SAP Development Manager
Posted 3 days ago by Matchtech
£125 Per hour
Undetermined
Onsite
London Area, United Kingdom
Summary: The SAP S/4HANA Development Lead will oversee the application development workstream for a major ERP transformation at a leading global FMCG organization. This senior leadership role requires expertise in S/4HANA implementations and involves shaping development strategies, managing global teams, and ensuring compliance with regulatory standards. The position offers a significant opportunity to influence architecture and drive modernization within a complex multinational environment. The role is pivotal in delivering high-quality custom applications and integrations as part of a long-term operational foundation.
Key Responsibilities:
- Serve as the Development Lead for the global S/4HANA transformation, owning the application development workstream.
- Translate the programme roadmap into a clear development and delivery strategy aligned with business and architectural requirements.
- Define and enforce clean core principles, custom code strategy, and governance frameworks for development, testing, and transport management.
- Work closely with Enterprise Architecture, Functional, and Integration teams to maximise standardisation, reuse, and innovation.
- Oversee all custom development across the S/4HANA ecosystem, including in-app and side-by-side extensions.
- Manage interfaces, APIs, and integrations using SAP BTP, CPI, and related tools.
- Lead SAP Fiori/UI5 application development and modern UX enablement.
- Drive custom code remediation and optimisation from ECC to S/4HANA, including CDS views, ABAP on HANA, and ABAP Cloud.
- Lead and manage a global development factory (internal and offshore teams) to ensure timely and high-quality delivery.
- Apply Agile and DevOps practices, enabling iterative development, automated testing, and continuous deployment.
- Ensure all development complies with GxP, SOX, and GDPR requirements within a regulated FMCG environment.
- Establish coding standards, review processes, and automated testing frameworks (e.g., ABAP Unit, ATC).
- Partner with QA and Validation teams to ensure deliverables meet regulatory and audit standards.
- Maintain full documentation and traceability across the SDLC.
- Act as the primary development point of contact within the S/4HANA programme.
- Collaborate with business process owners, functional teams, and integration partners to translate requirements into robust technical designs.
- Communicate risks, issues, progress, and dependencies to programme leadership and stakeholders.
- Mentor global development teams, fostering capability growth and collaboration.
- Champion modernisation through SAP BTP, Fiori, automation, and best-practice engineering techniques.
- Drive system performance tuning and post-go-live optimisation.
- Support knowledge sharing and continuous improvement across SAP development teams.
Key Skills:
- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or related field.
- 10+ years of SAP technical experience, including recent leadership of S/4HANA implementation workstreams.
- Expertise in: ABAP on HANA, CDS, AMDP, OData SAP Fiori/UI5 development and extensibility SAP BTP, CPI, and modern integration patterns.
- Custom code remediation and optimisation for ECC to S/4HANA transformation.
- Strong understanding of clean core strategy and global development leadership.
- Experience working in regulated industries such as FMCG, food, pharma, or consumer health.
- Strong knowledge of SAP development tools (Eclipse), SAP Solution Manager or Cloud ALM, transport and release management, and DevOps toolchains.
- SAP certifications in ABAP for S/4HANA, SAP BTP, or Fiori (desirable).
- Experience with SAP Activate and Agile methodologies (desirable).
- Familiarity with MES, PLM, LIMS, and external manufacturing system integrations (desirable).
- Exposure to data migration tools such as LTMC or BODS (desirable).
- Experience in multi-country, multi-entity environments with complex supply chains (desirable).
- Awareness of emerging AI and automation capabilities in SAP development (desirable).
- Strategic and hands-on leadership within global transformation programmes.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
- Excellent communication and stakeholder management abilities.
- Confidence operating within a matrixed, multinational environment.
- Commitment to quality, compliance, and business value delivery.
