Head of Enterprise Applications

Reading, England, United Kingdom

11/5/2024

Empower, Connect, Evolve, and Inspire - these are the values that drive us and make BMI a company where you can thrive and grow.

Job Overview

As Head of Enterprise Applications at BMI, you will be a key driver in the evolution of our enterprise applications. In this strategic leadership role, you will define the solution roadmap and architecture, ensuring it aligns with BMI's business goals and overseeing its implementation from start to finish. You will act as the bridge between business strategy and solution delivery, taking ownership of BMI's application architecture and ensuring adherence to industry best practices.

Collaborating closely with stakeholders, you will shape the vision for our applications and products, and lead the design, development, and implementation of solutions critical to BMI's success. This demands a highly motivated individual with deep expertise in SAP technologies and a proven track record of delivering impactful solutions.

Reporting to the Director of Products and Applications (who has overall accountability for solution delivery), you will partner with the rest of the IT teams and the Global Process Owner (GPO) function. Together, you will ensure solutions are designed and developed to meet business needs, align with BMI's Enterprise Architecture, and maximize the use of core SAP functionality while minimizing customization.

You will also work closely with our delivery partners to guarantee solutions are built to specifications, adhere to BMI standards, are fit-for-purpose, and fully documented

Key Accountabilities

• Product Vision and Strategy:
• Develop and articulate a comprehensive applications strategy aligned with organisational objectives.
• Collaborate with key stakeholders to understand business requirements and ensure solutions meet current and future needs.
• Product Lifecycle Management:
• Oversee the entire lifecycle of SAP products, from planning and development to deployment and continuous improvement.
• Work closely with cross-functional teams to define product roadmaps, release plans, and timelines.
• Project Management:
• Coordinate SAP implementation projects, ensuring timely delivery within scope and budget.
• Collaborate with project teams, ensuring effective communication and adherence to project timelines.
• Project Delivery:
  
  

Support delivery of SAP and Non SAP projects to time, quality and budget.

• Collaborative and continuous e
• Engagement with 3 rd party delivery partners to ensure that what is being built aligns with requirements and specifications.
• Collaborate with project managers to identify and mitigate risks that could impact project delivery.
• Accountable for creating and maintaining comprehensive documentation of the SAP solution architecture, configurations, and processes, ensuring accessibility and compliance.
• Architecture Design and Governance:
  
  

Define And Implement An Optimised SAP Architecture

• Plan, define, and document standards for the SAP system landscape, considering factors such as performance, security, and integration.
• Align the SAP architecture with industry best practices, BMI’s standards, and BMI’s Enterprise Architecture.
• Assure BMI’s solution designs are compatible for fit-with-standard, scalability, flexibility, future growth, and maintainability.
• Establish and enforce architectural governance processes to maintain consistency, reliability, and compliance across SAP environments.
• Integration with Existing Systems:
  
  

Assure seamless integration of SAP solutions with existing systems.

• Collaborate with architects, developers, and integration teams to assure effective interfaces, and end-to-end integration across solutions.
• Identify and resolve integration challenges to maintain data flows and business process continuity.
• Performance Monitoring and Optimisation:
• Implement monitoring tools and processes to track the performance of SAP systems and applications.
• Analyse data to identify areas for improvement and implement optimization strategies.
• Risk Management:
• Identify and mitigate risks associated with BMI’s SAP solung a proactive approach to issue resolution.
• Stay informed about industry best practices and advancements in SAP technology to address potential risks.
• Continuous Improvement:
• Keep up to date with SAP trends and technologies to ensure that solutions are optimised and continuously assessed for improvement.
• Stay informed about SAP updates, new releases, and emerging technologies.
• Evaluate and recommend opportunities for enhancing the SAP landscape based on industry advancements.
• Stakeholder Engagement:
• Engage with internal stakeholders to gather feedback, understand pain points, and ensure SAP solutions are meeting business expectations.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with SAP vendors, consultants, and external partners.
• Budget Management:
• Develop and manage the capital expenditure (CAPEX) and operational expenditure (OPEX) budgets for the solutions.
• Track and analyze budget performance, identifying any variances and taking corrective actions.
• Optimize costs related to licensing, maintenance, and support.
• Evaluate and recommend cost-effective solutions for new implementations and upgrades.
• Ensure compliance with budget guidelines and financial policies.
  
  

Key Stakeholders

Global Process Owner

Service Manager

Qualifications & Experiences Required

• Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field
• Proven experience as an SAP technology professional and experience in similar functional roles.
• Extensive knowledge of SAP technologies, including S/4 HANA
• Strong technical skills in SAP architecture, configuration, and customization. Experience of designing and implementing complex SAP solutions to meet business requirements.
• Proficiency in solution design and system architecture, ensuring that SAP implementations align with business goals, scalability requirements, and industry best practices.
• Strong understanding of SAP integration technologies and methodologies, data migration, and system landscape design.
• Strong leadership and collaboration skills with the ability to work in cross-functional teams, with the ability to convey complex technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build strong relationships across all levels of BMI’s organisation.
• Project management capabilities with a track record of successful SAP implementations.
• Ability to highlight risks, offer innovative and practical mitigations, and drive through their execution.
• Analytical mindset with the ability to solve complex problems.
• SAP certification (e.g., SAP Certified Application Associate) is a plus.
• Familiarity with industry best practices and emerging trends in SAP
  
  

Personal Attributes Required

• Track record of collaborating with business leaders in a complex business environment
• Evidence of ability to challenge, influence, listen to and resolve conflicts with key decision-makers
• Excellent communication and presentation skills catered to a wide variety of audiences
  
  

A career with BMI Group is more than just a job. We help you to find work you enjoy, to use your skills, and support you to become the best you can be.

Working together we can achieve great things. Come and join us.