners on performance, solution design, and delivery effectiveness to drive continuous improvement
• Shift partner delivery from ticket-based execution to outcome-based service transformation

Service Transformation & Automation Delivery
• Drive reduction in service demand and manual ticket handling through automation, self-service, and process optimisation
• Ensure partners are actively identifying and delivering automation use cases and service improvements at pace
• Oversee and drive the delivery of automation pipelines, ensuring consistent throughput and measurable impact
• Ensure services evolve toward proactive, AI-enabled, and self-healing capabilities

Platform Ownership & Roadmap Delivery (ServiceNow)
• Own the ServiceNow platform as a product, including strategy, roadmap, and lifecycle management
• Ensure the platform supports enterprise workflows, automation, and scalable service delivery
• Drive partners to develop and deliver platform roadmaps aligned to business outcomes, and hold them accountable for execution
• Ensure platform investments deliver measurable value and return on investment

Innovation, Technology & Business Case Development
• Continuously assess emerging technologies, including AI and automation capabilities, to enhance service delivery and enterprise platforms
• Develop business cases and investment proposals to secure funding for innovation and platform enhancements
• Ensure adoption of modern tools and solutions that improve user experience and productivity
• Drive the organisation toward future-ready, scalable, and intelligent service capabilities

Governance, Performance & Outcomes
• Define and enforce a performance framework focused on:

• automation adoption

• reduction in service demand

• cost optimisation

• user experience improvement
  • Ensure all initiatives and partner deliveries are measured against clear outcomes and realised value
  • Lead governance forums to ensure transparency, accountability, and delivery against commitments

QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

• Graduate degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or related field preferred

• • 10+ years’ experience in Service Management, Enterprise Platforms, or Technology Delivery leadership roles

• • ITIL v4 certification (Managing Professional or equivalent) preferred

• • ServiceNow certifications (e.g. Certified System Administrator, Implementation Specialist) preferred

• • Experience working with ServiceNow as a platform owner, including governance, roadmap, and lifecycle management

• • Experience managing and governing global delivery partners (e.g. HCL, Accenture, Cognizant) with accountability for outcomes

• • Demonstrated experience driving automation, AI adoption, or service transformation initiatives that reduce manual effort and service demand

• • Experience with automation platforms (e.g. UiPath, Automation Anywhere, Blue Prism) preferred

• • Exposure to AI / GenAI technologies and their application in service management, self-service, or workflow automation preferred

• • Strong understanding of enterprise service ecosystems and integrations (e.g. HR systems, identity platforms, asset tools)

• • Proven ability to operate across both strategy and hands-on delivery execution, driving backlog prioritisation and delivery through partners

• • Strong stakeholder management experience, with the ability to influence senior leaders across business and technology functions

• • Proven track record of delivering measurable outcomes including reduction in ticket volumes, increased automation adoption, and cost optimisation

Get to know Syneos Health

Over the past 5 years, we have worked with 94% of all Novel FDA Approved Drugs, 95% of EMA Authorized Products and over 200 Studies across 73,000 Sites and 675,000+ Trial patients.

No matter what your role is, you’ll take the initiative and challenge the status quo with us in a highly competitive and ever-changing environment. Learn more about Syneos Health.

http://www.syneoshealth.com

Additional Information

Tasks, duties, and responsibilities as listed in this job description are not exhaustive.  The Company, at its sole discretion and with no prior notice, may assign other tasks, duties, and job responsibilities. Equivalent experience, skills, and/or education will also be considered so qualifications of incumbents may differ from those listed in the Job Description. The Company, at its sole discretion, will determine what constitutes as equivalent to the qualifications described above.   Further, nothing contained herein should be construed to create an employment contract.  Occasionally, required skills/experiences for jobs are expressed in brief terms. Any language contained herein is intended to fully comply with all obligations imposed by the legislation of each country in which it operates, including the implementation of the EU Equality Directive, in relation to the recruitment and employment of its employees.  The Company is committed to compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, including the provision of reasonable accommodations, when appropriate, to assist employees or applicants to perform the essential functions of the job.

Experience Level

Senior Level