SAP Testing Lead

Our Client is undertaking the most significant digital transformation, where a cornerstone is the delivery of consistent, accurate, and trusted data into the future SAP S/4 HANA-based ecosystem and associated technology stack.

The Testing Lead is responsible for end-to-end testing governance, coordination, and business validation across the program. This role provides program-level visibility, alignment, and readiness assurance across all testing phases, with a primary focus on User Acceptance Testing (UAT) and business process validation. This is not a hands-on test-execution or quality-engineering role. Instead, it is a senior leadership and orchestration role that ensures clarity of scope, ownership, readiness, and decision-making across workstreams, product teams, SAP CoE, and external partners. The role is critical to enabling confident Go-Live decisions for pilots and the multi-year European rollout.

The project team has more than 200 people.

• Define, own, and maintain the Testing Strategy, aligned with the overall program delivery and rollout approach.
• Establish clear testing principles, scope boundaries, and success criteria across all testing layers.
• Define and maintain a clear testing governance model, including decision rights, escalation paths, and readiness gates.
• Define, document, and maintain a clear RACI for testing across the program. Align responsibilities across teams (Product Teams, Platform (QA & SRE), SAP CoE, External partners and System Integrators)
• End-to-end Testing Visibility (Program Level)
• Provide a single, consolidated view of testing status, quality, and readiness across all workstreams.
• Track and report readiness across Integration Testing, End-to-end Testing, User Acceptance Testing (UAT), ,Non-functional Testing
• Proactively identify, assess, and escalate risks, gaps, and dependencies impacting delivery milestones.
• Ensure senior leadership has a reliable, transparent, and decision-ready view of testing progress.
• Own and coordinate UAT across the program.
• Ensure solutions are validated against business processes, requirements, and expected outcomes.
• Define and enforce clear UAT entry and exit criteria, including data readiness and defect thresholds.
• Align and mobilize business stakeholders, SMEs, and process owners for UAT participation and formal sign-off.
• Lead and support the Test Manager for SAP, who owns and coordinates SAP-related testing activities across domains (e.g., Finance, Supply Chain, HR, Commercial).
• Ensure alignment with SAP CoE, Enterprise Architecture, and System Integrator teams.
• Ensure SAP testing cycles are fully aligned with program milestones and cutover readiness.
• Lead Testing Workstream for our Program.
• Own and communicate the Testing Workstream Charter, roadmap, and key milestones.
• Ensure testing plans are fully integrated with overall program planning and release cycles.
• Report testing status, risks, and decisions to the Leadership Team and SteerCo.
• Serve as the single point of contact for program-level testing topics.
• Lead, coach, and coordinate a team of Technical Test Coordinators supporting SAP and non-SAP testing activities across the program.
• Provide clear direction on scope, priorities, and ways of working for Technical Test Coordinators, ensuring alignment with the overall Testing Strategy.
• Ensure consistent application of testing standards, entry/exit criteria, and reporting across all technical test streams.
• Act as the escalation point for technical testing issues, dependencies, and resourcing constraints.
• Foster strong collaboration between Technical Test Coordinators, Product Teams, Platform (QA & SRE), SAP CoE, and System Integrators.
• Support capability building and knowledge sharing within the testing community across the program.

MUST

• 10+ years of experience in testing, quality assurance, or delivery roles within large transformation or ERP environments, including leadership or coordination roles.
• Proven experience coordinating UAT at scale with senior business stakeholders and supporting high-stakes Go Live decisions.
• Strong knowledge of SAP landscapes and complex multi-system integration environments (SAP S/4HANA preferred).
• Demonstrated people leadership experience, including line management or functional leadership of specialist testing roles (e.g. Technical Test Coordinators).
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills, with a track record of aligning business, IT, and external partners.
• Ability to translate complex testing and readiness topics into clear, executive-ready insights.
• Experience working with System Integrators and complex vendor ecosystems; background in retail, consumer goods, or multicounty environments strongly preferred.

o Cross-functional leadership: Leads and aligns Business Owners, MDM, EA, SAP CoE, and System Integrators to drive coherent migration decisions.

o Strong people leadership: Coaches and aligns specialist roles (e.g. Technical Test Coordinators) toward common outcomes.

o Executive communication: Translates complex testing and readiness topics into clear, decision-ready messages.

o Stakeholder influence & confidence: Aligns senior business, IT, and external partners with conflicting priorities. Operates collaboratively and confidently with senior stakeholders, building trust and alignment across domains.

o Judgment and decision support: Balances risk, readiness, and delivery pressure to enable confident Go Live decisions.

o Clarity and structure: Brings order, discipline, and transparency to complex, ambiguous environments.

o Proactive risk mindset: Anticipates issues early and escalates with options, not just problems.

o Pragmatism and resilience: Operates effectively under pressure, ambiguity, and tight timelines.

o Outcome orientation: Focuses on business validation and readiness, not process for its own sake.

NICE TO HAVE

German