SAP Basis Operation Owner

The SAP Basis Operation Owner is accountable for the end-to-end operational ownership, stability, security, and continuous improvement of SWIFT’s SAP Basis landscape across SAP RISE and On‑Premises environments.

This role ensures that SAP technical platforms operate with exceptional reliability, compliance, and performance, supporting SWIFT’s core business, regulatory obligations, and digital operational resilience ambitions.

Key Accountabilities & Responsibilities

• SAP Basis Operational Ownership
• Own the day-to-day operations of SAP Basis platforms (ABAP, Java, HANA, OS, DB, middleware, transport landscape).
• Ensure 24x7 availability, stability, and recoverability of SAP systems supporting business‑critical services.
• Act as the single point of accountability (Operation Owner) for SAP Basis across incidents, problems, changes, and lifecycle events.
• Operational Strategy & Roadmap
• Define and maintain the SAP Basis operational vision and roadmap, aligned with SWIFT’s IT and security strategies.
• Translate business and regulatory needs into operational capabilities, standards, and initiatives.
• Balance run, control, and change priorities while ensuring long‑term sustainability of the SAP landscape.
• Incident, Problem & Crisis Management
• Lead and coordinate major incident (P1/P2) management related to SAP Basis services.
• Drive root cause analysis (RCA) for systemic or recurring issues and ensure corrective and preventive actions are implemented.
• Ensure effective collaboration with infrastructure, application, security, and vendor teams during incidents and crises.
• Change, Release & Lifecycle Management
• Govern SAP technical changes, upgrades, patches, kernel updates, and platform transformations.
• Ensure changes are properly assessed, risk-evaluated, approved, and executed in line with SWIFT change management and CAB processes.
• Oversee SAP lifecycle events such as system refreshes, upgrades, migrations, and RISE transitions.
• Service Quality, Performance & Continuous Improvement
• Define and monitor service KPIs, SLAs, OLAs, and technical health indicators for SAP Basis.
• Proactively identify performance bottlenecks, capacity risks, and technical debt.
• Drive continuous service improvement initiatives to enhance stability, efficiency, automation, and resilience.
• Security, Compliance & Audit Readiness
• Ensure SAP Basis platforms fully comply with SWIFT security policies, internal standards, and regulatory requirements.
• Work closely with Security, Risk, and Compliance teams on:
• • Vulnerability management
  • Patch compliance
  • Hardening standards
  • Audit findings and remediation
• Maintain audit-ready documentation, operational evidence, and control frameworks for SAP Basis.
• Stakeholder & Vendor Management
• Act as the trusted SAP Basis authority for business stakeholders and IT leadership.
• Manage and challenge external vendors, service providers, and SAP partners to ensure contractual and service commitments are met.
• Communicate transparently on risks, incidents, roadmap status, and improvement plans.
• Team Leadership & Ways of Working
• Provide operational leadership using ITIL / DevOpsSec principles.
• Foster a servant leadership culture, empowering engineers while enforcing accountability and quality.
• Ensure knowledge transfer, documentation, and operational resilience across teams.
• Financial & Budget Responsibility
• Own and manage the SAP Basis operational budget.
• Contribute to cost forecasting, budget planning, and optimization initiatives.
• Identify opportunities for cost efficiency without compromising resilience or security.

Required Experience

• Proven experience as an SAP Basis Operation Owner, SAP Basis Lead, or SAP Platform Operations Manager.
• Hands-on exposure to SAP RISE and complex On‑Prem SAP environments.
• Strong background in mission-critical, regulated, and 24x7 operational environments.
• Demonstrated experience with incident, problem, change, and service management frameworks (ITIL, DevOpsSec).
  

Technical & Professional Skills

• Deep understanding of SAP Basis architecture, including OS, DB, SAP kernel, transport management, and monitoring.
• Strong knowledge of security principles, system hardening, and audit expectations.
• Excellent stakeholder communication and crisis leadership skills.
• Strong analytical mindset with the ability to drive decisions under pressure.
• Experience managing multi-vendor environments.
  

Personal Attributes

• Strong sense of ownership and accountability.
• Results-driven with a delivery and quality mindset.
• Servant leader who empowers teams and drives clarity through vision.
• Comfortable operating at both strategic and hands-on operational levels.