ERP Platforms Lead (Director)

CHEP; Weybridge; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

A logistics and supply chain leader is seeking an ERP Platform Lead to manage all aspects of ERP technologies and drive optimization across the organization. The role will focus on defining strategies, overseeing initiatives, and ensuring collaboration with business functions to enhance efficiency and stability in ERP services. Candidates should have extensive experience in ERP management and a background in technology leadership, particularly within finance and supply chains.

Qualifications

• 12 years experience managing or influencing technical staff transformation and/or significant business as usual change projects.
• Proven success in ERP design strategy and defining delivery best practices.
• Strong experience with Finance, Pricing & Invoicing, Inventory Management.

Responsibilities

• Define and implement a platform strategy aligned with business priorities.
• Own and manage relationships with technology partners and vendors.
• Lead execution of process improvement or automation opportunities.

Skills

Adaptability

Cross-Functional Work

Data-Driven Decision Making

Digital Literacy

Emotional Intelligence

Inclusive Leadership

Innovation

Stakeholder Engagement

Talent Development

Education

Bachelor’s or degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Business Administration or related field

Master’s degree preferred

Job description

CHEP helps move more goods to more people in more places than any other organization on earth via our 347 million pallets, crates, and containers. We employ approximately 13,000 people and operate in 60 countries. Through our pioneering and sustainable share‑and‑reuse business model the world’s biggest brands trust us to help them transport their goods more efficiently, safely, and with less environmental impact.

What does that mean for you? You’ll join an international organization big enough to take you anywhere and small enough to get you there sooner. You’ll help change how goods get to market and contribute to global sustainability. You’ll be empowered to bring your authentic self to work and be surrounded by diverse and driven professionals. And you can maximize your work‑life balance and flexibility through our Hybrid Work Model.

Job Description

The principal purpose of the ERP Platform Lead role is to direct the creation of value through enterprise resource planning applications through quality performance and value‑driven governance, thus aligning our ERP platforms function across the business to promote and facilitate optimisation, stability, security, and efficiency.

You’ll be responsible for direct management of Brambles ERP technologies and teams while driving platform strategies considering business priorities and external market innovation in the function. Brambles’ core ERP applications are the backbone of the organization supporting Finance, Inventory Management, Supply Chain, and other critical business functions. As part of this role the ERP Platforms Lead is accountable for the day‑to‑day execution of platform services including development, data governance, platform support, and strategic direction across the Brambles landscape.

You’ll be accountable for the evaluation and monitoring of all ERP services required, linking the business benefits created by resilient, responsive and stable platform usage consumed by a growing Brambles global business user base. You will be accountable to collaborate with the wider TS organization (primarily the Finance and Supply Chain function) on portfolio demand and delivery performance metrics.

You will maintain, incorporate, and provide facilitation of governance methods, standards and principles across all processes and capabilities relative to SAP ERP platforms. These methods, standards and principles will be developed, adopted and embedded by the wider platform product and analytics teams across all business units looking to integrate ERP data with complementary systems and people. Governance processes and practices include, as a minimum: ERP service management, vendor selection and management, risk management, ERP technologies roadmap and platform management (upgrades and modernization), service catalogue, project support and reporting.

Key Responsibilities May Include

• Define and implement a platform strategy that is aligned with overall strategic ambitions and prioritization of the business
• Own and manage the ongoing relationship with existing and potential technology partners and vendors relating to your suite of platform(s)
• Partner with the business and other team members to capture, understand and solve any additional functional requirements or enhancements
• Identify and lead execution of process improvement or automation opportunities across the organisation in general and across your platform portfolio in particular
• Provide end‑to‑end oversight of initiatives with accountability for planning and implementation through to configuration, including project management support and issue management
• Lead the market research and recommendation of new platforms, software and training, ensuring business cases are built to warrant investment

Major / Key Accountabilities

• Provide strong leadership and direction by setting clear objectives and priorities with alignment with the Finance and Supply Chain programme functions by defining SAP ERP platform services strategies and roadmaps and communicating to applicable ERP audiences.
• Constructively partner with functional business leadership and other key stakeholders to shape strategy, identify opportunities, leverage industry trends, develop, deliver and implement value‑added solutions that drive financial effectiveness, simplification and/or improvement of ERP services.
• Develop delivery best practices and principles and a culture of service excellence across Technology Services, Data & Digital, Finance, Supply Chain and the wider organisation.
• Advise and provide direction of performance measurement metrics to support the operational objectives of existing and new ERP platform services.
• Provide strong technical coaching while influencing global technology adoption.
• Drive and enable a strong partnership across all platform / product support and development teams within and external to Technology Services ensuring applications are consistent, scalable and secure.
• Maintain and drive vendor / partner relationships at the highest levels through performance metrics and action plans.
• Act as the single point of contact and escalation point for incidents which run across ERP platforms and own process improvement protocols post‑major incidents, ensuring process uplift where appropriate leveraging internal / external resources.
• Work collaboratively across platform teams and the various platform and product owners to identify the best areas for continuous improvement.
• Meet Brambles internal governance policy / process requirements (e.g. financial planning, procurement, internal audit, people and policies).
• Develop an effective organisational structure in place which enables delivery of key initiatives.
• Recruit, develop, motivate, develop and retain a technically proficient team through talent management, succession planning and skill development.
• Develop and execute an effective risk framework for the ERP platforms.
• Successful delivery of initiative milestones on time, within budget and to agreed success criteria.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Business Administration or related field
• Master’s degree preferred or equivalent combination of education / experience

Experience

• 12 years experience managing or influencing technical staff transformation and/or significant business as usual change projects.
• Proven success in ERP design strategy and defining delivery best practices and linking Business Platforms with the objectives of the Brambles business.
• Strong experience with Finance, Pricing & Invoicing, Inventory Management and back‑office business processes.
• Experience with cradle‑to‑grave support, implementation and delivery of ERP applications.
• Experience managing SaaS applications and partners including delivery capacity.
• Experience migrating to new and migrating off existing ERP platforms required (e.g. SAP tax and reporting niche packaged applications).
• Experience with custom ERP applications supporting business requirements utilizing cloud native services (e.g. AWS, Azure).
• Strong experience leading remote cross‑functional matrixed teams across multiple continents within a multi‑partner ecosystem that deliver successful outcomes.
• Proven track record of building relationships and thought leadership influencing at senior management / executive level within large organisations and of building and managing excellent business‑wide relationships at all levels of an organisation.
• Functional understanding of application financial management, business case development and annual budget preparation.
• Advanced interpersonal communications with strong executive‑focused (and multi‑audience) presentation creation and design skills.

Remote Type

Hybrid Remote

Employment Type

Full‑Time

Skills to succeed in the role

Adaptability, Cross‑Functional Work, Data‑Driven Decision Making, Digital Literacy, Emotional Intelligence, Feedback, Inclusive Leadership, Innovation, Learn From Mistakes, Mentorship, Motivating Teams, Prioritization, Stakeholder Engagement, Talent Development

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and we are committed to developing a diverse workforce in which everyone is treated fairly, with respect and has the opportunity to contribute to business success while realizing his or her potential. This means harnessing the unique skills and experience that each individual brings and we do not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, sex, age, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, status as a veteran, or basis of disability or any other federal, state or local protected class.