Sr Principal - ServiceNow Product Owner

About the job

About Northern Trust

As a global leader in innovative wealth management, asset servicing, asset management and banking services, Northern Trust (Nasdaq: NTRS) is proud to guide the world’s most successful individuals, families, corporations and institutions.

Since 1889, we have aligned our efforts with our three guiding Principles That Endure: Service, Expertise, and Integrity. Together, they reflect the three cornerstones of business conduct which we strive to instill in our employees, whom we call partners, and to provide to our clients and the communities we serve worldwide.

With more than 135 years of financial experience and over 24,000 partners, we serve the world’s most sophisticated clients using leading technology and exceptional service.

About the Role

- Lead the end-to-end product management of the ServiceNow platform at Northern Trust

- Define and execute a strategic vision and roadmap through a federated operating model across business, technology, and risk stakeholders

- Drive the implementation, governance, optimization, and expansion of ServiceNow modules, including ITSM, ITOM, IRM/GRC, SecOps, HRSD, CSM, and AI-enabled capabilities

- Ensure the platform delivers business value, operational efficiency, regulatory compliance, and cost optimization

Key Responsibilities

Product Strategy & Vision

- Define and own the ServiceNow platform vision, strategy, and multi-year roadmap

- Translate enterprise priorities into a cohesive product strategy across modules and domains

- Lead a federated roadmap planning process across business units, ensuring alignment and prioritization

- Drive adoption of platform-first and automation-first principles

Platform Governance & Delivery

- Establish and enforce platform governance models (design authority, standards, data models, and architecture guardrails)

- Ensure consistent implementation of best practices, reusable components, and scalable design

- Oversee delivery of strategic programs across ServiceNow Modules in a federated partnership with assigned Capability Level Product Owners

- Partner with engineering and operations teams to ensure resiliency, scalability, and performance

AI & Intelligent Automation Strategy

- Define and execute roadmap for AI/GenAI capabilities within ServiceNow (e.g., virtual agents, predictive intelligence, Now Assist)

- Identify high-impact use cases for: - Automation of service operations

- Predictive incident/problem management

- Intelligent workflows and self-healing systems

- Establish governance for AI adoption, model transparency, and responsible AI usage

- Measure and track AI-driven outcomes (deflection rates, automation % , MTTR reduction)

Vendor & Ecosystem Management

- Own strategic relationship with ServiceNow and implementation partners

- Drive vendor performance through: - Quarterly business reviews (QBRs)

- Value realization and KPI tracking

- Innovation alignment and roadmap influence

- Evaluate and onboard ecosystem tools and integrations to extend platform capabilities

Financial & Cost Management

- Manage platform TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) including licensing, infrastructure, and operational costs

- Develop and execute cost optimization strategies

- Drive transparency through chargeback/showback models

- Ensure optimal utilization of ServiceNow licenses and features

Data Management & Insights

- Define and govern ServiceNow data strategy , including: - CMDB maturity and accuracy

- Data quality frameworks

- Data ownership and stewardship

- Enable data-driven decision making through dashboards, reporting, and analytics

- Integrate ServiceNow data with enterprise data platforms (e.g., data lake, analytics tools)

Stakeholder & Federated Engagement

- Act as the single point of accountability for platform outcomes

- Partner with: - Business stakeholders

- IT operations and engineering

- Risk, compliance, and audit teams

- Facilitate alignment across a federated model with distributed ownership

- Drive change management, adoption, and user experience improvement

Key Deliverables

- Enterprise ServiceNow strategy and roadmap

- AI adoption roadmap and value realization metrics

- Platform governance framework and standards

- Cost optimization plan and financial model

- Data governance maturity roadmap

- Vendor performance and innovation roadmap

Required Qualifications

- 10+ years of experience in product management, ITSM/platform engineering, or enterprise platforms

- 5+ years of deep ServiceNow platform experience across multiple modules

- Proven experience in large-scale ServiceNow implementations in financial services or regulated environments

- Strong understanding of: - ITIL / ITSM frameworks

- Enterprise architecture principles

- Risk and compliance requirements (SOX, audit, etc.)

- Experience managing federated product models and cross-functional stakeholders

Preferred Qualifications

- ServiceNow certifications (e.g., CSA, CIS – ITSM/ITOM/IRM, Certified Product Owner )

- Experience with AI/ML or GenAI capabilities within ServiceNow or similar platforms

- Exposure to cloud platforms, data platforms, and automation frameworks

- Experience driving platform standardization and consolidation initiatives

Key Competencies

- Strategic thinking with strong execution focus

- Stakeholder influence and executive communication

- Data-driven decision making

- Vendor negotiation and partnership management

- Strong governance and risk mindset

- Continuous improvement and innovation orientation

Success Metrics

- Platform adoption and user satisfaction