Director, SAP Technology Lead - Merchandising

Primary Purpose

The Director, SAP Technology Lead - Merchandising serves as the senior authority for SAP merchandising solutions and plays a pivotal role in delivering ADUSA's Retail Spine ERP transformation. This position is responsible for leading the end-to-end design, delivery, implementation, and ongoing support of core merchandising capabilities, including article and master data management, assortment and listing, pricing and promotions, vendor funding, allocation, and margin optimization using SAP S/4HANA Retail and associated platforms such as SAP CAR and integrated planning and analytics solutions. A critical aspect of this role is ensuring seamless integration across merchandising, finance, supply chain, store operations, and digital commerce platforms to enable accurate pricing execution, promotional effectiveness, real-time inventory visibility, and enterprise-wide margin transparency.

The Director ensures that merchandising solutions are scalable, high-performing, and commercially aligned to drive measurable business outcomes. In close partnership with merchandising and finance leadership, this role mobilizes IT teams and System Integrator partners to deliver fit-to-standard, clean-core aligned solutions that support long-term agility and innovation that are aligned with ADUSA's long-term roadmap.
This leader shapes enterprise merchandising technology standards, drives cross-workstream alignment, and ensures disciplined execution across all phases of the transformation lifecycle. With an AI- and analytics-first mindset, the Director enables data-driven decision-making, optimized pricing and promotion strategies, and automation across merchandising processes to maximize revenue, margin, and operational efficiency.

The ideal candidate brings deep expertise in SAP S/4HANA Retail merchandising capabilities, strong executive leadership skills, and a proven track record delivering large-scale ERP transformations in complex, high-volume retail environments.

Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis. Our flexible/ hybrid work schedule includes 3 in-person days at one our Salisbury, NC location and 2 remote days.

Duties & Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership & Transformation Execution

• Provide strategic leadership and ownership of SAP Retail delivery on RISE with SAP S/4HANA Cloud, from Fit-to-Standard design through deployment, stabilization and post go-live support.
• Serve as the technology authority for SAP merchandising capabilities, including article and master data management, assortment and listing, pricing and promotions, vendor funding, and integration with SAP CAR and planning platforms, ensuring alignment with Clean Core principles, SAP Best Practices, and cloud operating standards.
• Partner closely with Merchandising and Finance leadership to translate commercial strategy into scalable SAP functional and technical designs, enabling accurate pricing execution, promotional effectiveness, margin transparency, and operational efficiency.
• Lead solution architecture and cross-functional integration across merchandising, supply chain, finance, store operations, and digital commerce systems, ensuring cohesive system-of-record ownership and end-to-end process integrity.
• Define and deliver integrations between SAP and best-of-breed merchandising, planning, analytics, and digital platforms to support assortment optimization, pricing execution, and vendor collaboration.
• Deliver automations through AI and other strategic solutions to optimize business processes.
• Design and deliver the data foundation to support the operational and reporting needs required by the business.

System Integrator & Platform Alignment

• Own delivery outcomes across the System Integrator and SAP RISE ecosystem, holding all partners accountable for scope execution, solution quality, and business results.
• Establish and enforce design governance, architecture standards, and release controls, ensuring solutions align with Clean Core principles, RISE service boundaries, and enterprise cloud operating models.
• Drive end-to-end delivery accountability across internal teams and external partners, proactively managing risks, dependencies, performance metrics, and corrective actions to ensure on-time, on-quality execution.
• Ensure RISE environments, transports, and testing strategies align to SAP Activate and enterprise DevOps standards.

Functional Design & Process Integration

• Lead the detailed SAP S/4HANA functional and technical design and configuration across relevant modules, including solution architecture, configuration workbooks (IMG), data objects, interfaces, and enhancements-ensuring alignment to Fit-to-Standard and Clean Core principles.
• Partner with the Merchandising Business led to govern Fit-to-Standard decisions to balance business differentiation with standardization and long-term maintainability.
• Own the end-to-end integration across SAP and non-SAP platforms, defining APIs, event-driven patterns, and middleware flows (e.g., SAP BTP Integration Suite) to ensure seamless, real-time process execution across merchandising, supply chain, and omnichannel systems.
• Translate business needs into SAP S/4HANA designs and configurations and validate solutions through end-to-end testing.
• Ensure seamless upstream/downstream integration with Finance, Supply Chain, Retail including POS, eCommerce, and last-mile platforms.
• Ensure high-quality master data, pricing accuracy, and promotion execution across channels.
• Deliver reporting, analytics and AI capabilities integrated with SAP on RISE.
• Drive adoption of embedded S/4HANA and RISE innovations to enable a modern, intelligent merchandising/sourcing.

