Director, IT Supply Chain

Hybrid Role

Employees are expected to work from our Oxford office 3 days per week and may work remotely the remaining days.

The Director, SAP Planning, Procurement & Advanced Planning Systems, is responsible for global ownership and strategic direction of enterprise planning, procurement, and inventory optimization platforms. This role oversees SAP ECC 6.0 (SP7) planning and procurement functionality, associated master data governance, and the implementation of an Advanced Planning Solution (APS) to elevate S&OP maturity and drive a significant, sustained reduction in enterprise inventory while maintaining service performance.

This role requires a leader who combines executive‑level accountability with deep functional and technical credibility—someone who can set strategy and lead globally, while also engaging directly in complex issues when judgment, speed, or trust demands it.

This position is intentionally designed for a Director who can operate across all execution altitudes:

• Provide strategic guidance and architectural direction
• Lead and develop global internal teams and external delivery partners
• Personally engage in detailed functional or technical work to diagnose issues, validate solutions, and restore business confidence when required

The expectation is not day‑to‑day hands‑on delivery, but the ability and willingness to step into the details selectively and decisively.

• Own the global planning, procurement, and inventory optimization technology strategy
• Define and enforce governance standards across planning processes, system behavior, and master data
• Partner with Supply Chain, Procurement, Manufacturing, and Finance leadership to align system capabilities with business outcomes
• Provide executive oversight while retaining the ability to personally validate high‑risk or high‑impact decisions

• Executive functional ownership of SAP ECC MM and PP
• Accountability for the correctness, stability, and scalability of:
  • MRP behavior
  • Production and inventory planning
• Maintain the capability to:
  • Review and challenge SAP configuration
  • Analyze MRP results, planning exceptions, and system‑driven constraints
  • Engage directly in root‑cause analysis of complex planning failures
  • Serve as the senior escalation point for planning‑related operational risk

• Act as IT Functional Lead and hands‑on functional authority for APS implementation
• Lead evaluation and deployment planning for:
  • Kinaxis Maestro
  • o9
  • Anaplan (examples)
• Ensure APS recommendations are executable within ERP and operational constraints
• Partner with business leadership to translate planning outputs into actionable decisions
• Balance strategic oversight with informed, detail‑level engagement during critical design and adoption phases

• Lead a globally distributed delivery organization, including:
  • SAP functional teams (Europe, North America, Australia)
  • SAP MDG functional support
  • SAP / JD Edwards hybrid functional leadership
  • External AMS provider
• Establish clear operating models, decision rights, and outcome‑based KPIs
• Delegate effectively while maintaining direct line of sight into quality, risk, and execution
• Step in personally when needed to unblock delivery or correct course

• Leverage early‑career ABAP foundation to:
  • Challenge solution designs and integration approaches
  • Review functional specifications and enhancement strategies
  • Reduce technical debt and unnecessary customization
  • Review system behavior, debug findings, and design trade‑offs to ensure solutions are fit for purpose
  • Serve as a technical authority when credibility with business SMEs is essential

• Engage credibly with:
  • Business SMEs and planners
  • Functional analysts and developers
  • Global system integrators
  • Senior and executive leadership
• Translate detailed system behavior into clear business implications
• Lead change through clarity, credibility, and shared accountability—not mandate alone

• 15+ years of progressive experience…