Applications Lead

Start Date: ASAP

Working Pattern: Hybrid (4 days office-based)

An established UK energy operator, responsible for managing critical offshore and onshore assets, is seeking an IS Applications Lead to join its Information Systems team. This is a key leadership role responsible for the performance, governance and continuous improvement of a complex application landscape, with SAP at the heart of the technology estate
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This opportunity would suit an experienced Applications Manager, SAP Lead, IS Manager or IT Service Delivery professional who enjoys operating across technical, commercial and stakeholder-focused responsibilities.

As the IS Applications Lead, you will provide ownership and oversight of a broad portfolio of business-critical applications and associated service providers. Working closely with internal stakeholders and outsourced partners, you will ensure applications remain secure, resilient, cost-effective and aligned to business requirements.

Key responsibilities will include:

• Leading the management and governance of a diverse applications estate, including SAP environments.
• Managing third-party application vendors, service providers and commercial agreements.
• Overseeing application architecture, performance, security and lifecycle management.
• Driving application upgrades, enhancements, implementations and change initiatives.
• Coordinating testing and user acceptance activities across business systems.
• Supporting cyber security governance, risk management and audit activities.
• Managing major incidents, escalations and outsourced support resources.
• Acting as the key link between business stakeholders, technology teams and external suppliers.

A significant aspect of the role will involve ownership of the organisation's SAP landscape and associated integrations.

You will:

• Oversee SAP architecture, hosting, security and performance.
• Manage SAP change, release and upgrade processes.
• Coordinate business requirements and delivery through external SAP partners.
• Ensure SAP controls remain aligned with governance and audit requirements.
• Manage vendor performance and support arrangements across the SAP environment.

• Strong experience managing enterprise applications within a complex, multi-site organisation.
• A solid understanding of SAP environments, particularly change and release management.
• Knowledge of Microsoft 365, Azure, Power Apps and Power BI.
• Experience managing third-party suppliers and outsourced service providers.
• Understanding of IT General Controls, governance, risk and audit requirements.
• Experience across incident, problem and change management processes.
• Strong stakeholder management and commercial awareness.
• A good appreciation of cyber security frameworks and controls.

• Degree in IT, Business, or a related discipline, or equivalent industry experience.

• Four days per week in the office.
• Core office days is Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
• The fourth office day can be either Monday or Friday.
• Opportunity to work full-time from the office if preferred.

This is an opportunity to play a pivotal role within a highly regulated and technically complex environment, leading critical business applications during a significant period of organisational change. You will work across technology, operations and business teams while influencing the future direction of a key enterprise application estate.