Sr Director, ERP Technology & Operations

Gilead Sciences Inc.; United States; Remote; USD 220,000 - 340,000; Full time

Job summary

Gilead Sciences Inc. seeks a Senior Director of ERP Technology & Operations to lead strategy, performance, and operational excellence of the SAP ERP ecosystem across Gilead’s value chain.

This role will drive stability, security, compliance, and scalability of AI-enabled SAP platforms, partnering with outsourced teams and report to the VP, IT Enterprise Solutions & Business Partnering. Based in London, this position guides ERP programs from planning to manufacturing, distribution, finance, and

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree with relevant experience in SAP, ERP platforms, or enterprise technology leadership.
• Extensive experience leading SAP DevOps, platform operations, and release management.
• Strong understanding of SAP security, testing, validation, and architecture in regulated environments.
• Experience leading SAP reporting and analytics platforms.
• Proven ability to inspire, lead and grow technical teams in a global, matrixed organization, proactively partnering across IT domains.
• Excellent vendor management skills to build strong relationships, hold vendors accountable and create win-win partnerships.
• Highly developed customer service orientation; proven track record of effective prioritization, marshalling response teams and trouble-shooting under pressure.
• Strong planning and orchestration skills; able to recognize interdependencies and identify critical path under complexity.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead ERP technology strategy and platform operations across SAP environments.
• Define standards for SAP environments, release management, and operational excellence.
• Ensure alignment with enterprise architecture, security, and regulatory compliance standards.
• Lead SAP DevOps capabilities including development enablement, transport and release management.
• Oversee environment strategy, landscape management, refreshes, and lifecycle planning.
• Drive automation to improve delivery velocity and reliability.
• Own SAP Reporting & Analytics across SAC, embedded analytics, and SAP-enabled reporting solutions.
• Ensure reporting aligns with enterprise data and analytics standards.
• Partner with Finance and business teams to support operational and management reporting needs.
• Lead SAP security, access controls, and segregation-of-duties compliance.
• Oversee ERP testing and validation capabilities in regulated environments.
• Ensure quality, compliance, and audit readiness are embedded into delivery and operations.
• Lead ERP technical architecture, including SAP Basis, infrastructure, and BTP-related capabilities.
• Oversee incident and problem resolution for ERP platforms, and manage execution through vendor partners.
• Identify opportunities to improve platform stability, cost efficiency, and operational maturity.
• Serve as a trusted technical advisor to ERP Solutions leaders and program teams.
• Provide operational and technical leadership to ERP programs and releases.
• Inspire, lead and grow a globally dispersed team.
• Proactively partner with managed service providers, vendors and system integrators to maintain a high-quality environment.
• Manage costs and optimize cost-of-ownership.

Skills

SAP DevOps

Platform operations

Release management

SAP security

Testing & validation

SAP analytics

SAP architecture

Vendor management

Global leadership

Stakeholder communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in SAP/ERP or related field

Tools

SAP Basis

SAP Analytics Cloud

SAP BTP

Job description

Gilead is seeking a Senior Director, ERP Technology & Operations to lead the strategy, performance, and operational excellence of the foundational ERP technology ecosystem that powers critical processes across Gilead's value chain. As part of the ERP Leadership Team, this leader will ensure Gilead's AI-enabled SAP platforms are stable, secure, compliant, scalable, and positioned to produce and deliver medicines to patients in markets around the world.

The Senior Director will lead a global team across SAP DevOps, Reporting & Analytics, Security, Testing, Validation, Architecture, and platform operations, leveraging strong relationships with key outsourced partners. As a senior technology leader within ES BP, this role sits at the center of Gilead's enterprise technology landscape, orchestrating across complex business, quality and compliance needs to deliver resilient ERP capabilities that support disciplined execution from planning and supply through manufacturing, distribution, finance, and enterprise reporting.

This is a new leadership position for a candidate who can combine deep ERP technology expertise with enterprise judgment, operational discipline, and the ability to influence across functions. By strengthening the platforms and practices that underpin Gilead's core operations, this leader will help the organization scale with confidence, maintain audit readiness, and deliver on its commitment to patients with quality, speed, and reliability.

This position will report to the Vice President, IT Enterprise Solutions & Business Partnering, and is based in Gilead's London office.

