Programme Technical Lead
Job Summary
Role:
S4 Technical Lead
Reporting to:
Chief Architect
Division
Group/Corporate
Work location:
Flexible
Country:
Flexible
Job Profile:
Technology
Organisation
PMO
Purpose of Role
The S4 Tech Lead is accountable for the end-to-end technical delivery of the S4 solution across SAP S/4HANA core environments landing zones infrastructure SAP RISE technical tooling and the wider SAP and non-SAP ecosystem in confirmed programme scope.
The role acts as the single-thread accountable owner for technical execution ensuring that technical delivery is planned governed built tested cut over and transitioned into support in line with agreed architecture principles Clean Core standards SAP Activate gates and programme milestones.
The S4 Tech Lead works closely with the Integration Lead Tooling SME Data Security Infrastructure Environment and Testing teams to ensure specialist technical areas are coordinated as part of one integrated delivery plan. The Integration Lead remains accountable for integration architecture integration patterns interface design assurance and integration delivery coordination; the Tech Lead ensures integration activity is aligned to the wider technical plan dependencies readiness criteria and programme governance.
The role coordinates activity across Deloitte SAP Weir technology teams BAU support teams and third-party vendors ensuring technical ownership boundaries are clear across design build test cutover hypercare and transition to BAU.
A critical part of the role is ensuring that technical solutions are right for Weir sustainable supportable secure operable and aligned to the target operating model rather than reflecting supplier preference legacy complexity or localised ways of working.
Objectives & Measurement - Key Responsibilities
Technical Delivery & Execution
- Own the end-to-end technical delivery plan for S4 ensuring technical activities are aligned to the integrated programme plan SAP Activate phases and programme milestones.
- Translate the Chief Architects target architecture design principles and Clean Core intent into executable technical workplans across internal teams Deloitte SAP and other delivery partners.
- Ensure technical delivery milestones are achieved within agreed scope time cost and quality parameters.
- Maintain technical execution discipline across build integration data migration security testing cutover and hypercare.
- Intervene rapidly where technical workstreams are off-track driving corrective action and recovery plans.
- Ensure technical deliverables are clearly owned sequenced resourced and governed across Weir Deloitte SAP and other suppliers.
Architecture Design Authority & Technical Governance
- Own and operate the Technical Working Group ensuring technical decisions are prepared reviewed escalated and resolved effectively.
- Support the Chief Architect in operating the Design Authority ensuring architectural choices remain aligned to enterprise architecture programme scope fit-to-standard and Clean Core principles.
- Ensure deviations from standard customisation requests and technical exceptions are assessed for business value risk complexity operability and long-term maintainability.
- Provide clear recommendations on technical design decisions trade-offs and risk positions to the Chief Architect Programme Director and relevant governance forums.
- Ensure technical decisions are documented traceable and reflected in solution design delivery plans and risk management processes.
- Reinforce fit-to-standard behaviours and prevent unnecessary technical complexity or local divergence. Strong governance over fit-to-standard is identified as critical to S/4 success with differences only permitted for genuine fiscal legal or regulatory needs and escalated through senior governance where required.
S/4HANA Core Environments & Landing Zones
- Own technical coordination across the S/4HANA core platform SAP RISE service model environments infrastructure dependencies and cloud landing zones.
- Ensure S/4 environments are planned provisioned configured and managed to support design build testing training cutover deployment and hypercare needs.
- Coordinate technical readiness for the SAP RISE model including dependencies with SAP the hyperscaler and Weir infrastructure teams.
- Ensure the technical environment strategy supports parallel delivery demands test cycles data migration rehearsals integration testing performance testing and business readiness.
- Oversee technical cutover architecture environment sequencing fallback and recovery planning.
- Ensure the solution is designed for scalability resilience operability security performance and future AI / automation enablement. The programme is intended to provide scalable cloud infrastructure and AI readiness with S/4 laying a clean harmonised data foundation for future analytics and intelligent enterprise capabilities.
- Actively drive AI and automation readiness within technical scope ensuring the S/4HANA data foundation integration and platform design are clean harmonised and structured to enable SAP Business AI (e.g. Joule) embedded analytics and future intelligent-enterprise and automation use cases.
Integration Across SAP and Non-SAP Ecosystem
- Own technical coordination of the wider SAP and non-SAP ecosystem ensuring integration design and delivery is aligned across Salesforce Coupa Teamcenter MES OneStream Workday Microsoft platforms and other relevant systems.
- Ensure integration architecture supports end-to-end business processes global process harmonisation reporting and operational continuity.
- Drive alignment between S/4HANA legacy systems satellite applications middleware data platforms and reporting environments.
- Ensure integration risks dependencies and ownership are visible and actively managed across all delivery teams.
- Work with functional data and domain teams to ensure technical integration decisions support global process ownership and future-state operating model requirements.
- Support the move away from fragmented local or point-solution decision-making towards a single integrated global operating model aligned to SAP S/4HANA and future digital capabilities.
Data Security Testing & Cutover Dependencies
- Act as the primary technical escalation point for cross-stream dependencies involving data security infrastructure testing environments integration cutover and operations.
- Ensure data migration data quality master data reporting and analytics dependencies are technically understood sequenced and integrated into delivery plans.
- Partner with the Security Lead to ensure identity access segregation of duties and wider security controls are embedded into technical design and delivery and that regulatory and compliance obligations are addressed by design including IT general controls (ITGC) data privacy and data residency/sovereignty requirements (including GDPR) and cyber security and audit obligations.
- Support test strategy execution by ensuring environments interfaces data loads security roles and technical defect resolution processes are ready for each test phase.
- Own technical readiness criteria for build system integration testing user acceptance testing performance testing cutover rehearsals go-live and hypercare.
