Business Systems Manager

Business Systems Manager needed by growing client. My client is midway through a significant technology transition, with concurrent programmes covering business intelligence, workforce management, finance systems, CRM, automation and AI, delivered across 5 divisions.

This newly created role exists to bring delivery discipline to that portfolio. The postholder will own the Group's technology change portfolio from approval through to benefits realisation and will carry out the business analysis that makes each implementation succeed.

This is a hands-on role for someone who will build the delivery and PMO mechanism while using it, rather than operate one that already exists.

Key Responsibilities

Portfolio management:
Build and maintain the Group portfolio baseline covering every live technology initiative, with sponsor, committed spend, timeline, expected benefit and named benefit owner. Produce portfolio level reporting and dashboards that give the Technology & Change Board a single, accurate view of what is running and what it is costing.

Delivery:
Own delivery plans for all approved initiatives; establish and hold the critical path. Manage cross programme dependencies and resource conflicts across divisions. Drive implementation, testing, cutover and business readiness.

Business analysis:
Document how key divisional processes operate, working directly with operational teams. Own requirements, data mapping and configuration decisions on live implementations. Write and coordinate test scripts and run user acceptance testing with business users.

Vendor and partner management:
Hold implementation partners and software vendors to their contracted commitments. Maintain the Group technology renewal calendar and ensure no contract renews unchallenged. Support commercial negotiation with delivery evidence.

Governance and change control:
Baseline scope, cost, timeline and benefits for each significant initiative, and operate change control so that material variations reach the Technology & Change Board rather than emerging later in the management accounts. Prepare and present board papers, providing early and honest assessment where delivery is at risk.

Benefits realisation:
Ensure every approved initiative has a named business benefit owner and a measurable baseline established before change. Evidence realisation post implementation against the original case.

Candidate Match

Non-negotiable

* Demonstrable track record delivering business systems implementations end to end in a multi-site organisation; ERP, finance, HR, workforce management, CRM or business intelligence

* Experience running several concurrent initiatives rather than a single large programme

* Comfortable building delivery and PMO capability from scratch, without an existing team or methodology

* Confident holding senior stakeholders and external suppliers to account, including where the message is unwelcome

* Commercial instinct; able to quantify the cash cost of delay and make the case for stopping work as readily as starting it

Advantageous

* Working knowledge of delivery methodologies across Agile, waterfall and hybrid, and the judgement to apply the right one to each initiative

* Hands on business analysis capability: process documentation, requirements definition, data mapping and user acceptance testing

* Credibility with operational and frontline colleagues as well as directors

* Experience in facilities management, security, logistics, healthcare or another operationally intensive, low margin sector

* Experience supporting a largely deployed, non-desk-based workforce and the adoption challenges that brings

* Exposure to Microsoft Fabric, Sage Intacct, Hub Spot or comparable platforms