SAP Applications Manager – S/4HANA

Location: Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo (Rotation 5.5 months in Lubumbashi and 2 weeks off neg)

Reporting To: Senior Director – Finance & Accounts

Overview

A leading organisation in the mining sector is seeking an experienced SAP Applications Manager – S/4HANA to take ownership of its SAP S/4HANA environment. This strategic role will be responsible for ensuring system stability, financial governance, and the continued development of the organisation’s SAP platform across the group.

Reporting to the Senior Director – Finance & Accounts, the successful candidate will lead the internal SAP team, oversee system enhancements and integrations, and drive future SAP initiatives, including additional module implementations and rollouts to other group entities within the mining operations.

This position requires a strong SAP leader with deep ERP governance experience and a solid finance background, ideally with strong SAP FICO expertise.

Key Responsibilities

SAP System Ownership • Assume full operational ownership of the SAP S/4HANA environment • Ensure system stability, performance, and cross-module integrity • Govern incident management and structured issue resolution • Oversee upgrades, patches, and ongoing system health monitoring

Financial Governance & Control • Ensure SAP configuration supports accurate financial reporting and compliance • Maintain governance over the chart of accounts, cost structures, and financial controls • Oversee role matrices, user access management, and segregation of duties • Support internal and external audit requirements related to ERP controls

Internal SAP Team Leadership • Lead and manage internal SAP functional and technical resources • Establish effective support structures and escalation processes • Prioritise enhancements and manage structured change governance • Build internal SAP capability and reduce reliance on external vendors

Enhancements & WRICEF Governance • Manage development of workflows, reports, interfaces, conversions, enhancements, and forms (WRICEF) • Maintain a structured pipeline of enhancements aligned to business priorities • Oversee testing governance and controlled deployment of system changes • Drive continuous improvement and business process optimisation initiatives

Integration & Technical Oversight • Oversee integrations between SAP and external operational systems including SCADA, LIMS, weighbridge, and other mining-related platforms • Ensure secure and stable data exchange across systems • Monitor integration performance and scalability

SAP Phase 2 & Rollouts • Lead Phase 2 SAP initiatives and additional module implementations • Manage SAP rollouts to additional mining operations and group entities • Ensure consistent configuration, master data standards, and integration architecture across the group • Maintain a forward-looking SAP roadmap aligned with operational growth

Vendor & Budget Management • Manage SAP support partners and ensure service delivery against agreed SLAs • Oversee SAP-related budgets, licensing, and cost control • Drive user adoption, training reinforcement, and process discipline across the organisation

Requirements

Essential Experience • 12–15 years of SAP experience • Minimum three full-cycle SAP implementations, including at least one SAP S/4HANA implementation as Project Lead • Strong SAP finance background with deep FICO expertise • Experience managing live SAP S/4HANA environments • Proven leadership and stakeholder management experience • Strong understanding of ERP governance and financial controls

Technical Knowledge • Cross-module exposure to MM, SD, PP, QM, and PM • Experience in the mining, metals, manufacturing, or heavy industrial sectors preferred • Exposure to SAP Fiori, SAP BTP (Business Technology Platform), and embedded analytics or SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC) advantageous

Skills • Strong leadership and team management capability • Excellent stakeholder engagement and communication skills • Strategic mindset with the ability to drive ERP transformation and optimisation

Opportunity

This is a senior leadership opportunity to take custodianship of a mission-critical SAP S/4HANA platform within a mining environment. The role offers the chance to shape the organisation’s SAP strategy, support operational expansion, and ensure the platform continues to enable strong financial and operational governance across the group.