SAP Cutover Plan Lead

Job Overview

We are looking for an experienced SAP Cutover Plan Lead to lead and manage end-to-end cutover planning and execution for large-scale SAP implementation and transformation programs. The ideal candidate will have strong experience managing SAP go-live activities, cutover strategy, cross-functional coordination, data migration, system readiness, and post-go-live stabilization.

The candidate will be responsible for developing comprehensive cutover plans, coordinating business and technical teams, managing risks and dependencies, and ensuring a smooth transition from legacy systems to SAP production environments.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end SAP cutover planning, preparation, execution, and post-go-live activities.
• Develop and maintain detailed cutover plans, schedules, checklists, milestones, and task dependencies.
• Coordinate with SAP Functional, Technical, Basis, Infrastructure, Security, Data Migration, and Business teams.
• Manage SAP S/4HANA or SAP ECC implementation cutover activities.
• Define cutover strategy, governance, roles, responsibilities, and execution timelines.
• Coordinate data migration, data validation, reconciliation, and final data loads.
• Manage system downtime planning, business freeze activities, and production readiness.
• Identify, assess, and mitigate cutover risks, issues, and dependencies.
• Conduct cutover rehearsals, mock cutovers, dress rehearsals, and readiness assessments.
• Lead cutover command center activities during go-live.
• Track task completion, escalate blockers, and provide regular status reports to senior management.
• Ensure business continuity and minimize operational disruption during the transition.
• Lead hypercare and post-go-live stabilization activities.

Required Technical Skills

• Strong experience in SAP Cutover Management and SAP Go-Live execution.
• Hands-on experience with SAP S/4HANA and/or SAP ECC implementations.
• Knowledge of SAP modules such as:
• SAP Finance (FI/CO)
• SAP Materials Management (MM)
• SAP Sales and Distribution (SD)
• SAP Production Planning (PP)
• SAP Supply Chain Management (SCM)
• Understanding of SAP Data Migration and Data Validation processes.
• Experience with SAP Activate methodology and implementation lifecycle.
• Knowledge of SAP Basis, transports, interfaces, integrations, and production deployment.
• Experience with cutover management tools, project plans, RAID logs, and dependency tracking.

Required Experience

• 10+ years of overall SAP implementation experience.
• 5+ years of experience in SAP Cutover Planning and Management.
• Proven experience leading at least one or more SAP implementation or S/4HANA transformation go-lives.
• Experience managing cross-functional teams and multiple workstreams.
• Strong stakeholder management, communication, and leadership skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• SAP S/4HANA migration or transformation experience.
• Experience in large-scale global SAP implementations.
• SAP Activate certification or relevant project management certification (PMP/PRINCE2).
• Experience managing complex business-critical go-live programs.

Key Deliverables

• End-to-end SAP Cutover Strategy and Plan.
• Detailed Cutover Runbook and Execution Checklist.
• Mock Cutover and Rehearsal Reports.
• Go-Live Readiness Assessment.
• Risk, Issue, and Dependency Management Reports.
• Production Go-Live Execution and Hypercare Support.