Team Leadership & Ways of Working

• Provide inspirational leadership and direction for a purpose-driven team, with direct accountability for talent management activities including recruiting and leading a high performing team, developing technical and functional capabilities through targeted upskilling programs, conducting performance management, and retaining critical expertise throughout the multi-year transformation journey.
• Upskill and coach internal IT teams and SMEs on cloud mindset, Clean Core, and SAP Best Practices.
• Establish clear roles, responsibilities, governance structures, decision-making frameworks, and engagement cadences across key stakeholders within and outside the transformation program.
• Foster a culture of inclusion, collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement while actively modeling ADUSA's core values and partnership behaviors to drive engagement, knowledge sharing, and shared success across the transformation ecosystem.

Change Management & Communication

• Partner with transformation change management and communications leads to develop and execute targeted messaging strategies addressing organizational change impacts.
• Actively engage with business leaders to co-create transition roadmaps, align on deployment wave sequencing, define stabilization success criteria, and establish realistic expectations for capability rollout timelines and business benefits realization.
• Serve as the primary escalation point and trusted advisor for operational risk identification throughout each deployment wave, proactively proposing mitigation strategies.
• Lead executive and governance committee presentations and business readiness assessments, translating complex technical concepts into business value narratives that resonate with C-suite stakeholders.

Performance Monitoring & Post-Go-Live Support

• Define and track functional success metrics (e.g., system adoption and operational continuity).
• Lead cutover planning, stabilization governance, and lessons-learned cycles following deployment.
• Ensure successful implementation and rollout at Back-offfice/DCs/stores, including training, SOPs, and escalation procedures.

Other

• Additional job duties may be assigned as needed to meet the needs of the business and support our Values.
• Ability to travel as needed to support business and brand alignment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or related discipline required; Master's degree in Business, Technology, or Merchandising preferred.
• 12-15+ years of progressive SAP experience with deep specialization in retail merchandising domains, including senior leadership roles on large-scale SAP S/4HANA Retail transformation programs in grocery, mass retail, or multi-brand retail environments.
• Demonstrated hands-on expertise across SAP S/4HANA Retail merchandising capabilities, including Article and master data management, Assortment planning and listing, Allocation and replenishment integration, Pricing, promotions, and markdown management, Vendor funding and rebate management, Margin and profitability analysis.
• Integration with CAR and planning platforms (e.g., Relex, Blue Yonder).
• Proven experience designing and integrating end-to-end merchandising processes spanning procure-to-sell, vendor collaboration, pricing execution, promotional lifecycle management, and omnichannel retail enablement.
• Track record of leading full-lifecycle SAP transformations (strategy through stabilization), including fit-to-standard design, clean-core governance, solution authority, testing oversight, cutover readiness, and post-go-live optimization.
• Deep understanding of merchandising economics, including gross margin management, promotional ROI, funding reconciliation, shrink impact, assortment rationalization, and category performance drivers.
• Experience operating in high-volume retail environments with complex pricing structures, frequent promotional cycles, and multi-brand or multi-banner operations.
• Demonstrated leadership of cross-functional teams in a modern IT delivery model that includes System Integrators, SaaS planning platforms, digital commerce systems, and federated IT organizations; strong ability to hold partners accountable for merchandising outcomes.
• Experience leading ongoing SAP merchandising operations post-implementation, including release governance, production support oversight, continuous improvement, and enhancement prioritization aligned to commercial impact.
• Proven capability delivering merchandising analytics and decision-support capabilities, including pricing optimization, promotion effectiveness analysis, margin reporting, and integration of advanced analytics or AI-driven automation within SAP-enabled merchandising processes.
• Strong financial and commercial acumen with experience managing program budgets, evaluating build vs. buy trade-offs, and driving measurable margin and revenue impact.
• Executive presence with the ability to influence senior merchandising, finance, and supply chain leaders, navigate complex trade-offs, and align stakeholders around commercial and operational outcomes.
• Strategic yet hands-on leader with demonstrated success building and mentoring high-performing merchandising technology teams.
• Willingness to travel as needed to support program execution, vendor engagement, and multi-banner alignment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in grocery or big-box retail with high SKU velocity, complex DC networks, and store fulfillment models.
• Direct experience with RISE with SAP or SAP S/4HANA Cloud operating models.
• Strong understanding of SAP Clean Core strategy, SAP BTP extensibility, and cloud governance.
• Proven experience integrating SAP S/4HANA with best-of-breed platforms such as Manhattan and RELEX.
• Demonstrated success driving Fit-to-Standard and reducing technical debt/custom code.
• SAP certifications in S/4HANA Retail or related modules.

Compensation & Benefits

• Preferred location is at the ADUSA regional headquarters which are located just outside Charlotte, North Carolina (Salisbury).
• Competitive benefits package.
• Salary Range: $160,000 - $240,000
• Actual compensation offered to a candidate may vary based on their unique qualifications and experience, internal equity, and market conditions. Final compensation decisions will be made in accordance with company policies and applicable laws.

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