Application Support / Production Support Manager ( SAP S/4HANA Background)

We are seeking a seasoned Application Support / Production Support Manager with deep expertise in SAP S/4HANA to lead a global team responsible for ensuring operational continuity of our SAP landscape. This role will oversee incident management, problem resolution, system monitoring, and overall support for S/4HANA modules (Finance, MM, SD, etc.). A key aspect of the role is collaboration with cross-functional teams and vendors to drive service excellence and system stability.Key Responsibilities:Production Support & Operations:Manage incident, problem, change, and release management processes.Coordinate with SAP Basis, Functional, ABAP, and Infrastructure teams to troubleshoot and resolve complex issues.Oversee system monitoring, job scheduling, and performance tuning of SAP applications.Stakeholder & Vendor Management:Act as the primary point of escalation for critical production issues.Liaise with business users, IT teams, and SAP support (OSS) for issue resolution and patch deployment.Coordinate with AMS or third-party vendors to ensure aligned service delivery.Team Leadership:Manage a team of application support analysts and SAP specialists (onshore/offshore).Coach, mentor, and develop team members to build support capabilities and SAP domain knowledge.Define support team KPIs, review performance, and conduct regular retrospectives.Process & Continuous Improvement:Ensure adherence to ITIL best practices in support operations.Drive root cause analysis (RCA) for recurring issues and implement permanent fixes.Document standard operating procedures (SOPs), knowledge articles, and best practices.