[Hiring] Team Lead Strategic Partner Ops @ServiceNow

Role Description

The Team Lead, Strategic Partner Operations runs the business for ServiceNow's largest GSI partnership and the partner operations engine behind it. The role owns the Pre-Buy motion end to end and extends well beyond it — into forecasting, operating rhythm, process and policy design, and governance — while acting as a strategic business partner to the sales team to remove blockers and scale what works.

This is a hands-on IC4 team lead: an analytical operator who sets direction for a small pod of partner operations analysts, raises the bar on rigor, and leads with an AI-first mindset — using AI and automation to simplify how the business runs, eliminate manual work, and give leadership faster, more reliable insight.

Run the Business: Forecasting & Operating Rhythm

• Own the partner business forecast — weekly and quarterly by GEO and stage (Commit / Expect / Upside / Pre-Pipeline), with call accuracy tracked and variance explained.
• Design and run the operating cadence: weekly business reviews, pipeline inspections, quarter-end readiness, and QBR packages for partner and executive audiences.
• Define and own the KPI framework and scorecards for partner performance — consumption, burndown, pipeline coverage, and partner health — anchored on a single source of truth.
• Surface trends, risks, and opportunities proactively with a point of view and recommended action, before they become escalations.

Pre-Buy Program Ownership

• Own end-to-end Pre-Buy execution across both active contracts as reviewer and approver (not processor) of inventory tracking, burndown, OPTY validation, add-backs, swaps, and leftover reconciliation.
• Deliver bridge-normalized burndown reporting and flag slow-burn patterns, stranded inventory, and expiration risk early.
• Own LOI governance: interpret contract language into booking and comp guidance, and prevent LOI actions from triggering unintended downsell or GRR distortion.

Process, Policy & Governance

• Build robust, documented processes for partner deal intake, approvals, exceptions, and reconciliation — designed to scale with volume, not headcount.
• Author and maintain partner operations policy (crediting, exceptions, program rules) with Finance, Deal Desk, Legal, Revenue Operations, and Comp, and drive clean adoption across the field.
• Uphold governance and controls: approval audit trails, policy compliance, and decision logs that stand up to Finance and audit scrutiny.
• Run continuous improvement — find the root cause of recurring escalations and retire them through process, policy, or system fixes.

Strategic Business Partner to Sales

• Act as the operational thought partner to GPLs, GPMs, and Partner Sales leaders — removing deal blockers, resolving policy gray areas, and accelerating pipeline through the right partner motions.
• Serve as the first escalation point for field issues — mis-bookings, comp disputes, exceptions — resolving directly or packaging for leadership with a clear recommendation.
• Own field and partner enablement: playbooks, SOPs, and self-serve reference materials that reduce recurring questions and speed deal execution.
• Contribute to annual planning — partner targets, coverage inputs, and investment cases grounded in data.

AI-Led Simplification & Scale

• Lead the team's AI agenda: identify high-volume manual work (reporting, reconciliation, intake triage, policy Q&A) and redesign it with AI, agents, and automation.
• Build and deploy AI-enabled tools — automated forecast and burndown reporting, anomaly detection on inventory and bookings, and assistants that answer policy and process questions for the field.
• Set data quality and governance standards for AI use: human-in-the-loop review, accuracy checks, and responsible handling of partner and deal data.
• Measure and communicate impact — hours returned, cycle-time reduction, forecast accuracy — and scale wins across Global Partner Operations.

Team Leadership

• Provide day-to-day leadership for a small pod of partner operations analysts — set priorities, review work quality, and coach for ownership and judgment.
• Build the team's analytical and AI fluency through shared tooling, templates, and peer review.
• Model calm urgency at quarter-end and serve as backup to the Director on partner operations decisions.

Qualifications

• 6+ years in Partner Operations, Sales or GTM Operations, Business Operations, or Sales Strategy in global enterprise SaaS.
• Strong analytical background: forecasting, pipeline analytics, and KPI design, with advanced Excel/BI and SQL or equivalent data skills.
• Demonstrated, hands-on use of AI to simplify or automate business workflows — GenAI assistants, agent workflows, or automation that removed manual effort at measurable scale.
• Track record designing and enforcing process, policy, and governance in a cross-functional environment.
• Experience leading, mentoring, or setting direction for analysts or project teams.
• Experience working with or within a large GSI or strategic channel partner — understands how GSIs structure deals, allocate budgets, and consume licenses.
• Comfort with enterprise SaaS deal mechanics: NNACV/ACV, GRR/NRR, revenue bridge normalization, crediting, and comp treatment.
• Proven strategic partner to sales leaders, influencing across Finance, Legal, Deal Desk, Revenue Operations, and Comp without direct authority.
• Executive communication: turns complex data into clear narratives and recommendations.
• Operates with calm urgency in high-stakes, quarter-end environments with competing priorities.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with prepaid, Pre-Buy, or inventory-based GTM models; familiarity with burndown accounting and OPTY reconciliation.
• Prior experience supporting a large GSI relationship (Cognizant, Infosys, or similar) at global scale.
• Proficiency with Salesforce, Power BI, SQL, and Python or low-code automation platforms.
• Experience building with LLM tools or agent frameworks, including ServiceNow AI capabilities such as Now Assist.
• Familiarity with LOI structures, deal governance, and revenue bridge accounting.
• Experience running GEO-distributed programs across EMEA, AMS, APAC, and JPN.

Benefits

• Base pay of $114,200 - $199,900, plus equity (when applicable), variable/incentive compensation and benefits.
• Competitive On Target Earnings (OTE) incentive compensation structure.
• Health plans, including flexible spending accounts.
• 401(k) Plan with company match.
• ESPP and matching donations.
• Flexible time away plan and family leave programs.