SAP Technical Services Lead

First Quality was founded in 1989 and has grown to be a global privately held company with over 4,000 employees. Its corporate offices are located in Great Neck, New York, with manufacturing facilities and offices in Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Georgia, and Canada. First Quality is a diversified family of companies manufacturing consumer products ranging from Absorbent Hygiene (adult incontinence, feminine care, and baby care), Tissue (bath and towel), and Industrial (print and packaging materials), serving institutional and retail markets throughout the world. First Quality focuses on private label and branded product lines.

We are seeking an SAP Technical Services Lead for First Quality Enterprises. This position will be responsible for leadership and oversight of the delivery of all technical activities including but not limited to: System installation, System Change Management, Performance Monitoring, Performance Tuning, Transport Management, Data Management, Data Archiving, System Administration & Monitoring, Troubleshooting, Problem Analysis and Problem Resolution.  The role will have ultimate responsibility and accountability to ensure the SAP technical/NetWeaver architecture meets business platform requirements.

This position is the go-to contact for all system administration issues within the First Quality SAP landscape. The person in this position will work closely with the engineering team members for Order to Cash, Finance, Plan to Produce, Analytics, Application Support and Hosting.  As such, proven evidence of being a team player is critical for success in this role.

Primary responsibilities include:

• Keep the SAP Technical Services landscape updated based on the established company policy
• Develop and maintain the overall logical and technical integration framework for First Quality systems utilizing SAP Netweaver Process Integration (SAP PI), SAP Solution Manager and other tools
• Own the overall transport management and integration aspects between the various backend logical systems and ensuring availability and optimum response to the users of this system
• Act as the go-to contact for all system administration issues within the First Quality SAP landscape
• Work closely with the engineering team for Order to Cash, Finance, Plan to Produce, Analytics, Application Support and Hosting
• Provides overall direction for the delivery of SAP technical administration and BASIS
• Develops, Manages, and Maintains the SLAs for BASIS services with Application Managed Services partner
• Leads, develops, and mentors internal and external team of functional engineers 
• Accountable for overall SAP landscape strategy and sustenance
• Accountable for maximizing the use of automated controls as it relates to changes and other traceability components like alerts, monitoring and availability of the SAP systems
• Research SAP notes and patches to keep the system versions current
• Responsible for audit traceability of system changes and transport management system within the SAP landscape
• Ensures optimal application performance and maintainability thus enabling scalability and continuous updates from software vendors
• Ensures adherence to IT Architecture principles and guidelines

The ideal candidate should possess the following:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science or related field preferred, equivalent work experience required
• Business Systems experience in a manufacturing environment demonstrating a proven project and process management skill set
• Outstanding vendor management and people leadership skills.  Demonstrated experience in developing resources and achieving value through accomplishments of the team – both internal teams and external teams
• Strong problem solving and decision-making skills with excellent written and verbal communications skills
• 15 plus years of progressive IT SAP experience with at least 3 years in a Business Systems leadership role within a $2.0B - $5.0B global business
• 7 - 10 years SAP technical Basis experience. Work experience in an ECC-TM-EWM integrated landscape a real plus
• Proficient in the use of SAP support portal, SCN, SDN, OSS and related tools for research and maintainability purposes
• Proven experience managing and working with a SAP hosting provider
• General knowledge of all IT disciplines and technology platforms including ERP (SAP required), CRM (Salesforce.com preferred), and overall HRIS knowledge
• Knowledge of standards and methodology of Project Management Institute (PMI)
• PMP certification desired, but not required
• Management experience with a proven track record of leading a team across a variety of diverse locations. (Remote/virtual management)
• Ability to work within a 24/7 environment across multiple time zones
• Knowledge and understanding of implementing/running HANA based solutions is a plus
• Results oriented, customer focused, team player
• Highly motivated
• Ability to strategize and execute
• Problem analysis and problem resolution at both a strategic and functional level
• Strategy and planning: an ability to think and plan over a 12-36 month time span
• Excellent organizational and time management skills
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to communicate to both business and technical individuals
• Ability to influence and lead change and deliver results through indirect report resources
• Proven ability to deliver despite obstacles
• Trustworthy
• Excellent listener & communicator
• Proven ability to build and maintain relationships with business and IT colleagues
• Acts as a Salesperson for business system needs and technology requirements
• Shows consistent and appropriate responsiveness to both urgent and non-critical matters
• Possesses people networking abilities