Director, Deployment (SAP S/4HANA)

Job SummaryThe Director, Country Deployment Lead USA, is responsible for leading the enterprise-wide deployment of Fresenius Kabi’s ELEVATE Global Template as part of the company’s strategic business transformation and SAP S/4HANA implementation under the #FutureFresenius initiative in the US. This role provides global leadership and governance for the successful rollout of standardized business processes, systems, and operating models across regions, countries, sites, and business units.
The Director serves as the primary bridge between global program leadership and country execution teams, ensuring alignment with transformation objectives while addressing local business, regulatory, validation, and operational requirements. This position drives deployment strategy, oversees cross-functional readiness activities, and directs business and IT resources through planning, testing, cutover, go-live, hyper care, and transition to sustained operations.
Working in close partnership with senior business leaders, Global Deployment Teams, Global Process Owners, IT, Validation, Change Management, and external implementation partners, the Director ensures consistent adoption of global standards, mitigates deployment risks, accelerates value realization, and delivers measurable business outcomes across the enterprise. This role is accountable for deployment excellence, stakeholder engagement, organizational readiness, and the successful execution of one of Fresenius Kabi’s most critical transformation initiatives.
*While this position may be worked remotely, priority will be given to Chicago area candidates.
*This position is not eligible for visa sponsorship either now or in the future.
• Salary Range: $170,000-190,000
• Position is eligible to participate in an annual bonus plan with a target of 16% of the base salary.
• Position is eligible to participate in our medium-term incentive plan.
• Final pay determinations will depend on various factors, including, but not limited to experience level, education, knowledge, skills, and abilities.
• Our benefits and programs are comprehensive and thoughtfully crafted to ensure our colleagues live healthy lives and have support when it matters most. Benefits offered include a 401(k) plan with company contributions, paid vacation, holiday and personal days, employee assistance program, and health benefits to include medical, prescription drug, dental and vision coverage.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership for the end-to-end deployment of SAP S/4HANA and ELEVATE program solutions across assigned countries, business units, and deployment waves, ensuring successful execution from planning and localization through go-live, stabilization, and transition to support organizations.
• Direct the translation of the approved Global Template into scalable deployment strategies and execution plans, balancing global standardization objectives with local business, regulatory, compliance, and operational requirements while maintaining governance over deviations and design integrity.
• Establish and lead deployment governance frameworks, including decision-making structures, accountability models, readiness assessments, escalation pathways, quality controls, and performance monitoring to ensure consistent execution across global deployments.
• Drive organizational readiness and adoption strategies by aligning business leaders, mobilizing regional, country and local resources, overseeing deployment planning activities, and ensuring effective training, communication, risk mitigation, and contingency planning.
• Provide cross-functional leadership across Local Process Owners, IT, Validation, Data Migration, Testing, Integration, Change Management to ensure alignment, execution excellence, and achievement of deployment milestones and quality standards.
• Oversee deployment quality and readiness, ensuring successful execution of data migration, integrations, security and authorization models, testing cycles, user acceptance testing, cutover preparations, and go-live readiness reviews in accordance with SAP S/4HANA standards and program governance requirements.
• Lead enterprise cutover planning and execution activities, ensuring clear accountability, effective issue resolution, disciplined command-center operations, and informed go/no-go recommendations to senior program and business leadership.
• Provide executive leadership during hypercare and stabilization phases, ensuring rapid issue resolution, business continuity, knowledge transfer, operational readiness, and successful transition to long-term support and sustainment organizations.
• Proactively identify, assess, and manage deployment risks, issues, dependencies, and scope impacts, providing clear and concise reporting, recommendations, and escalation pathways to program leadership and executive stakeholders.
• Drive continuous improvement of deployment methodologies, governance processes, tools, templates, and best practices by capturing lessons learned and incorporating insights across successive deployment waves.
• Champion ELEVATE program communications, engagement initiatives, and culture-building activities in partnership with Change Management to strengthen stakeholder alignment and transformation adoption.
• Serve as a mentor and advisor to country and local deployment resources, building organizational capability and promoting best practices in large-scale ERP transformation and deployment management.
• Ensure deployment activities meet applicable audit, validation, compliance, and regulatory requirements by maintaining appropriate documentation, controls, and evidence supporting program governance and quality standards.

Job Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree in business administration, business informatics, IT management, industrial engineering or comparable field required; master’s degree preferred.
• 12+ years of experience in ERP delivery, deployment management or transformation leadership within complex enterprise environments; 12+ years preferred for senior global scope.
• Proven experience with SAP S/4HANA or large SAP ERP rollouts, ideally in multi-country, multi-site or multi-business environments.
• Strong understanding of SAP landscape components, core S/4HANA processes/modules, data migration, testing, integrations, extensions, authorizations and cutover concepts.
• Experience in Pharma/Life Science or another regulated/validated industry; familiarity with GxP, validation, quality gates and audit expectations is strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to lead business readiness, UAT, cutover, go-live, hypercare and transition to business-as-usual operations.
• Experience with SAP Activate and agile/hybrid delivery models is preferred.
• PMP, PRINCE2, SAP certification or equivalent program/deployment certification advantageous.
• Excellent written and verbal English; German or other regional languages are a plus. Willingness to travel according to rollout needs, including critical cutover and go-live phases.
• International travel 35% and at times could be 1-2 months in a specific country.

Additional Information

We offer an excellent salary and benefits package including medical, dental and vision coverage, as well as life insurance, disability, 401K with company contribution, and wellness program.

Please note that joining our team does not create a guaranteed or permanent employment arrangement. All employment is at‑will, meaning both the employee and Fresenius Kabi have the right to end the employment relationship at any time, in accordance with applicable federal and state laws.

Fresenius Kabi is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, citizenship, immigration status, disabilities, or protected veteran status.