Head of SAP Transformation

Philips; Amsterdam; Hybrid; EUR 280,000 - 420,000; Full time

Job summary

Philips is seeking a Head of SAP Transformation to lead the SAP ECC to S/4 migration, overseeing approach, budget, and partner governance. You will drive AI-enabled process design and enterprise-wide standardization across functions.

Across a multi-year program, you will partner with business leaders, finance, and CIO to ensure value realisation and a clean transition to run organization with clear governance and risk management.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Engineering, Business Administration, or related field.
• MBA or advanced degree is highly valued given the strategic and financial scope of the role.
• Proven track record as a senior IT executive with direct accountability for multiple large SAP programs in a global organization.
• Experience in health technology, medical devices, life sciences, or similar regulated industries is strongly preferred.
• Consulting experience at a top-tier firm or major systems integrator with deep SAP expertise is valued.
• Deep hands-on experience leading SAP S/4 transformations, including migration decisions, governance, data migration, and cutover.

Responsibilities

• Serve as overall program leader for the SAP S/4 transformation, owning migration approach, roadmap, budget and executive reporting.
• Define and drive enterprise S/4 design with AI-enabled processes and guardrails.
• Coordinate run organization handover and ensure continuity after go-live.
• Manage program budget, licences and cost governance with clear value tracking.
• Represent SAP program in IT leadership forums and with executive stakeholders.
• Build and lead the SAP Transformation program team with internal and partner resources.
• Ensure knowledge transfer and operational readiness for steady-state operations.

Skills

SAP S/4 Transformation

Program leadership

Stakeholder management

Budget governance

AI in ERP

Enterprise architecture

Vendor negotiation

Leadership in IT

Regulated industry experience

Education

Bachelor's/Master's in IT/Engineering/Business

MBA or advanced degree valued

Tools

SAP S/4HANA

SAP ECC

Job description

Job Title: Head of SAP Transformation

The Head of SAP Transformation leads the migration from SAP ECC to SAP S/4, the largest enterprise transformation program in Philips IT. SAP Transformation is one of the IT Platforms in the Philips IT operating model and reports to the CIO. The role runs the multi-year program end to end, in close partnership with the business program leader and the businesses and functions: migration approach, business case, plan, budget, partners, risk and executive reporting. The S/4 solution is designed with AI-enabled processes from the start, using the enterprise AI services and guardrails provided by AI CoE & Architecture. As releases go live, the role hands the S/4 landscape over to the run organisation, Group Functions & Supply Chain IT, which is accountable for the SAP platforms, and closes out the program once the transition is complete and legacy SAP ECC is decommissioned. This is a Vice President position within the Philips IT Leadership Team.

Key Responsibilities

SAP S/4 Program Leadership

Serve as overall program leader for the SAP S/4 transformation, together with the business program leader, owning the migration approach (brownfield, greenfield or hybrid), value case, roadmap, timeline, budget, risk management and executive reporting. Drive the decision on migration approach, evaluating cost, risk, business disruption and AI readiness, in partnership with the business program leader, Finance and the CIO. Coordinate business-specific S/4 workstreams with the businesses, functions and regions, ensuring enterprise process standardisation where it adds value while accommodating legitimate business requirements. Run the program through clear stage gates covering design, build, testing, data migration, cutover and hypercare for each release. Own the legacy SAP ECC decommissioning plan, ensuring a clean exit with no unplanned extensions of legacy support costs.

Solution Design & AI-Enabled Processes

Own the S/4 solution design for the program, within the enterprise architecture standards and guardrails set by AI CoE & Architecture and the SAP Design authority as ultimate Technical Decision Forum. Embed AI-enabled process automation in the S/4 design from the start rather than retrofitting legacy process designs, using the enterprise AI platform services provided by SAP and other vendors and the AI CoE & Architecture. Apply AI and automation to program delivery itself, such as testing, data migration and documentation, to shorten timelines and reduce partner effort. Work with Group Functions & Supply Chain IT to simplify the legacy and integration landscape around SAP, including SAP PO, EDI and integration, as part of the migration.

Transition to the Run Organisation

Define, from program start, the target support model and operational readiness criteria for the S/4 landscape. Involve run organisation teams in design, build and testing so that knowledge, documentation and support capability are in place before each go‑live. Lead hypercare after each release and hand over operational accountability to the run organisation once agreed exit criteria are met. Make knowledge transfer to the run organisation a condition of release closure for systems integrators and other partners. Close out the program in a planned way once the S/4 landscape is fully transitioned and legacy SAP ECC is decommissioned.

Financial Management

Manage the SAP S/4 transformation budget (capital and operational) with stage‑gated investment governance, clear business case milestones and value realisation tracking. Control partner and licence costs for the program, including the cloud‑hosted SAP components (RISE), partnering with the Cloud Infrastructure & FinOps team to optimise consumption costs. Provide transparent run‑cost information at each handover so that the S/4 landscape fits IT's consumption‑based billing model.