Salary (Rate): £125.00/hr
City: London
Country: United Kingdom
Working Arrangements: on-site
IR35 Status: undetermined
Seniority Level: Senior
Industry: IT
SAP S/4HANA Development Lead (12-Month Contract) Global FMCG – London (3 Days Onsite per Week) A leading global FMCG organisation is seeking an experienced SAP S/4HANA Development Lead to play a pivotal role in a major ERP transformation programme, transitioning from ECC to S/4HANA. This senior leadership position is suited to a technical expert who has recently led or delivered S/4HANA implementations and is committed to building a clean, future-ready digital core. The role is accountable for shaping the end-to-end development strategy, leading global development teams, and ensuring high-quality delivery of custom applications, extensions, and integrations across a complex, multinational FMCG landscape. This programme will form the foundation of global operations for many years ahead, offering a significant opportunity to influence architecture and drive modernisation.
Key Responsibilities
- Leadership & Strategy
- Serve as the Development Lead for the global S/4HANA transformation, owning the application development workstream.
- Translate the programme roadmap into a clear development and delivery strategy aligned with business and architectural requirements.
- Define and enforce clean core principles, custom code strategy, and governance frameworks for development, testing, and transport management.
- Work closely with Enterprise Architecture, Functional, and Integration teams to maximise standardisation, reuse, and innovation.
- Technical Delivery
- Oversee all custom development across the S/4HANA ecosystem, including in-app and side-by-side extensions.
- Manage interfaces, APIs, and integrations using SAP BTP, CPI, and related tools.
- Lead SAP Fiori/UI5 application development and modern UX enablement.
- Drive custom code remediation and optimisation from ECC to S/4HANA, including CDS views, ABAP on HANA, and ABAP Cloud.
- Lead and manage a global development factory (internal and offshore teams) to ensure timely and high-quality delivery.
- Apply Agile and DevOps practices, enabling iterative development, automated testing, and continuous deployment.
- Governance, Compliance & Quality
- Ensure all development complies with GxP, SOX, and GDPR requirements within a regulated FMCG environment.
- Establish coding standards, review processes, and automated testing frameworks (e.g., ABAP Unit, ATC).
- Partner with QA and Validation teams to ensure deliverables meet regulatory and audit standards.
- Maintain full documentation and traceability across the SDLC.
- Stakeholder Management
- Act as the primary development point of contact within the S/4HANA programme.
- Collaborate with business process owners, functional teams, and integration partners to translate requirements into robust technical designs.
- Communicate risks, issues, progress, and dependencies to programme leadership and stakeholders.
- Mentor global development teams, fostering capability growth and collaboration.
- Continuous Improvement
- Champion modernisation through SAP BTP, Fiori, automation, and best-practice engineering techniques.
- Drive system performance tuning and post-go-live optimisation.
- Support knowledge sharing and continuous improvement across SAP development teams.
Qualifications & Experience
- Essential
- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or related field.
- 10+ years of SAP technical experience, including recent leadership of S/4HANA implementation workstreams.
- Expertise in: ABAP on HANA, CDS, AMDP, OData SAP Fiori/UI5 development and extensibility SAP BTP, CPI, and modern integration patterns
- Custom code remediation and optimisation for ECC to S/4HANA transformation
- Strong understanding of clean core strategy and global development leadership.
- Experience working in regulated industries such as FMCG, food, pharma, or consumer health.
- Strong knowledge of SAP development tools (Eclipse), SAP Solution Manager or Cloud ALM, transport and release management, and DevOps toolchains.
- Desirable
- SAP certifications in ABAP for S/4HANA, SAP BTP, or Fiori.
- Experience with SAP Activate and Agile methodologies.
- Familiarity with MES, PLM, LIMS, and external manufacturing system integrations.
- Exposure to data migration tools such as LTMC or BODS.
- Experience in multi-country, multi-entity environments with complex supply chains.
- Awareness of emerging AI and automation capabilities in SAP development.
Key Competencies
- Strategic and hands-on leadership within global transformation programmes.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
- Excellent communication and stakeholder management abilities.
- Confidence operating within a matrixed, multinational environment.
- Commitment to quality, compliance, and business value delivery.
Why This Opportunity Stands Out
This is a rare chance to contribute to a major global FMCG S/4HANA transformation that will define operational capabilities for the next decade. The role offers exposure to leading-edge SAP technologies, complex global landscapes, and the opportunity to make a significant long-term impact.