Lead Architect: IM/WM/Logistics

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Life Unlimited. At Smith+Nephew we design and manufacture technology that takes the limits off living.

At Smith+Nephew we are looking for:
Lead Architect: IM/WM/Logistics
SAP is a major strategic platform at S&N. The company has one global instance with a commercial model deployed in the major markets (US, Europe, Canada, Australia) and 3 manufacturing instances covering US, Europe & APAC. The solution foot print cover Order to Cash, Procure to Pay, Record to Report and Plan to Inventory including Manufacturing.

The SAP Lead Architect for Inventory Warehouse and Logistics will partner with related Business Process Owners to ensure the design and deployment of a quality solution that meets the business needs, and manage a small team of internal and external architects to deliver the process functionality within the ERP systems.

This role will cover the "Plan to Inventory" processes for inventory, warehouse and logistics within the manufacturing sites and the delivery of manufactured materials to the finished goods warehouse (GDC = Global Distribution Centres) for sales to customers.

The position requires strong SAP knowledge, a good understanding of complex business processes in large multi-nationals and a proven experience in large and complex SAP multi-national implementations. In this position you will manage small team of internal and external solution architects to deliver solutions.

What will you be doing?

• Solution Architecture: Leads the development of architectures for complex solutions, ensuring consistency with specified requirements agreed with both external, and internal customers. Takes full responsibility for the balance between functional, service quality and systems management requirements within a significant area of the organization. Establishes policy and strategy for the selection of solution architecture components, and co-ordinates design activities, promoting the discipline to ensure consistency. Ensures that appropriate standards (corporate, industry, national and international) are adhered to. Within a business change program, manages the target design, policies and standards, working proactively to maintain a stable, viable architecture and ensure consistency of design across projects within the program.
• Requirements definition and management: Contributes to selection of the requirements approach for projects, selecting appropriately from predictive (plan-driven) approaches or adaptive (iterative/agile) approaches. Defines and manages scoping, requirements definition and prioritization activities for initiatives of medium size and complexity. Facilitates input from stakeholders, provides constructive challenge and enables effective prioritization of requirements. Reviews requirements for errors and omissions. Establishes the requirements base-lines, obtains formal agreement to requirements, and ensures traceability to source. Investigates, manages, and applies authorized requests for changes to base-lined requirements, in line with change management policy.
• Systems Design: - Adopts and adapts appropriate systems design methods, tools and techniques selecting appropriately from predictive (plan-driven) approaches or adaptive (iterative/agile) approaches, and ensures they are applied effectively. Designs large or complex systems. Undertakes impact analysis on major design options and trade-off. Makes recommendations and assesses and manages associated risks. Reviews others' systems designs to ensure selection of appropriate technology, efficient use of resources, and integration of multiple systems and technology. Ensures that the system design balances functional and non-functional requirements. Contributes to development of systems design policies and standards and selection of architecture components.
• Data modelling and design: Investigates corporate data requirements, and applies data analysis, design, modelling, and quality assurance techniques, to establish, modify or maintain data structures and their associated components (entity descriptions, relationship descriptions, attribute definitions). Provides advice and guidance to database designers and others using the data structures and associated components.
• Service acceptance: Engages with technical design and project managers or Project Management Office, to ensure correct products are produced, in a timely fashion. Evaluates the quality of project outputs against agreed service acceptance criteria.
• Specialist advice: Provides organizational leadership and guidelines to promote the development and exploitation of specialist knowledge in the organization. Maintains a network of recognized experts (inside and/or outside the organization) who can deliver expert advice in areas relevant to the organization's current and future needs. Provides input into professional development planning across a significant part of the organization to further the development of appropriate expertise.

What will you need to be successful?

• Relevant Certifications: SAP ECC6 (WM) and SAP S/4 HANA (EWM) certifications are essential, along with ITIL qualifications
• Proven SAP Expertise: At least 7 years of experience in SAP within an international setting, including multiple full-cycle implementations across multi-country deployments, ideally in regulated life sciences or medical device sectors
• Warehouse & Inventory Process Knowledge: Deep understanding of inbound/outbound warehouse operations, material management, inventory control, and cycle counting, with familiarity in batch and sterile product handling
• Strong Functional Knowledge: Expertise in SAP modules such as IM, MM, WM, and integration with SD, PP, and FI/CO. Hands-on experience with ECC6 EHP-7 or later is required; S/4 HANA experience is a plus
• Project & Team Leadership: Demonstrated success in managing enhancements and small-scale projects, including leading cross-functional virtual teams and collaborating with external vendors
• Global Collaboration Skills: Comfortable working with culturally diverse, globally distributed teams, with excellent communication skills in English

You. Unlimited.
165 years of groundbreaking innovation requires a steadfast focus on what's next. We're passionate about you. You're what's next...

• Inclusion & Belonging: Committed to Welcoming, Celebrating and Thriving on Inclusion and Belonging, Learn more about our Employee Inclusion Groups on our website
• Your Future: Generous annual bonus, life insurance, Save As You Earn share options.
• Work/Life Balance: Flexible Vacation and Time Off, Paid Holidays and Paid Volunteering Hours, so we can give back to our communities
• Your Wellbeing: Private Health and Dental plans, multisport card/my benefit platform and much more.
• Flexibility: Hybrid Working Model (For most professional roles).
• Training: Hands-On, Team-Customised, Mentorship, subsidies for language classes, certifications and postgraduate studies

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