Senior SAP Technical Services Expert & Teamlead

Function

We are looking for a Senior SAP Technical Services Expert & Team Lead to join our client’s organization and take ownership of the SAP operations landscape. In this key leadership role, you will manage technical services across multiple SAP environments, ensuring operational excellence, system reliability, and performance optimization. You will lead internal and external expert teams, oversee financial budgets, and act as a strategic partner to both IT and business stakeholders to deliver high-quality SAP services and transformation projects.

Key Responsibilities

• Manage the financial budget related to SAP operations and projects (ranging from 1 to 3 million euros).

• Act as a strategic partner across all levels, from operational teams to general management, as well as with vendors and external partners.

• Oversee the SAP solution portfolio and ensure successful project delivery within scope, budget, and timelines.

• Lead and mentor a team of internal and external SAP technical experts and project managers, ensuring effective collaboration, performance, and knowledge transfer.

• Ensure the stability, performance, and security of SAP operations for end users across all systems.

• Coordinate communication related to planned and unplanned outages, ensuring clear and timely information to stakeholders.

• Collaborate closely with SAP functional teams, Enterprise Architecture, Security (CISO), Networking, and other technical domains to resolve complex issues and maintain system consistency.

• Drive best practices for system governance, documentation, SLA management, incident response, and escalation handling.

The Ideal Profile

• Broad and in-depth knowledge of SAP Business Suite (ECC, CRM, BW, IDM, GRC) and modern SAP platforms such as BW/4HANA, S/4HANA, BTP, and SAP SaaS solutions (e.g. SuccessFactors, Ariba, IBP, IAG, C4C, AFC).

• Strong understanding of SAP development tools and the SDLC process (ABAP, Fiori, Build, Integration Suite, Embedded Analytics) in both on-premise and cloud environments (S/4HANA PCE).

• Experience with SAP Solution Manager and SAP Cloud ALM (monitoring, ChaRM, Clean Core) and the ability to assess transition readiness from SolMan to Cloud ALM.

• Proven ability to manage and guide teams of senior technology experts, project managers, and offshore Basis operations (including monitoring, SLA tracking, conflict management, and documentation).

• Hands-on experience working with SAP PE Support and collaboration with SAP TQM or equivalent.

• Solid knowledge of project management methodologies such as PMP or PM².

• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to reconcile diverse viewpoints and build consensus among stakeholders.

• Fluent in Dutch, French, and English.

Conformity Criteria

• Minimum 5 years of experience leading a team of 5–10 senior SAP technology experts.

• Minimum 5 years of experience managing SAP operations through a fully offshore Basis team (10+ members).

• At least 5 years of hands-on experience with SAP Security across On-Prem, PaaS, RISE, and SaaS environments.

• Minimum 5 years of experience optimizing ABAP, Fiori, and Java code for performance and stability.

• At least 5 years of operational experience managing SAP applications on Windows servers with MS SQL and HANA databases (S/4, BW/4, PCE).

• Minimum 12 years of hands-on SAP Basis experience (installation, upgrades, security, operations, decommissioning, data archiving) across ECC, CRM, BW, IDM, PO, Solution Manager, NetWeaver, Fiori, and integrated SaaS platforms such as SuccessFactors, Ariba, and EnableNow.

• Minimum 2 years of experience leading Basis Operations for S/4HANA on SAP RISE (Private Cloud Edition) with integrations to BTP and SaaS solutions.

• Knowledge of public procurement processes and at least 3 years of experience outsourcing and managing offshore development teams (up to 40 developers).

• Proven ability to operate at all organizational levels within large IT environments (1000+ employees) and to collaborate effectively with SAP and non-SAP specialists while reporting to C-level executives.