Software Asset Analyst III

What this Job Entails: 

Astreya is seeking a Software Asset Manager to lead a ServiceNow SAM Pro program at one of our key clients, a global financial services and investment research firm headquartered in Chicago. This is a strategic program leadership role, rather than a platform administration position. The successful candidate will own the program charter, manage stakeholder relationships, handle publisher compliance positions, and build a sustainable governance model.

The engagement is structured across four phases: a 30-day Assessment Sprint, a 90-day Foundation build, a 90-day Operationalize phase, and ongoing Managed Operations. You will act as the client-facing program lead across all phases, working closely with our client's internal ServiceNow teams and Astreya's SW Data Analyst based in Mumbai.

Note: This role strictly requires hands-on experience rolling out a ServiceNow SAM Pro program from the ground up; experience limited to operating an already mature program will not be sufficient.

Phase-by-Phase Responsibilities

• Phase 0: Assessment Sprint (Days 1–30)

  
  

  • Lead a 14-point assessment covering discovery tool stacks, CMDB health, endpoint coverage, and system integrations (ITSM, HR, identity, VDI, SaaS).

    
    

  • Interview key teams including IT Infrastructure, Procurement, HR, Identity, and ServiceNow to gather findings.

    
    

  • Author and present the SAM Readiness Report to our client's IT leadership within 30 days, which must include a prioritized gap register, architecture recommendations, and a phased roadmap.

    
    

  • Establish program OKRs and baseline key results against Phase 0 data.

    
    

• Phase 1: Foundation (Days 31–120)

  
  

  • Define the multi-source discovery architecture across Windows (SCCM, Intune), MacOS (Jamf Pro, ABM/VPP), and agentless surfaces.

    
    

  • Oversee entitlement record loading for Tier 1 publishers (Microsoft, Oracle, Adobe, IBM, SAP) and validate them against purchase orders.

    
    

  • Configure Publisher Pack allocation rules for suite products, downgrade rights, and cross-platform unification.

    
    

  • Integrate SAM into the procurement workflow to ensure every software PO generates an entitlement record within 24 hours.

    
    

  • Facilitate the Phase 1 Gate Review and secure written sign-off.

    
    

• Phase 2: Operationalize (Days 121–210)

  
  

  • Produce the first Effective License Position (ELP) for all Tier 1 publishers by Day 130.

    
    

  • Design and activate reclamation workflows, including unused-software logic and ITSM task routing.

    
    

  • Lead a license downgrade optimization program and document publisher savings.

    
    

  • Build or integrate ITSM onboarding and offboarding workflows with the SAM Pro reclaimed license pool.

    
    

  • Deliver SAM training, build knowledge base articles, and publish the fully signed SAM Program Charter.

    
    

  • Run the first Monthly SAM Operations Review and Quarterly SAM Business Review.

    
    

• Phase 3: Managed Operations (Day 211 Onwards)

  
  

  • Own the monthly ELP refresh cycle and distribute compliance reports to IT leadership.

    
    

  • Review monthly downgrade batches and present savings to Procurement during renewal events.

    
    

  • Facilitate recurring reviews to present OKR progress, YTD savings, audit readiness, and renewal pipelines to the Executive Sponsor.

    
    

  • Manage publisher relationships and lead audit responses, maintaining all documentation in ServiceNow.

    
    

  • Produce an annual ROI report and facilitate the Annual SAM Program Review.

    
    

Core Duties

• Own the SAM program charter, scope, and governance model across all implementation phases.

  
  

• Manage cross-functional relationships across Finance, Procurement, IT, Security, and HR.

  
  

• Escalate and manage data quality issues that block ELP accuracy through to resolution.

  
  

• Maintain audit-defensible documentation for all in-scope publishers and lead publisher audit responses.

  
  

• Monitor Publisher Pack release notes to flag licensing model changes.

  
  

• Support software vendor contract negotiations utilizing SAM data as the primary evidence source.

  
  

• Own the renewal pipeline by surfacing upcoming renewals 90, 180, and 365 days in advance.

  
  

Required Qualifications (Non-Negotiable)

• Experience Level: Minimum 5 years of experience in a Software Asset Management role.

  
  

• Implementation Leadership: At least 2 years directly delivering or leading a ServiceNow SAM Pro implementation from Phase 0 to first ELP publication.

  
  

• Program Rollout: Must be able to describe specific hands-on experience handling discovery architecture decisions, entitlement loading from scratch, Publisher Pack configuration, and first ELP production.

  
  

• Discovery Architecture: Demonstrated experience designing multi-source discovery architecture across at least two endpoint management platforms (e.g., SCCM plus Jamf).

  
  

• Entitlement Loading: Hands-on experience loading entitlement records from purchase order data for at least three Tier 1 publishers.

  
  

• ELP Production: Proven experience producing and validating an ELP for Microsoft, along with at least one of Oracle or Adobe.

  
  

• Workflow Integration: Experience integrating SAM Pro into ITSM workflows and running a reclamation workflow through confirmed uninstall.

  
  

• Licensing Knowledge: Deep understanding of licensing models for Microsoft, Oracle, Adobe, IBM, and Apple VPP.

  
  

• Platform Proficiency: Strong working knowledge of ServiceNow SAM Pro, ServiceNow ITSM, Microsoft Intune/SCCM, Jamf Pro, and ServiceNow Integration Hub.

  
  

Preferred Qualifications

• ServiceNow Certified Implementation Specialist (CIS) in Software Asset Management.

  
  

• Experience with endpoint intelligence tools like Tanium Asset and Performance or Nexthink.

  
  

• Experience utilizing SaaS License Management in ServiceNow, including Okta integration.

  
  

• Prior experience in a client-embedded program lead role at a managed services provider or consultancy.

  
  

• Familiarity with VDI environments (Citrix, VMware Horizon, Azure Virtual Desktop) and their impact on Microsoft and Oracle license counting.

  
  

• Experience supporting publisher audit response for Microsoft, Oracle, or IBM.

  
  

Key Success Outcomes

• Day 30: Deliver the SAM Readiness Report with all Phase 0 discovery questions answered and OKRs baselined.

  
  

• Day 120 (Phase 1 Gate): Pass all six gate criteria, achieve a CMDB health score above 85%, and ensure Tier 1 entitlement records are loaded.

  
  

• Day 130: Publish and validate the first ELP for all Tier 1 publishers.

  
  

• Day 210 (Phase 2 Close): Ensure all five cross-functional dashboards are live, workflows are active, and governance cadences are fully established.

  
  

• Year 1: Achieve a SAM program ROI above 3:1, maintain zero unresolved Tier 1 publisher shortfalls, and hit an audit readiness score above 90% for all Tier 1 publishers.