IT Specialist: SAP Finance

Company Description

At De Beers Group our purpose is to Make Life Brilliant.

We believe that a sustainable business is purposeful, competitive, resilient and agile – it’s a business that thrives through both economic and social cycles. By understanding the context and listening to stakeholders we stay ahead of evolving trends and provide the solutions to societal expectations. By solving the physical challenges of mining through relentless innovation, and constantly searching for more responsible ways to do business, we are changing the way our employees and stakeholders experience our business – creating enduring value for all stakeholders. Sustainability is at the heart of our decision-making – it is how we do business.

Job Description

Information Technology (IT) develops and optimises the engine that powers De Beers’ digital and technology ecosystems, enabling our people to work safely, effectively and sustainably. This is a senior functional leadership role accountable for the effective management, support, governance and continuous improvement of SAP Finance solutions across the organisation.

The role provides deep SAP Finance and business-process expertise and works with Finance stakeholders, business process owners, IT teams and service providers to ensure that solutions are stable, compliant, standardised and aligned with business objectives. To own and continuously improve SAP Finance solutions by translating business requirements into effective functional designs, maintaining solution integrity, overseeing service and vendor performance, and enabling Finance transformation through standardised and sustainable technology capabilities.

Key Responsibilities:

SAP Finance functional ownership

• Act as the functional owner and primary IT point of contact for SAP Finance solutions within the assigned scope.
• Maintain the functional integrity, standardisation and effective use of the SAP Finance landscape.
• Translate Finance requirements into sustainable SAP solutions aligned with enterprise architecture, design principles and control requirements.
• Provide functional guidance on process design, configuration, integration, controls and improvement opportunities.

Solution delivery and continuous improvement

• Lead requirements analysis, solution design, functional specification, configuration, testing, implementation and post-deployment support.
• Assess enhancement demand based on business value, risk, architectural alignment, supportability and total cost of ownership.
• Promote standard SAP capabilities and fit-to-standard design, limiting customisation to justified business requirements.
• Identify opportunities for process simplification, automation, reporting improvement and improved user experience.
• Ensure solution documentation, test evidence, configuration records and operating procedures remain complete and current.

Service and operational management

• Oversee the performance, availability and support of SAP Finance services against agreed service levels and operating procedures.
• Lead the resolution of priority incidents and recurring problems, including root-cause analysis, remediation planning and prevention of recurrence.
• Monitor service trends and drive measurable service improvement actions.
• Coordinate clear and timely stakeholder communication during service disruptions and material delivery risks.
• Provide functional coaching and knowledge transfer to business users, support teams and delivery partners.

Vendor and commercial management

• Manage functional delivery by SAP support and implementation partners.
• Monitor supplier performance against contractual commitments, service levels, quality measures and delivery outcomes.
• Review estimates, statements of work and solution proposals for completeness, value, feasibility and alignment with requirements.
• Strengthen internal knowledge and documentation to reduce operational dependency on external providers.

Governance, risk and compliance

• Ensure SAP Finance solutions comply with applicable IT controls, security standards, financial control requirements and organisational policies.
• Support audit activities, user access reviews, control testing, evidence provision and remediation within the SAP Finance domain.
• Ensure changes follow approved architecture, change, testing, release and deployment governance.
• Identify technology, service and process risks, assess potential business impact and coordinate corrective actions.
• Participate in relevant design, change, service and governance forums.

Stakeholder and project leadership

• Partner with Finance stakeholders, process owners and IT teams to maintain a transparent and prioritised demand pipeline.
• Communicate service performance, decisions, dependencies, risks and delivery progress to relevant stakeholders.
• Lead or participate in SAP Finance projects, upgrades, migrations and transformation initiatives.
• Coordinate cross-functional delivery across SAP and integrated applications to achieve end-to-end business outcomes.
• Work safely, act as a safety leader and consider risks to people and the environment before undertaking activities.

Qualifications

• Relevant bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional qualification in Information Technology, Finance, Accounting, Business Systems or a related discipline.
• Substantial hands-on functional experience supporting or implementing SAP Finance solutions in a complex enterprise environment.
• Demonstrated configuration and process knowledge across the SAP Finance capabilities within the role’s defined scope.
• Experience across the solution lifecycle, including requirements, design, configuration, functional specification, testing, deployment and production support.
• Experience managing SAP application support or implementation partners and reviewing delivery estimates and proposals.
• Experience in incident, problem, change and release management within an enterprise service environment.
• Demonstrated stakeholder management experience with senior Finance and IT stakeholders.
• Experience working across multiple business units, legal entities or countries in a multinational and multicultural environment.
• SAP Finance certification is preferred. Current SAP S/4HANA Finance certification is advantageous.

Required functional and technical capability

• Strong knowledge of SAP Finance and Controlling processes and configuration relevant to the assigned scope, which may include General Ledger, Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Asset Accounting, cost and profit centre accounting, internal orders and financial close.
• Understanding of end-to-end Finance processes, financial controls and the implications of system design for data quality, reporting and auditability.
• Knowledge of SAP integration with related domains, including Sales and Distribution, Materials Management, Project Systems, Plant Maintenance and external applications.
• Ability to produce high-quality business requirements, functional designs, specifications, process maps, test scenarios and support documentation.
• Knowledge of SAP application lifecycle management, transport and release controls, service management and production support practices.
• Understanding of enterprise architecture, cyber security, access controls, data governance and change governance relevant to SAP Finance.
• Ability to analyse complex incidents and requirements, identify root causes and recommend sustainable solutions.
• Practical experience with SAP S/4HANA Finance and relevant SAP Fiori applications.
• Participation in an SAP S/4HANA implementation, migration, conversion or major Finance transformation.

Advantageous capability

• Experience with SAP Joint Venture Accounting in a mining, resources or multinational operating environment.
• Exposure to SAP Treasury, profitability analysis, product costing, Group Reporting or othe