Key Responsibilities

ERP Technology & Platform Strategy

• · Deliver build, test, release and run through the global ERP Technology & Operations team, leveraging strategic partners and vendor relationships as appropriate
• · Define standards for SAP environments, release management, and operational excellence
• · Ensure alignment with enterprise architecture, security, and regulatory compliance standards

DevOps & Environment Management

• · Lead SAP DevOps capabilities including development enablement, transport and release management
• · Oversee environment strategy, landscape management, refreshes, and lifecycle planning
• · Drive automation and discipline to improve delivery velocity and reliability

SAP Reporting & Analytics

• · Own SAP Reporting & Analytics across SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC), embedded analytics, and SAP-enabled reporting solutions
• · Ensure reporting aligns with enterprise data and analytics standards
• · Partner with Finance and business teams to support operational and management reporting needs

Security, Testing & Validation

• · Lead SAP security, access controls, and segregation-of-duties compliance
• · Oversee ERP testing and validation capabilities in regulated environments from strategy through execution
• · Ensure quality, compliance, and audit readiness are embedded into delivery and operations

Architecture & Platform Operations

• · Lead ERP technical architecture, including SAP Basis, infrastructure, and SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP)-related capabilities
• · Partner with enterprise and solution architects to ensure extensibility and scalability
• · Oversee incident and problem resolution for ERP platforms, and manage execution through vendor partners

Continuous Improvement & Enterprise Support

• · Identify opportunities to improve platform stability, cost efficiency, and operational maturity
• · Serve as a trusted technical advisor to ERP Solutions leaders and program teams
• · Provide operational and technical leadership to ERP programs and releases

People Leadership and Vendor Management

• · Inspire, lead and grow a high-performing, globally dispersed team
• · Proactively partner with managed service providers, vendors and system integrators to maintain a high-quality, compliant technical environment, resolve issues and plan and execute changes seamlessly
• · Manage costs and optimize cost-of-ownership, making informed trade-off decisions across activity, impact and business need

Qualifications

• · Bachelor's degree with relevant experience in SAP, ERP platforms, or enterprise technology leadership
• · Extensive experience leading SAP DevOps, platform operations, and release management
• · Strong understanding of SAP security, testing, validation, and architecture in regulated environments
• · Experience leading SAP reporting and analytics platforms
• · Proven ability to inspire, lead and grow technical teams in a global, matrixed organization, proactively partnering across IT domains
• · Excellent vendor management skills to build strong relationships, hold vendors accountable and create win-win partnerships that amplify value for both parties
• · Highly developed customer service orientation; proven track record of effective prioritization, marshalling response teams and trouble‑shooting in the moment while maintaining stakeholder confidence
• · Strong planning and orchestration skills; able to recognize interdependencies and identify critical path under complexity
• · Strong communication and collaboration skills with both technical and non-technical stakeholders

At Gilead, we're creating a healthier world for all people. For more than 35 years, we've tackled diseases such as HIV, viral hepatitis, COVID-19 and cancer - working relentlessly to develop therapies that help improve lives and to ensure access to these therapies across the globe. We continue to fight against the world's biggest health challenges, and our mission requires collaboration, determination and a relentless drive to make a difference.

Every member of Gilead's team plays a critical role in the discovery and development of life-changing scientific innovations. Our employees are our greatest asset as we work to achieve our bold ambitions, and we're looking for the next wave of passionate and ambitious people ready to make a direct impact.

We believe every employee deserves a great leader. People Leaders are the cornerstone to the employee experience at Gilead and Kite. As a people leader now or in the future, you are the key driver in evolving our culture and creating an environment where every employee feels included, developed and empowered to fulfil their aspirations.

Join Gilead and help create possible, together., At Gilead, we're creating a healthier world for all people. For more than 35 years, we've tackled diseases such as HIV, viral hepatitis, COVID-19 and cancer - working relentlessly to develop therapies that help improve lives and to ensure access to these therapies across the globe.

Every member of Gilead's team plays a critical role in the discovery and development of life-changing scientific innovations. Our employees are our greatest asset as we work to achieve our bold ambitions, and we're looking for the next wave of passionate and ambitious people ready to make a direct impact. Join Gilead and help create possible, together.