Shift Lead SAP Basis & Database Operations (24x7)

Who we are

We drive innovation – from advisory and implementation to managed services and beyond, powered by a global team of over 18,500 experts representing over 90 nations in more than 30 countries. With SAP at our core and a powerful ecosystem of partners like Microsoft and ServiceNow, we continuously improve solutions and AI-driven technology to make them work for companies – and for their people.

As part of NTT DATA, a $30+ billion business and technology services, AI and digital infrastructure leader. As a Global Top Employer, NTT DATA serves 75% of the Fortune Global 100 and, with experts in over 70 countries, co-innovates solutions that encourage experimentation and recognize great work. With us, you have endless opportunities to think big, act bold and take ownership. Make this the place where you belong, learn, and build your network.

We are looking for an experienced Shift Lead to oversee SAP Basis and SAP HANA database operations in a 24x7 support environment.

The Shift Lead acts as the single point of contact during the assigned shift, ensuring operational stability, SLA compliance, effective incident management, and the coordination of planned and unplanned activities. Candidates must be willing and able to work in shifts according to the agreed 24x7 support schedule.

What you’ll be doing

• Act as the shift’s single point of contact for SAP Basis and database operations.
• Coordinate daily operational activities across SAP Basis and SAP HANA database teams.
• Monitor alerts, ticket queues, operational dashboards, and system status to ensure timely incident detection and response.
• Manage ticket triage, prioritization, assignment, tracking, and SLA compliance.
• Plan the shift and distribute workloads based on priorities, available skills, and operational demand.
• Ensure effective resource utilization and appropriate coverage of business-critical activities.
• Coordinate planned activities, including maintenance, patching, releases, and other technical changes.
• Track pending activities and ensure they are completed or handed over appropriately.
• Maintain operational stability throughout the assigned shift.
• Take ownership of major incidents during the shift and act as the primary operational escalation point.
• Coordinate technical teams during incident investigation, service restoration, and recovery activities.
• Ensure that incidents are assigned to the appropriate resolver teams and progressed within agreed timelines.
• Escalate risks, delays, resource constraints, and unresolved issues to the appropriate technical or management stakeholders.
• Facilitate technical bridge calls and ensure clear communication regarding impact, actions, progress, and recovery.
• Drive proactive problem management and support root-cause analysis activities.
• Identify recurring issues and contribute to corrective and preventive improvement plans.
• Represent the operations team in customer and internal stakeholder communications.
• Provide accurate shift-status reports covering incidents, risks, planned activities, service impact, and pending actions.
• Maintain clear and timely communication with customers, technical teams, service managers, and leadership.
• Ensure complete shift handovers, including open incidents, ongoing activities, risks, escalations, and required follow-up actions.
• Track actions transferred between shifts and ensure appropriate ownership and closure.
• Maintain relevant operational documentation, records, and reports.
• Provide technical and operational guidance to SAP Basis and database team members.
• Mentor junior colleagues and support knowledge transfer across the team.
• Promote compliance with operational procedures, service-level agreements, and quality standards.
• Identify opportunities to improve monitoring, ticket handling, shift planning, communication, and operational efficiency.
• Support the implementation of continuous service improvement initiatives.

What you’ll bring along

• Professional experience in SAP Basis and/or database administration within production environments.
• Exposure to SAP HANA database operations and business-critical SAP landscapes.
• Experience working in 24x7 support or managed-services environments.
• Experience with SPC, ServiceNow, or comparable monitoring and ticketing tools.
• Strong incident triage, prioritization, escalation, and service-restoration skills.
• Understanding of SLA-driven operations and IT Service Management processes.
• Previous leadership, shift coordination, or team coordination experience.
• Ability to manage workloads and coordinate multiple concurrent operational activities.
• Strong customer-facing communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Ability to remain composed, structured, and decisive during critical incidents.
• Strong organizational, analytical, and problem-solving capabilities.
• Nice to have: experience supporting SAP S/4HANA environments.
• Experience supporting SAP ECS, MSS, and/or EOS customers.
• Experience coordinating major P1/P2 incidents and technical bridge calls.
• ITIL knowledge or certification.
• Familiarity with SAP and database monitoring solutions.
• Experience mentoring technical team members.
• A continuous improvement mindset and experience contributing to operational optimization initiatives.
• Willingness and flexibility to work in a 24x7 rotating-shift schedule.