STEP Technical Governance & Solution Assurance Lead

Job description

Job Description Summary The STEP Technical Governance & Solution Assurance Lead is responsible for providing strategic direction, delivery leadership, and operational governance for the STEP development factory, with a primary focus on SAP S/4HANA and SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP). The incumbent leads the design, build, integration, extension, and continuous optimisation of SAP-based solutions across STEP, ensuring that development activities are delivered in line with the STEP roadmap, enterprise architecture principles, clean-core standards, quality expectations, and business priorities. The role oversees cross-functional internal and external delivery teams, manages key technology and implementation partners, and ensures scalable, secure, compliant, and future-ready SAP solutions that support global business transformation. Job Description Major accountabilities: Oversee the end-to-end development factory delivery lifecycle for SAP S/4HANA and SAP BTP solutions in alignment with STEP timelines, including planning, prioritisation, resource allocation, risk management, deployment readiness, and hypercare support. Lead governance of SAP development, integration, and extension activities across global STEP workstreams, ensuring alignment with enterprise architecture, solution standards, clean-core principles, and business priorities. Direct and inspire internal and external development teams to deliver high-quality SAP solutions, technical designs, integrations, enhancements, and platform services across SAP S/4HANA, SAP BTP, and related ecosystem components. Oversee the design, build, integration, testing, deployment, and continuous optimisation of SAP-based capabilities to enhance business processes, improve operational efficiency, and support digital transformation objectives. Establish and maintain strong relationships with SAP, system integrators, technology partners, and managed service providers to ensure delivery of robust, secure, scalable, and future-ready solutions and services. Ensure compliance with relevant regulatory, quality, security, data privacy, and technology standards, including appropriate controls for validated and business-critical SAP environments. Champion continuous improvement, automation, DevOps, reusable development patterns, and innovation across the SAP development factory, leveraging SAP BTP capabilities where appropriate to accelerate delivery and reduce technical debt. Engage proactively with business, technology, architecture, security, quality, and programme stakeholders to gather requirements, manage expectations, provide transparent delivery updates, and ensure that SAP solutions effectively address business needs. Responsible for performing all assigned activities in compliance with GxP regulations, company SOPs, and data integrity requirements. Minimum Requirements: Experience and Skills: 10+ years of experience in SAP solution delivery, enterprise application development, application management, or IT services within a global, multinational organisation, ideally including large-scale SAP S/4HANA transformation programmes. Proven experience leading SAP development factories or large cross-functional delivery teams across internal associates, external partners, system integrators, and managed service providers. Strong understanding of SAP S/4HANA architecture, SAP BTP capabilities, side-by-side and in-app extensibility, integration services, APIs, event-driven integration, Fiori, workflow automation, and cloud-native development approaches. Demonstrated ability to govern SAP development standards, technical design quality, clean-core adherence, reusable patterns, technical debt reduction, and scalable solution architecture. Strong delivery leadership skills, including portfolio prioritisation, release planning, risk and issue management, budget oversight, vendor management, and transparent executive-level reporting. Excellent communication, collaboration, and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to translate complex SAP technical topics into clear business value, delivery choices, and decision options. Experience working in regulated, quality-driven, and business-critical environments, with awareness of security, compliance, data privacy, auditability, validation, and operational resilience requirements. Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to convert business requirements into robust technical designs, delivery plans, and sustainable platform capabilities. Proven ability to drive change, continuous improvement, automation, innovation, and high-performing team culture in complex global delivery environments. Deep knowledge and practical experience in SAP S/4HANA, SAP Business Technology Platform, SAP integration patterns, extensions, and enterprise application delivery. Certification in SAP S/4HANA, SAP BTP, SAP Integration Suite, SAP Activate, or relevant SAP development technologies is a plus. Certification in project, product, agile, or service management methods such as Agile, Scrum, SAFe, ITIL, PRINCE2, or PMI is a plus. Experience with Agile, DevOps, CI/CD, test automation, release governance, and modern engineering practices in regulated enterprise environments is preferred. Education: Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Business Administration, Engineering, or a related field; Master’s degree preferred. Languages: Fluent English required (oral and written) Skills Desired Budget Management, Business Acumen, Performance Management, Risk Management, Service Delivery Management, Stakeholder Management, Strategic Planning, Talent Development, Waterfall Project Management