SAP Finance Leadership

Summary

Location: Northeast U.S.

Experience: Minimum 12 years

Job Type: Permanent

Ideal Candidate Should Have

12+ years of progressive SAP Finance leadership experience

Minimum of 5 full lifecycle SAP implementations, with at least 2 on S/4

HANA

Deep domain expertise in Manufacturing Finance (costing, variance analysis, WIP, inventory accounting)

Hands-on experience with Digital Payments integrations (gateways, wallets, PCI compliance)

Strong experience in SAP BW and HANA reporting and analytics

Proven leadership managing large, distributed IT and business teams

Strategic thinking and executive-level stakeholder management

Understanding of GXP and compliance frameworks

Willingness to travel 15-20% and work hybrid (3 days onsite)

Job Description

Thinking Minds Inc. is partnering with a client seeking a Director - SAP Finance to drive the strategic delivery and optimization of SAP Finance platforms across enterprise operations. This leadership role demands a dynamic professional with both deep SAP Finance technical expertise and strong business acumen, particularly in manufacturing and commercial finance domains.

The successful candidate will lead the design, delivery, and governance of SAP Finance initiatives including S/4

HANA migrations, digital payments integration, and SAP reporting platforms (BW/HANA). The role requires collaboration with senior leaders across Finance, IT, and Operations, ensuring that systems not only meet compliance and performance standards but also create measurable business value.

You will play a pivotal role in enabling digital transformation, leading a team responsible for end-to-end solution delivery across manufacturing finance (product costing, variance analysis, inventory accounting), commercial finance (contract accounting, credit & collections), and digital payments. The role also includes oversight of the SAP reporting strategy, ensuring real-time, actionable insights via HANA and BW platforms.

This is a high-impact role, offering the opportunity to influence enterprise-wide transformation, mentor emerging talent, and serve as the bridge between business goals and SAP solutions.

Key Responsibilities

Define and lead the SAP Finance strategy, roadmap, and architecture, ensuring alignment with enterprise objectives

Own delivery and governance of SAP Finance programs (S/4

HANA, ECC, upgrades, integrations)

Guide end-to-end Manufacturing Finance solution design (product costing, WIP, inventory, shop-floor integration)

Deliver Commercial Finance capabilities including Credit & Collections, FI-CA, and Customer Master Data

Implement Digital Payment solutions with a focus on gateways, wallets, tokenization, and PCI compliance

Lead SAP BW/HANA reporting strategy, data modeling, and analytics enablement

Partner with Finance and IT stakeholders to align IT investments with ROI and operational performance

Build and mentor high-performing global teams with clear succession plans

Represent IT Finance on executive forums and communicate program status and risk to leadership

Required Qualifications

12+ years of SAP Finance leadership experience

5+ full lifecycle SAP implementations (2+ with S/4

HANA)

Strong knowledge of Manufacturing Finance, Product Costing, and integration with MES

Experience with Digital Payments architecture within SAP ecosystems

Expertise in SAP BW and SAP HANA - architecture, reporting, analytics

Executive stakeholder engagement and proven roadmap ownership

Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Information Systems, or related field (MBA preferred)

Ability to work hybrid (3 days onsite), with up to 20% travel

Preferred Skills

SAP Certifications (FI/CO, S/4

HANA, BW)

Experience with SAP Cloud Platform, CPI, and integration middleware

Familiarity with bank integration (SWIFT, EBICS, APIs)

Knowledge of process frameworks (Lean, Six Sigma, Agile, SAFe)

Experience in regulated environments (GXP, PCI-DSS)