Stakeholder Management & Governance

Represent the SAP S/4 program in IT Leadership Team forums, ExCom updates and board‑level reporting on the SAP transformation. Build trusted relationships with business leaders, Business Heads of IT, Supply Chain and Finance as the primary stakeholders of the program. Establish program governance (steering committee, design authority, change control) that ensures decision quality, speed and accountability. Manage strategic relationships with SAP and systems integrators at executive level, negotiating program agreements and holding partners to delivery and knowledge‑transfer commitments.

Program Team Leadership

Build and lead the SAP Transformation program team, combining internal talent and partner resources, sized to each phase of the program. Foster a culture of delivery discipline, accountability, collaboration and Impact with Care. Attract and retain experienced SAP transformation talent, leveraging Philips' health technology mission and the scale of the program.

Role Success Measures

SAP S/4 transformation on track: migration approach decided and business case approved (FY2026); execution underway with AI-enabled process design (FY2027); core migration complete and legacy SAP ECC decommissioned (FY2028+). Program delivered within the approved budget and stage gates, with business case value tracked and realised. Each release handed over to the run organisation against agreed operational readiness and hypercare exit criteria, with stable operations after go‑live. Partner knowledge transfer completed, with no unplanned extensions of legacy support costs. A simpler legacy and integration landscape around SAP. Program governance rated effective by key stakeholders; decisions made with clear rationale and stakeholder alignment.

Candidate Profile

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Engineering, Business Administration, or a related field.
• MBA or advanced degree is highly valued given the strategic and financial scope of the role.
• Proven track record as a senior IT executive (SVP, VP, CIO or equivalent) with direct accountability for multiple large-scale SAP programs in a global, matrixed organisation.
• Experience in health technology, medical devices, life sciences, or similarly regulated industries is strongly preferred.
• Consulting experience at a top-tier firm or major systems integrator (with deep SAP expertise) is valued as complementary background.
• Deep, hands‑on experience leading SAP S/4 transformations, including migration approach decisions, program governance, business process redesign, data migration, cutover and systems integrator management.
• Prior experience as an SAP transformation program leader or sponsor is essential.
• Demonstrated experience transitioning large ERP programs into steady-state operations, including operational readiness, hypercare and knowledge transfer.
• Strong understanding of SAP S/4 solution architecture, with the ability to make and defend design decisions at enterprise level.
• Experience applying AI and automation in ERP programs (process design, testing or data migration) as delivered capability with measurable outcomes.
• Strong financial management skills, including large program budget governance, business case management and vendor negotiation.
• Exceptional executive presence and stakeholder management: able to report credibly to executive leadership and the board, negotiate with global technology vendors and build trust with business leaders.
• Track record of building and leading large program teams that combine internal staff and partner resources.
• Leadership style characterised by delivery discipline, strategic clarity and care for people, aligned with Philips' Impact with Care values.

Compensation & Benefits

Doing meaningful work should come with fair, transparent rewards. In compliance with the EU Pay Transparency Directive, details regarding the compensation framework and salary range for this executive leadership position will be automatically provided to all candidates selected for the initial screening phase prior to their first business interview.

How we work together

We believe that we are better together than apart. For our office-based teams, this means working in-person at least 3 days per week.

About Philips

Are you ready to do the work of your life to help the lives of others? Learn more about our business, discover our rich and exciting history and learn more about our purpose. At Philips, we believe that every human matters. As a global health-tech leader, we focus on improving people’s health and wellbeing through meaningful innovation. The people who work here share our passion and are motivated to bring this purpose to life. For more than 130 years, we have been creating technologies and innovations that improve people's lives and support healthcare practitioners. Headquartered in the Netherlands and operating in more than 100 countries globally, we focus our advanced technology and deep clinical and consumer insights on Precision Diagnosis, Image Guided Therapy, Enterprise Informatics, Monitoring/ Connected Care, Sleep & Respiratory Care and Personal Health. Together, we deliver better care for more people because we believe that every human matters. That's why we're taking steps to create an environment where we acknowledge and embrace our differences and uniqueness and listen to and value each other's views. When people feel cared for and listened to, they bring their best qualities to work, leading to better collaboration, communication, innovation and success.

Equal Employment Opportunity

It is the policy of Philips to provide equal employment and advancement opportunities to all qualified employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy/childbirth or related medical conditions, age, ethnic or national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, physical or mental disability, genetic information, citizenship status, veteran or military status, marital or domestic partner status or any other characteristic protected by law. As an equal opportunity employer, Philips is committed to fostering a culture where all are treated with respect and professionalism.

To ensure reasonable accommodations for individuals protected by Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Vietnam Veterans' Readjustment Act of 1974 and Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, applicants that require accommodation in the job application process may contact 888-367-7223, option 5, for assistance. Philips is an Equal Employment and Opportunity Employer including Disability/Vets and maintains a drug‑free workplace.