- Enforce SAP Activate gate criteria and ensure technical entry and exit criteria are met before progression between phases.
- Ensure cutover plans are technically robust rehearsed and aligned across SAP non-SAP data infrastructure and business teams.
Partner & Supplier Technical Performance
- Lead day-to-day technical engagement with Deloitte and SAP technical leads in a two-in-a-box delivery model.
- Hold Deloitte SAP and other technical partners accountable for technical deliverables quality timeliness and issue resolution.
- Ensure supplier technical plans assumptions dependencies and constraints are transparent challenged and managed.
- Escalate partner performance issues with clear evidence impact assessment and recommended interventions.
- Ensure technical delivery is coordinated across the multi-party model including Weir internal teams Deloitte SAP hyperscaler application vendors and infrastructure partners.
- Support commercial and delivery governance by providing technical input into supplier performance milestone acceptance and technical risk exposure. The programme relies on SAP Deloitte and hyperscaler delivery components with interdependent contracts and responsibilities across software hosting integration and programme delivery.
Risk Issue & Dependency Management
- Own the technical risk issue and dependency profile for S4 ensuring risks are identified early actively mitigated and escalated where required.
- Identify technical decisions or constraints that could impact programme timeline cost quality adoption or business continuity.
- Provide clear action-oriented recommendations to the Chief Architect Programme Director and governance forums.
- Ensure technical risks are linked to the integrated programme plan delivery milestones and cross-stream dependencies.
- Lead technical recovery actions where risks materialise or delivery deviates from plan.
- Maintain a strong focus on reducing complexity protecting standardisation and ensuring the solution is operable post go-live.
- Support mitigation of programme risks relating to delivery delays lower-than-expected process harmonisation technology change and operational disruption during and after go-live.
Operational Readiness Hypercare & Transition to BAU
- Ensure the S4 solution is designed and delivered with operational support maintainability and future continuous improvement in mind.
- Define and enforce technical readiness for go-live and hypercare including support models monitoring incident management environment management and knowledge transfer.
- Enable business cutover and go-live readiness from a technical perspective ensuring environments data access interfaces and technical rehearsals underpin business rehearsals training dress rehearsals and adoption activities.
- Work with the business change functional and training teams to ensure technical readiness dependencies and constraints affecting user adoption are visible sequenced and resolved ahead of go-live.
- Work with BAU technology product domain and support teams to ensure ownership processes and capabilities are in place before transition.
- Ensure technical knowledge transfer from Deloitte SAP and other suppliers to Weir teams is structured measurable and complete.
- Support the enduring Product Operating Model by ensuring platforms data and systems are governed in line with Global Product Domain ownership beyond go-live. The Product Operating Model is intended to become the standard way Weir governs and evolves its business capabilities after the programme.
Knowledge Skills Capability and Experience
Essential
- Proven track record ideally 10 years leading technical delivery within large-scale ERP SAP S/4HANA or equivalent enterprise transformation programmes.
- Demonstrable experience as a technical lead solution delivery lead or platform delivery owner on complex multi-workstream transformation programmes.
- Strong understanding of SAP S/4HANA technical architecture SAP Activate delivery lifecycle Clean Core principles fit-to-standard implementation and enterprise integration patterns.
- Experience delivering in SAP RISE cloud ERP or hyperscaler-enabled environments.
- Strong knowledge of technical delivery across environments infrastructure integration data migration security testing cutover and hypercare.
- Experience managing technical dependencies across SAP and non-SAP ecosystems.
- Ability to operate effectively in a multi-party delivery model involving client teams Systems Integrator SAP hyperscaler and application vendors.
- Strong evidence of owning technical decisions managing technical governance and driving resolution through architecture forums or design authorities.
- Demonstrable ability to challenge suppliers constructively and hold partners accountable for technical quality and delivery performance.
- Experience managing technical risk in high-pressure high-visibility transformation environments.
- Ability to convert architectural direction into practical delivery plans decision logs RAID actions and delivery outcomes.
- Strong communication skills with the ability to explain complex technical issues clearly to senior business technology and programme stakeholders.
- Strong understanding of global process standardisation template governance and the technical implications of divergence from standard.
Leadership Style Required
- Operates with a delivery-first mindset focused on technical outcomes pace quality and operational readiness.
- Comfortable being the single-thread accountable technical owner in a complex ambiguous and fast-moving programme environment.
- Able to lead through influence across Weir Deloitte SAP and other delivery partners.
- Strong bias for action issue resolution and removing technical blockers.
- Holds technical teams and suppliers to account while maintaining constructive partner-based relationships.
- Balances strategic architecture intent with pragmatic delivery decision-making.
- Protects Clean Core fit-to-standard and global template integrity while enabling business outcomes.
- Works effectively across business technology data security infrastructure and programme teams.
- Demonstrates resilience clarity and calm under pressure.
Nice to Have
- Previous experience in manufacturing engineering mining industrials or global asset-intensive environments.
- Experience with SAP BTP SAP Integration Suite SAP Cloud ALM SAP Solution Manager or equivalent tooling.
- Familiarity with Salesforce Coupa Teamcenter MES OneStream Workday and Microsoft ecosystem integrations.
- Experience supporting global template design and deployment across multiple regions or divisions.
- Familiarity with Jira Azure DevOps SAP Cloud ALM or equivalent delivery and defect management tools.
- Relevant certifications such as SAP S/4HANA TOGAF SAFe Agile ITIL PMP PRINCE2 or cloud architecture certifications.
Physical Demands
The need to collaborate across different time zones means that there is a large degree of flexibility and autonomy. It is expected that there will be global travel to all business regions.
Required Experience:
Senior IC
About Company
The Weir Group creates innovative engineering solutions for minerals and mining technology markets. Ask us about our wide range of products.