Sr. Director, SAP Center of Excellence

Job Description

The Senior Director, SAP Center of Excellence (CoE) is a high-impact executive leadership role responsible for defining the strategic direction, operational governance, and technical execution of the enterprise SAP ecosystem. This leader will oversee three critical pillars within the SAP CoE: Program Management Office, Technical Integration and End-to-End Testing, in partnership with Peer Leads in the areas of SAP Platform and SAP Foundations. The immediate focus of this role will be directing the SAP components of a comprehensive Invoicing Modernization Program utilizing SAP S/4 HANA, driving the enterprise toward a highly automated, scalable, and Clean Core ERP architecture.

Responsibilities

1. Strategic Leadership & CoE Governance

• Establish and execute the long-term roadmap, vision and operational standards for the SAP Center of Excellence.
• Partner closely with Finance, Purchasing and Invoicing Leads to align SAP investments and capabilities with overarching business objectives.
• Drive the adoption of SAP's Clean Core strategy, minimizing custom legacy ABAP code and leveraging SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) for extensions.
• Manage the SAP CoE operating budget, resource allocation (internal, external, offshore), and strategic vendor relationships (including SAP, system integrators and third-party software providers).

2. PMO & Delivery Excellence

• Lead PMO across SAP Corporate Backbone, ensuring that programs, upgrades, and rollouts are delivered on time, within scope, and on budget.
• Define and enforce uniform project management methodologies across all SAP initiatives.
• Establish key performance indicators (KPIs) and operational metrics to measure delivery efficiency, resource utilization, and business value realization.
• Lead risk mitigation strategies and executive-level reporting for major SAP transformation initiatives.

3. Technical Integration

• Define and govern a modern, secure, and scalable SAP integration strategy.
• Ensure seamless, high-performance data flow and connectivity between SAP S/4 HANA and non-SAP legacy systems, third-party platforms, and external cloud solutions.
• Collaborate with Enterprise Architecture and Security teams to enforce compliance, robust data governance, and strict SOX/SOD controls across all integration points.

4. End-to-End Testing & Quality Assurance

• Lead the strategy, tooling, and framework for enterprise-wide automated and intelligent testing across the SAP footprint.
• Lead a dedicated testing team, leveraging industry-standard tools to drive continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD).
• Reduce manual regression testing overhead, accelerate release cycles, and ensure near-zero downtime operations during SAP upgrades and patch cycles.
• Define rigorous quality gates and validation processes for all code, configuration, and data migrations prior to production release.

Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field. Master's degree or MBA is highly preferred.
• Experience:
  • 15+ years of experience in enterprise technology and software development, with a minimum of 10 years dedicated to leading complex SAP environments.
  • 7+ years of direct leadership experience managing large, multi-disciplinary, and globally distributed teams (including internal staff, contractors, and global system integrators).
  • Proven track record of successfully directing at least one major full lifecycle SAP S/4 HANA implementation.
  • Direct experience leading high-volume billing, invoicing, or financial transactional modernization programs in an enterprise setting is a plus.
• Technical & Process Expertise:
  • Deep technical understanding of SAP S/4 HANA architecture, SAP BTP, and modern integration methodologies (APIs, SAP Integration Suite).
  • Hands-on familiarity with automated testing frameworks and tools.
  • Expertise in SAP Activate methodology, Agile/Scrum frameworks, and modern PMO practices.
  • Strong understanding of financial compliance, internal controls (SOX), and global tax regulations.
• Leadership & Soft Skills:
  • Exceptional executive-level communication, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills.
  • Proven ability to guide organizations through complex technical and cultural change management.
  • Analytical, forward-thinking mindset with a passion for automation, operational efficiency, and engineering excellence.