Senior S/4HANA Finance Lead

INSIDE IR35 - ASAP START - 6 MONTH INITIAL CONTRACT

Role: Senior S/4HANA Finance Lead

We are seeking an experienced Senior SAP S/4HANA Finance Lead to support a major ERP transformation programme within a highly regulated Defence environment.

The successful candidate will bring end-to-end functional knowledge across the finance domain, ensuring SAP processes and solutions align with business objectives, governance requirements and operational needs. The role will act as Senior Finance functional lead across Finance-related workstreams, working closely with business stakeholders, programme leadership, system integrators and technical teams to define, validate and deliver robust end-to-end finance processes.

This is a hands-on functional leadership role requiring deep SAP Finance expertise, strong end-to-end process knowledge and delivery experience. The successful candidate will be capable of translating business requirements into practical SAP finance outcomes whilst ensuring compliance with regulatory, audit and security requirements.

Essential: Candidates must hold, or have previously held, BPSS and SC Security Clearance, or be eligible to obtain and maintain both.

Core Functional Requirements & Experience

End-to-End Finance Functional Leadership

• Lead end-to-end SAP S/4HANA Finance functional design and process definition across the programme.

• Act as the senior functional authority for Finance-related business processes and solution decisions.

• Translate complex business and regulatory requirements into practical SAP Finance processes and outcomes.

• Ensure alignment between Finance, cross-functional workstreams and wider programme objectives.

• Lead functional design reviews and process governance activities.

• Support business process harmonisation and standardisation initiatives.

SAP Finance Functional Leadership

Provide senior functional leadership and end-to-end process knowledge across the following key areas:

Financial Accounting (FI)

• General Ledger

• Accounts Payable

• Accounts Receivable

• Asset Accounting

• Intercompany Accounting

• Financial Close and Reporting

Controlling (CO)

• Cost Centre Accounting

• Internal Orders

• Profitability Analysis

• Product Costing

• Management Reporting

Forecasting & Budgeting (Essential)

• Budget planning and management processes.

• Forecasting and financial planning solutions.

• Integration between operational and financial planning activities.

• Experience supporting enterprise planning and budgeting processes within SAP environments.

Multi-Bank Connectivity (Essential)

• Multi-bank solutions and banking integration.

• Treasury and cash management processes.

• Electronic bank statement integration.

• Payment processing processes and controls.

• Banking interfaces and financial control frameworks

Digital Tax (Essential)

• Digital tax compliance and reporting requirements.

• VAT, indirect tax and regulatory reporting frameworks.

• Tax determination and reporting processes within SAP.

• Support for evolving digital tax regulations and compliance obligations.

Governance, Risk & Compliance (Essential)

• SAP GRC Access Control.

• Segregation of Duties (SoD).

• Risk and compliance management.

• Audit and controls frameworks.

• User provisioning and governance processes.

• Support for internal and external audit requirements.

Integration & Cross-Functional Finance Processes

• Collaborate with Procurement, Supply Chain, Manufacturing and HR workstreams to ensure end-to-end process integration.

• Define finance integration requirements across SAP and connected business platforms.

• Ensure integrity of financial data and reporting across end-to-end business processes.

• Support data migration, testing and deployment activities from a finance functional perspective.

Required Experience

Essential

• Minimum.*10 years SAP Finance experience*.

• Extensive SAP ECC and SAP S/4HANA Finance functional experience.

• Proven experience acting as Senior S/4HANA Finance Lead or Lead Finance Functional Consultant on large transformation programmes.

Demonstrable expertise in:

• Digital Tax

• Multi-Bank Connectivity

• Forecasting & Budgeting

• SAP GRC

• Strong understanding of Finance operating models and finance transformation.

• Experience leading functional process decisions within complex ERP programmes.

• Ability to engage and influence senior Finance, Technology and Programme stakeholders.

• Excellent communication and presentation skills.

• SAP S/4HANA Greenfield or Brownfield transformation programmes.

• SAP Treasury and Risk Management.

• SAP Group Reporting.

• SAP Analytics Cloud for Planning.

• Awareness of SAP BTP and integration technologies from a Finance process perspective.

• Experience working with major System Integrators.

Key Skills

• SAP S/4HANA Finance Functional Leadership

• SAP FI/CO

• Digital Tax

• Multi-Bank Connectivity

• Forecasting & Budgeting

• SAP GRC

• Finance Transformation

• Cross-Functional Finance Integration

• Business Process Design

• Functional Process Governance

• Stakeholder Management

• Programme Delivery

Personal Attributes

• High intellectual calibre with strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities.

• Confident engaging with Finance Directors, CFOs, Programme Leadership and Technical Teams.

• Strong communication, facilitation and influencing skills.

• Able to balance end-to-end functional understanding with practical delivery considerations.

• Collaborative, pragmatic and outcome focused.

• Comfortable operating within complex, highly regulated environments.

Preferred Sector Experience

• Defence

• Aerospace & Defence (A/&D)

• Government & Public Sector

• Nuclear

• Pharmaceuticals & Life Sciences

• Other highly regulated industries

Contract terms:

• Initial engagement to end of programme phase. (6 months)

• Strong likelihood of extension based on programme roadmap.

Location

• South/Southwest region

• Hybrid working model

• 2-3 days per week on-site