IT Program Manager - SAP S/4HANA & Applications

Role Summary

The IT Program Manager will oversee the planning, coordination, and execution of the SAP S/4HANA implementation along with associated IT initiatives at Al Safi Danone. This position involves managing schedules, tracking project deliverables, allocating resources, and ensuring progress across major workstreams such as SAP S/4HANA, SalesBuzz, SalesCode, Image Recognition, and SO99. The Program Manager acts as the primary liaison among AFG, internal departments, business users, and technology providers to guarantee timely and successful delivery within scope, while proactively handling risks and challenges throughout the project phases.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and support all phases of the SAP S/4HANA program including planning and execution.
• Coordinate activities among SAP-focused workstreams and external implementation partners.
• Regularly monitor project milestones, risks, dependencies, issues, and quality standards.
• Prepare detailed status reports, facilitating governance and phase-gate reviews.
• Oversee data migration efforts, cutover planning, and readiness for deployment.
• Manage enterprise-wide application projects like SalesBuzz and maintain the application portfolio roadmap.
• Define project scope, timelines, deliverables, and success metrics jointly with business stakeholders.
• Handle application change requests ensuring alignment with the SAP ecosystem.
• Serve as the communication bridge between business units, IT teams, SAP consultants, and vendors.
• Organize governance meetings, workshops, and steering committee sessions.
• Drive stakeholder engagement through clear communications, updates on progress, and risk management.
• Coordinate training and user readiness activities in partnership with change management teams.
• Manage all testing phases including Unit Testing, System Integration Testing (SIT), User Acceptance Testing (UAT), performance, and regression tests.
• Track and oversee defect resolution to meet testing exit criteria and business approvals.
• Coordinate cutover schedules, Go-Live events, and ensure operational readiness.
• Support post Go/No-Go decisions and governance to assure smooth deployment and transition to BAU with hypercare support.
• Maintain comprehensive project documentation, governance records, and facilitate knowledge transfer from partners to internal teams.
• Document lessons learned and apply continuous improvement practices to delivery methods.

Job Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required in Information Technology, Computer Science, Engineering, or Business Administration.
• Preferred certifications: SAP Activate Program Manager, Project Management Professional (PMP), and SAP module certifications.
• Demonstrated success managing at least two full lifecycle SAP S/4HANA or SAP ECC projects with end-to-end responsibility through go-live.
• Deep understanding and practical application of SAP Activate methodology phases: Discover, Explore, Realize, Verify, Deploy, and Run.
• Experience overseeing all SAP testing cycles including multiple rounds of SIT and UAT, data migrations, performance testing, and cutover rehearsals.
• Strong familiarity with SAP functional areas pertinent to the FMCG and dairy sectors.