Head of Applications

Are you ready to move your career forward and help shape our company’s and customers’ futures? If you aspire to challenge yourself, work with the best in the industry and join a successful team where you can make a meaningful contribution, then we invite you to join us at Ketjen Corporation, a provider of advanced catalyst solutions to leading producers in the petrochemical, refining, and specialty chemicals industries. Together, we can create a legacy marked by innovation, excitement, and energy. Ketjen is hiring a Head of Applications to lead the ERP and broader application landscape that runs the business. The portfolio includes almost 200 applications across finance, supply chain, manufacturing, commercial, quality, EHS, research, legal, and HR. SAP is the core ERP, supported by master data governance, cloud services, and specialized systems for individual functions. Experience in manufacturing is important, with particular value placed on leaders who understand chemical process industries, plant operations, product quality, regulatory requirements, and the way enterprise applications support complex production environments. A key part of this role is building the business relationship manager model from the ground up. Ketjen does not yet have a formal structure connecting business functions to the applications team. This Head will shape the BRM team using a mix of internal talent and selective new hires, with each BRM aligned to a function and serving as the trusted link between business users and the team that builds and supports their systems.

REPORTING AND KEY RELATIONSHIPS

This role reports into the Chief Information Officer and works closely with the Head of Infrastructure and Cybersecurity; the Head of Analytics and AI; finance, supply chain, commercial, R&D, quality, EHS, legal, and HR leaders; and SAP, application vendors, and implementation partners.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Business Relationship Management

• Identify, select, recruit, and lead business relationship managers, drawing from internal talent where strong business knowledge exists and adding new hires where additional capability or coverage is needed.
• Set the operating model for how business relationship managers gather requirements, manage demand, and prioritize competing requests across finance, supply chain, commercial, and other functions.
• Make sure every major business function has a clear channel into IT and understands who owns its systems.

ERP Strategy and Roadmap

• Own the SAP roadmap end to end, including core ERP modules, master data governance, and the cloud platform and planning services that support it.
• Prioritize enhancement requests, upgrades, and new capability against real business value and the realities of a lean standalone team.
• Partner with finance, supply chain, and manufacturing leaders to make sure the ERP evolves with the business rather than around it, including the needs of plant operations, production planning, quality, EHS, and process manufacturing workflows.

Application Portfolio Management

• Evaluate the current application landscape end to end, spanning finance and accounting, supply chain and logistics, commercial, quality and EHS, R&D and lab systems, legal, and HR, and build a full inventory of what exists, who owns it, and what it costs.
• Rationalize the portfolio by identifying redundant tools, systems that no longer fit the business, and gaps that need to be filled.
• Own the integration layer that connects these systems to each other and to the core ERP.
• Maintain master data standards and ownership across functions so the same customer, vendor, or material means the same thing everywhere.

Separation Close-Out

• Finish remaining application contract and licensing items tied to the Albemarle separation, expected to close out over the next few months.
• Confirm data ownership and access are fully settled for any application that moved off shared infrastructure with the former parent.

Vendor and Contract Management

• Manage relationships with SAP, implementation partners, and other software vendors that support the business.
• Lead application strategy and vendor direction for key application contracts, working with Procurement to negotiate commercial terms and decide which relationships to consolidate, renegotiate, or exit.
• Evaluate and transition day-to-day application support, especially tier 2 and tier 3 SAP support, to an application managed services partner so the internal team can stay focused on roadmap and business relationships.
• Work with the CIO to define the application managed services partner landscape, including which services partners should deliver and how they fit into Ketjen's broader IT operating model.
• Partner with the IT governance lead to define processes for managing partner relationships, service performance, issue escalation, and SLA reporting.
• Build a disciplined intake and approval process so new application requests get evaluated against the existing portfolio before anything new gets purchased.

Team and Delivery

• Build the applications team structure, including business relationship managers from the current organization and selective external hiring, functional analysts, and any developers or configuration specialists needed in-house.
• Set delivery standards for testing, change management, and user adoption so releases go smoothly.
• Own the applications budget and report on cost, delivery, and adoption in terms the business understands.

EXPERIENCE

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in information technology, computer science, business, or a related field.
• At least 10 years in enterprise applications leadership, including direct experience with SAP or a comparable ERP.
• Experience building or running a business relationship manager or IT business partner model.
• A track record of managing a large application portfolio.
• Strong stakeholder management skills across finance, supply chain, commercial, and other functional leaders.
• Experience managing software vendors, contracts, and implementation partners.
• Experience supporting applications in a manufacturing environment, including working with plant, operations, quality, EHS, maintenance, and supply chain stakeholders.
• Comfort building a function and team from a limited starting point, with a willingness to stay hands‑on when needed.

Preferred Qualifications

• Direct experience with SAP S/4HANA is essential; experience with SAP RISE is strongly preferred.
• Experience transitioning application support to a managed services partner, ideally following a carve‑out, divestiture, or merger.
• Background in manufacturing, with strong preference for chemicals, specialty materials, refining, or another process industry where SAP and related applications support plant operations, quality, EHS, maintenance, and supply chain execution.
• Additional valued experience with SAP IBP, SAP Concur, SAP Master Data Governance, SAP Business Technology Platform, and Salesforce.
• Experience in a private equity‑owned or sponsor‑backed company.

What We Are Looking For

A business‑facing technology leader who builds trust quickly, listens carefully, and can translate between executive priorities, functional needs, and technical delivery. Someone who can bring order, accountability, and clear decision‑making to an application landscape that has grown without a single owner. A pragmatic leader who can set priorities, make trade‑offs, and say no to good ideas that do not pay for themselves or fit the roadmap. A hands‑on leader who can operate effectively in a small team, balancing strategic direction with practical execution when needed. A team builder who can identify strong internal talent, supplement with the right external hires, and create a culture of ownership, service, and business partnership. Someone comfortable leading through a mixed model of internal employees, managed services partners, software vendors, and implementation teams, with a clear view of what stays in‑house and what partners should handle.

Location and Travel

Based at Ketjen's headquarters in Houston, Texas. Travel to manufacturing sites and business locations as needed to support functional stakeholders.

Benefits of Joining Ketjen

• Competitive compensation
• Comprehensive benefits package
• A diverse array of resources to support you professionally and personally.

AS PART OF OUR GLOBAL TEAM, YOU’LL EXPERIENCE:

• Competitive compensation and benefits
• Hands‑on technical experience
• Job variety and career flexibility
• Collaboration with seasoned employees at every level
• A proven record of innovation
• Company‑wide focus on economic and environmental sustainability
• Deep commitment to our communities, education, and social development
• Concern and compassion for fellow employees
• Among the best safety records in the industry

EEO is The Law.

Equal Opportunity Employer Minorities/Women/Protected Veterans/Disabled/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity