IT Service Portfolio SME (contract)

About the role

An IT Service Portfolio Subject Matter Expert (SME) is a strategic role responsible for the lifecycle management of the organization's technology services. In this role, you will ensure that IT offerings align with business strategy, deliver maximum value, and are governed efficiently from conception through to retirement.

Responsibilities

• Oversee the end-to-end IT service lifecycle (strategy, design, transition, operation, and continual improvement).
• Define, implement, and optimize Service Portfolio Management (SPM) processes, aligning with ITIL or other industry best practices.
• Act as the primary liaison between business leaders, IT service owners, and technical delivery teams to ensure services meet operational and financial goals.
• Oversee the configuration and reporting within enterprise service management tools (e.g., ServiceNow, ITBM, ITFM) to guarantee data accuracy, transparency, and consistency.
• Analyze service performance, costs, and key performance indicators (KPIs) to drive ongoing enhancements.
• Facilitate communication between IT and other business units.
• Identify and mitigate risks associated with IT initiatives.
• Develop and implement portfolio management processes and best practices.
• Conduct regular portfolio reviews and status meetings with stakeholders.
• Manage and prioritize the project pipeline based on strategic importance.
• Ensure compliance with regulatory and organizational standards.
• Provide leadership and guidance to project managers and teams.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of project delivery and outcomes.
• Own and support the Service Intake process for new service requests and modifications to existing services.
• Review Service Intake forms and attached business cases for completeness, accuracy, and readiness for governance review.
• Facilitate discovery sessions with requestors, suppliers, Service Managers, and Service Owners to determine whether the request should be handled as a new service, enhancement to an existing service, or fulfilled through an existing service.
• Support refinement of the business case during discovery to ensure the request clearly defines business outcomes, customer impact, service value, scope, and high-level justification.
• Define high-level service scope, customers, business outcomes, service dependencies, operational impacts, and integration points across services, contracts, suppliers, and portfolios.
• Maintain accurate Service Portfolio records in ServiceNow, including status updates, workflow progression, approval routing, automated notifications, and approval documentation.
• Prepare and present Service Intake requests, business case updates, and discovery findings during Service Portfolio Governance meetings.
• Coordinate with Product Management leadership to support approval, rejection, or additional discovery decisions.
• Communicate decisions and next steps to requestors, suppliers, Service Managers, and other key stakeholders.
• Ensure the Service Portfolio process remains aligned to governance, contractual requirements, Service Management standards, and ITIL best practices.

Requirements

• 5+ to 12+ years in IT service management (ITSM), IT portfolio management, or business relationship management.
• Deep understanding of the ITIL framework (specifically Service Portfolio and Service Catalogue management).
• Hands-on expertise with ServiceNow (especially the SPM/ITBM modules) and Jira or similar agile planning tools.
• Ability to translate complex technical capabilities into business value, managing budgets, and assessing risks.

Pay

$41.86/hour - $65.40/hour.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, vision, and retirement benefits.