S/4 Cutover Manager

Unipart; Packmoor; On-site; GBP 77,000 - 94,000; Full time

Job summary

Unipart is seeking a Senior SAP S/4HANA Cutover Manager to orchestrate end-to-end go-live execution for large-scale programs. You will drive cutover strategy, runbooks, rehearsals, and command center operations across business, technical, data, and vendor streams.

Responsibilities include leading go-live decisions, coordinating cross-functional teams, and ensuring minimal disruption with managed risk. Field-based role offering £85,000 per year plus benefits and bonus potential.

Qualifications

• Experience in IT program/project delivery, including lead cutover management.
• Lead Cutover Manager on at least 2 full-lifecycle SAP S/4HANA go-lives.
• Expert knowledge of SAP deployment lifecycles and cutover sequencing.
• Proven ability to lead in 24/7 environments and manage multi-vendor teams.
• Familiar with SAP transport landscapes ChaRM, SolMan, Cloud ALM.
• Degree or professional certifications desirable.

Responsibilities

• Formulate and own the end-to-end Cutover Strategy, including go-live criteria, runbooks and fallback plans.
• Build, manage and refine a minute-by-minute Cutover Plan integrated across deployment and data migration.
• Lead Cutover Rehearsals and Mock Cutovers to validate time estimates and dependencies.
• Define Go/No-Go frameworks and present status to steering committees.
• Establish and lead the Cutover Command Center during trial and live cutover events.
• Coordinate activities across cross-functional teams and third-party vendors.

Skills

Cutover management

Go-live execution

Leadership under pressure

Stakeholder communication

Education

PMP

PRINCE2

ITIL

SAP Certification

Tools

ChaRM

SolMan

Cloud ALM

Job description

S/4 Cutover Manager

Location: Field Based

Salary: £85,000 per annum plus 33 days holiday (including bank holidays), pension, bonus, life assurance, employee assistance programme, wellbeing support, and flexible benefits including cycle to work scheme

About the Role

As a Senior SAP S/4HANA Cutover Manager, you will be responsible for orchestrating the complete end-to-end go-live execution strategy for large-scale enterprise SAP S/4HANA programs. This role drives the orchestration, sequencing, and operational control of all pre-cutover, cutover, and post-cutover activities across business, technical, data, infrastructure, and third-party vendor streams, transitioning the organisation smoothly from legacy systems to SAP S/4HANA with minimal business disruption and managed risk.

As part of your key responsibilities, you’ll:

• Formulate and own the end-to-end Cutover Strategy, including go-live criteria, operational runbooks, business dress rehearsal plans, hypercare models, and fallback plans.
• Build, manage, and continuously refine a detailed minute-by-minute Cutover Plan integrated across technical deployment, data migration, business catch-up, and interface switching.
• Lead multiple Cutover Rehearsals and Mock Cutovers to validate time estimates, sequence dependencies, test team handoffs, and resolve bottlenecks prior to go-live.
• Define clear Go/No-Go decision frameworks and metrics, facilitating readiness assessments and presenting operational status to steering committees and executive sponsors.
• Establish and lead the Cutover Command Center (War Room) during trial and live cutover events, managing rotation schedules, issue escalation paths, and operational tracking.
• Coordinate activities across cross-functional teams, including S/4HANA functional leads, technical architects, data migration, infrastructure/basis, business operations, and third-party vendors.

About You

• Experience in IT program/project delivery, including experience focused specifically on leading cutover management.
• Demonstrated experience as Lead Cutover Manager on at least 2 full-lifecycle, large-scale SAP S/4HANA go-lives.
• Expert knowledge of SAP deployment lifecycles, cutover sequencing, and system dependency mapping for SAP S/4HANA (Greenfield, Brownfield, or Selective Data Transition).
• Proven ability to maintain calm and decisive leadership under pressure in 24/7 environments.
• Strong skills in directing matrixed and multi-vendor teams, alongside executive-level status communication.
• Proficiency with cutover management tools and familiarity with SAP transport landscapes (ChaRM, SolMan, or Cloud ALM).
• A relevant degree or certifications (PMP, PRINCE2, ITIL, or SAP Certification) are desirable.

About Unipart

We are a supply chain performance improvement partner. We Design, Make, Move, and Improve components in our customers' supply chains, keeping their operations and assets moving and working better, for longer. Through our commitment to continuously driving operational efficiencies, we improve performance - saving time, cost, and carbon. Our ambition is to be the driving force behind efficient, resilient, and sustainable supply chains.

Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion

We believe that a great workplace is one where you can bring your whole self to work. Our recruitment process is designed to be accessible, inclusive, and based entirely on merit. We define merit through a combination of technical skills and the core behaviours that help our people thrive at Unipart. We welcome applications from everyone, regardless of background or circumstances. We are committed to a policy of equal opportunity that exceeds our statutory obligations under the Equality Act 2010 and subsequent legislation. Whether it's your age, disability, neurodiversity, gender identity, family status, or any other characteristic that makes you 'you' - it is your talent and potential that we value most. Adjustments for you: We want you to perform at your best. If you require any reasonable adjustments or have specific accessibility needs at any stage of the application or interview process, please let us know. We are here to support you.

You may have experience in the following: SAP Cutover, Cutover Manager, Go-live, Hypercare, S/4HANA, Programme Management, Project Management, Release Management, Mock Cutover, Runbook, ChaRM, Cloud ALM, PMP, PRINCE2.