Finance SAP Program Manager

Position Summary:

The Finance SAP Program Manager leads the end-to-end implementation of SAP S/4HANA across all finance workstreams for a greenfield Electric Vehicle (EV) manufacturing plant. This role serves as the principal bridge between Finance, IT, and Operations ensuring that SAP is configured to handle the plant's high-volume, high-velocity transaction environment from Day 1 of production.

This is a critical, time-bound leadership role requiring deep SAP Finance domain expertise, manufacturing industry knowledge, and the ability to drive cross-functional alignment in a complex, pre-production build environment. The ideal candidate has led SAP Finance implementations at scale in automotive, industrial, or EV manufacturing settings.

Working Conditions: 

This role requires frequent on-site presence at the plant location, particularly during design workshops, user acceptance testing, cutover, and hypercare phases. Travel of up to 50–70% may be required during peak program milestones. Flexibility to support critical go-live windows, including weekends and extended hours, is expected.

Responsibilities:

1. SAP Finance Program Leadership

• Own the end-to-end delivery of SAP S/4HANA Finance modules: FI, CO, COPA, Asset Accounting (AA), and integration with MM, PP, SD, and TM.
• Develop and maintain the integrated program plan covering design, build, test, cutover, and hypercare phases.
• Lead the Finance Steering Committee reporting cadence and escalation framework.
• Manage budget, scope, and resource plan for the Finance SAP workstream.

1. Manufacturing Finance Configuration & Design

• Drive the design of Product Cost Planning (CK40N / CK11N) and Cost Object Controlling for high-volume repetitive manufacturing (REM) and discrete production orders.
• Configure and validate standard cost rollups, overhead rates, and WIP/variance settlement cycles aligned to plant production cadence.
• Establish the Chart of Accounts, Profit Center, and Cost Center hierarchies to support granular plant reporting.
• Design the Material Ledger / Actual Costing approach for inventory valuation under high-volume, multi-plant scenarios.
• Lead configuration of COGS split, production variance categories, and COPA derivation for management reporting.

1. Supply Chain & Logistics Finance Integration

• Partner with Supply Chain and Procurement to design the financial flows for PO-to-GR-to-Invoice cycles, including ERS (Evaluated Receipt Settlement) for high-frequency suppliers.
• Define the treatment of freight, duties, and logistics costs in the cost of goods — including standard vs. actual freight cost absorption.
• Ensure proper integration between Transportation Management (TM) and FI/CO for inbound and outbound logistics cost posting.
• Configure and test automatic account determination (OBYC) for all inventory movement types relevant to EV manufacturing.

1. High-Volume Transaction Design & Controls

• Architect the system to process repetitive, high-frequency transactions without performance degradation or posting bottlenecks.
• Define batch job scheduling for MRP, costing runs, depreciation, and intercompany reconciliation aligned to plant shift patterns.
• Design automated controls and exception management workflows for COGI, GR/IR clearing, and open item aging.
• Establish period-end close calendar and system lockdown protocol in SAP, including pre-close validation checklists.

1. Stakeholder Management & Change Leadership

• Serve as the primary Finance voice in cross-functional design workshops with Manufacturing, Procurement, Logistics, and IT.
• Partner with the Finance Organization Design team to align SAP roles, authorizations, and workflows to the Finance org structure.
• Lead Finance end-user training strategy and execution — including super-user network, training content, and go-live readiness assessment.
• Drive organizational change management for Finance teams transitioning from legacy or manual environments to SAP.

1. Testing, Cutover & Hypercare

• Own Finance workstream deliverables across UAT, performance testing, and integration testing phases.
• Develop and execute the Finance data migration strategy: open items, asset balances, cost center hierarchies, standard costs, and beginning inventory values.
• Lead cutover planning for finance, including blackout period definition, go/no-go criteria, and fallback procedures.
• Manage hypercare support for Finance for a minimum of 90 days post go-live, with documented stabilization milestones.

Minimum Qualifications & Skills: 

• 12+ years of progressive finance experience, with a minimum of 3 full-cycle SAP Finance implementations as lead or program manager.
• Deep hands-on expertise in SAP FI/CO, Product Costing, Material Ledger, and COPA.
• Proven experience in manufacturing environments — automotive, industrial, or EV/battery manufacturing strongly preferred.
• Experience with high-volume transaction environments: repetitive manufacturing, JIT supply chains, or assembly-line operations.
• Strong program management skills: PMP or equivalent; ability to manage a 20+ person, multi-workstream team.
• Experience with SAP S/4HANA (on-premise or RISE); migration from ECC to S/4HANA is an asset.

Preferred:

• Experience with SAP Transportation Management (TM) and Logistics Invoice Verification (LIV).
• Familiarity with SAP Activate methodology and agile delivery in an ERP context.
• Understanding of EV-specific cost structures: battery raw material costs, cell-to-pack assembly, software-embedded content.
• CPA, CMA, or equivalent finance designation.
• Experience working in a greenfield / pre-production plant startup environment.