Categories: Pharmaceutical, IT Governance, Compliance, SAP Technology

Job Description

The Position

We are seeking a strategic, experienced Director to lead technology compliance, governance and change management across our SAP suite of applications including S/4HANA landscape and other connected systems. This leader will own the operating model, policies and controls that ensure the IT solutions are secure, compliant and aligned with enterprise architecture and regulatory requirements. The role partners closely with, Global Process Owners, GxP Quality, Finance, Program Delivery, IT Risk, Cybersecurity & Enterprise Architecture to embed strong governance, control frameworks, release management and change control for SAP solutions and related integrations. This role will support global SAP programs and ongoing operations.

What will you do?

• Define and lead SAP technology governance across the SAP solutions landscape including S/4HANA: develop and maintain policies, standards, reference architectures, lifecycle management and compliance controls.
• Establish and own the SAP change governance model: release planning, transport policies, segregation of duties (SoD) controls, code promotion procedures, emergency change processes and rollback strategies.
• Lead SAP-related compliance programs and remediation efforts, including internal audit support and external regulatory readiness (GxP, SOX, GDPR), ensuring evidence collection, remediation plans and demonstrable auditability.
• Oversee SAP configuration, customization and enhancement control processes in partnership with Global Process Owners, ensuring design controls, requirement traceability and validation where required.
• Define and operationalize SAP change assurance practices: testing strategies (unit, integration, regression, UAT), environment refresh policies, test data management, release validation and operational readiness reviews.
• Lead the SAP release management function using SAP ChaRM: establish and manage a coordinated release calendar across S/4HANA, SuccessFactors, Ariba, and third‑party integrations; enforce deployment windows, pre‑deployment checks and rollback criteria.
• Implement and mature configuration and code management practices for SAP: transport management, branching strategies, CI/CD for ABAP and cloud extensions, and DevOps pipelines for SAP BTP and cloud deployments.
• Partner with Cybersecurity, IT Risk, Infrastructure and OT teams to integrate SAP‑specific security controls, patch management, vulnerability remediation and incident response processes.
• Define and report on governance and compliance KPIs (change failure rate, mean time to remediate SoD conflicts, audit findings closure rate, release success rate); present metrics and risk posture to senior leadership and audit committees.
• Build, lead and mentor a multidisciplinary team of governance, compliance and change management professionals; drive hiring, development and resource planning.
• Provide governance oversight and advisory support for S/4HANA transformation, rollouts, carve‑ins/carve‑outs and integrations; assess program risks and advise on go‑live readiness and mitigations.
• Manage relationships with SAP, system integrators and tooling vendors (GRC tools, ALM, CI/CD, test automation) to ensure the toolchain supports governance and change processes effectively.
• Drive continuous improvement and automation of governance, controls and change processes to enable speed and agility while maintaining control and compliance.

Qualifications, Skills & Experience Required

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Information Systems, Engineering, Finance or related field. Advanced degree preferred.
• 10+ years of experience in SAP technology governance, change management, compliance or large SAP program delivery, with demonstrable leadership experience; prior director or senior leadership experience preferred.
• Deep functional and technical knowledge of SAP S/4HANA landscape, modules and integration patterns (Finance, MM, SD, PP, TM, Ariba, SuccessFactors) and SAP BTP/cloud extensions.
• Hands‑on familiarity with SAP change and transport management processes (ChaRM), SAP Basis concepts, landscape design and environment strategies.
• Experience designing and delivering compliance programs in regulated environments (GxP, SOX, GDPR) with practical experience preparing for and supporting audits.
• Awareness of DevOps and CI/CD practices applied to SAP (ABAP pipelines, CTS+, Jenkins, Git, SAP Cloud Transport Management).
• Proven ability to define and implement governance frameworks that balance control and agility for large, global ERP landscapes.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills with proven ability to influence executive leadership and cross‑functional teams.

Nice to have

• Certifications: SAP S/4HANA, SAP GRC, CISM, CISSP, PMP or equivalent.
• Practical experience with SAP Solution Manager, Focused Build, Focused Insights, SAP Cloud ALM, or other test and release management tooling.
• Experience integrating SAP governance with enterprise ITSM and change control tools (ServiceNow, Jira, Azure DevOps).
• Experience in SAP transformation programs including global rollouts, carve‑ins/carve‑outs and post‑merger integrations.
• Familiarity with cloud security models and hybrid architectures supporting SAP on‑premise and cloud deployments.
• Prior experience in life sciences, pharmaceuticals or animal health is advantageous.
• AI/ML Engineering experience would be a huge asset.
• Czech and English language skills, both fluent verbally and in writing.

What we offer

• Exciting work in a great team, global projects, international environment 
• Opportunity to learn and grow professionally within the company globally 
• Hybrid working model, flexible role pattern (e.g., even 80% full-time is possible in justified cases) 
• Pension and health insurance contributions 
• Internal reward system plus referral programme 
• 5 weeks annual leave, 5 sick days, 15 days of certified sick leave paid above statutory requirements annually, 40 paid hours annually for volunteering activities, 12 weeks of parental contribution 
• Cafeteria for tax free benefits according to your choice (meal vouchers, Lítačka, sport, culture, health, travel, etc.), Multisport Card 
• Vodafone, Raiffeisen Bank and Foodora discount programmes 
• Up-to-date laptop and iPhone 
• Parking in the garage, showers, refreshments, massage chairs, library, music corner 
• Competitive salary, incentive pay, and many more 

Ready to take up the challenge? Apply now! 
Know anybody who might be interested? