Director, SAP Platform Owner

Headquartered in Carlsbad, California, and with offices in Boston, Massachusetts, and Dublin, Ireland, Ionis has been at work for more than three decades discovering medical breakthroughs that have redefined life for people with serious diseases. We are pioneers in RNA-targeted medicines, and our platform continues to revolutionize drug discovery and transform lives for patients with unmet needs.  With five currently marketed medicines for serious diseases and an expansive late-stage pipeline, we continue to build upon our groundbreaking innovations in science and technology to provide greater value to patients; and we are well positioned financially to deliver on our strategic goals.

At Ionis, we pride ourselves on cultivating a challenging, motivating and rewarding environment that fosters innovation and scientific excellence. We know our success is a direct result of the exceptional talent and dedication of our employees.

With an unprecedented opportunity to change the course of human health, we look to add diverse individuals, skill sets and perspectives to our exceptional team. We continue to invest time, money, and energy into making our onsite and remote work environments a place where solid and lasting relationships are built and where our culture and employees can thrive.

We are building on our rich history, and believe our greatest achievements are ahead of us.  We invite you to apply and join us if you’re passionate about the opportunity to have meaningful impact on patients in need, our employees, and our organization.  Experience and contribute to our unique culture while you develop and expand your career!

SUMMARY:

The Director, SAP Platform Owner, reporting into the Executive Director, IT Portfolio Lead, G&A will be responsible for overseeing Ionis’s SAP platform, including S4, BTP, GRC, IBP, SuccessFactors, and Concur, along with integrations to other products like Conga and Coupa. This role involves leading the implementation, management, and optimization of the SAP platform to ensure it aligns with business objectives and enhances operational efficiency. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in managing large-scale SAP deployments, possess deep technical expertise, and demonstrate strong leadership abilities. The candidate will have spent a considerable amount of time working with multiple areas of the business and will be a champion for SAP.

The Director, SAP Platform Owner will collaborate with an SAP System Integrator, Application Managed Service Provider, internal IT resources, business process owners, and IT compliance to focus on continuous improvement, patience, education, efficiency, and a seamless, compliant, and productive user experience.
The ideal candidate must possess advanced problem-solving skills, effective communication across various mediums, and patience and empathy for all types of users are essential. The candidate must be proactive, self-driven, passionate about using technology to solve business problems, skilled in conflict resolution, and capable of managing multiple vendors simultaneously.

This role requires a comprehensive understanding of SAP functional, environmental, and provisioning aspects, as well as SAP tools including BTP.
The Director, SAP Platform Owner, will develop and oversee detailed project plans, metrics, work plans, schedules, resource plans, and status reports, and will identify, analyze, and recommend SAP business systems, reporting into the Executive Director, IT Portfolio Lead, G&A will be responsible for overseeing Ionis’s SAP platform, including S4, BTP, GRC, IBP, SuccessFactors, and Concur, along with integrations to other products like Conga and Coupa. This role involves leading the implementation, management, and optimization of the SAP platform to ensure it aligns with business objectives and enhances operational efficiency. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in managing large-scale SAP deployments, possess deep technical expertise, and demonstrate strong leadership abilities. The candidate will have spent a considerable amount of time working with multiple areas of the business and will be a champion for SAP.

Key Responsibilities

• SAP S/4HANA Implementation Leadership: Oversee the end-to-end implementation of SAP S/4HANA, including planning, configuration, testing, deployment, and post-go-live support.
• Collaborate with business stakeholders, implementation partners, and IT teams to ensure alignment with organizational goals.
• Platform Strategy and Roadmap: Develop and maintain the SAP platform strategy, ensuring scalability, performance, and alignment with business needs. Identify opportunities to leverage SAP S/4HANA, GRC, IBP, and BTP capabilities to improve business processes and drive innovation.
• Operational Oversight: Ensure the stability, availability, and performance of the SAP S/4HANA environment, including systems monitoring and maintenance. Lead efforts to optimize system performance, security, and compliance.
• Team Leadership and Vendor Management: Drive a high-performing team by managing vendor relationships, contracts, and service level agreements (SLAs).
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Act as the primary point of contact for SAP-related initiatives across all business functions, including finance, manufacturing, supply chain, and HR. Facilitate change management and user adoption strategies for the SAP platform.
• Governance and Best Practices: Establish and enforce best practices, standards, and governance for SAP configurations and processes. Ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and organizational policies.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Business Administration, or a related field. A master’s degree is preferred.
• 8 years of experience in SAP implementations, with at least 3 years focused on SAP S/4HANA.
• Post go-live experience utilizing an AMS vendor
• Management of SAP Application Managed Services partner and SAP Hosting Partner
• Act as the voice of the customer to guide all stages of software development, including user story development, sprint planning, and prioritization of the product backlog.
• Understand business and end-user needs; identify and prioritize features to be delivered to meet those needs.
• Partner with business and technical stakeholders to develop and document user stories.
• Participate in sprint planning to determine the team’s objectives for the upcoming sprint.
• Prioritize and maintain the product backlog.
• Participate in agile ceremonies such as stand-ups, story refinements, and team retrospectives; ensure the team has a clear understanding of priorities and next steps.
• Lead the sprint review meeting to present the output from the sprint to key stakeholders.
• Analyze feedback from sprint reviews, and other data such as end user feedback and operational metrics, to identify and understand product needs.
• Work with the development team to create acceptance criteria and definitions of failures and done.
• Assist the team on the development of feature tests, test cases, and regression tests.
• Set expectations with business stakeholders for delivery of new capabilities, features, and functionalities.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to convey complex technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making abilities.
• Extensive knowledge of SAP S/4HANA modules, including finance (FI/CO), supply chain (MM/SD), GRC, Manufacturing, and human capital management (HCM).
• Proven experience in leading full-cycle SAP implementations.
• Strong understanding of SAP architecture, integration points, and data migration strategies.
• Exceptional leadership and team management skills.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to convey complex technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making abilities.

Preferred Skills

• SAP certifications in S/4HANA modules or technical areas.
• Experience with cloud-based SAP deployments (e.g., SAP RISE).
• Familiarity with project management methodologies (Agile, Waterfall).
• Knowledge of emerging SAP technologies such as AI/ML integration and SAP Analytics Cloud.
• Worked in Pharmaceutical, Biotech, or Medical Device industries
• Agile Certification (SCRUM, SAFE)

Please visit our website, http://www.ionis.com for more information about Ionis and to apply for this position; reference requisition # IONIS003548

Ionis offers an excellent benefits package! Follow this link for more details: Ionis Benefits

Full Benefits Link: https://www.ionis.com/careers/working-at-ionis/#:~:text=our employee spotlight-,Benefits,-Employees are rewarded

The pay scale for this position is $174, 150.00- $230,409.00

NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE. PRINCIPALS ONLY.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and all its subsidiaries are proud to be EEO employers.

Salary : $150,000 - $230,409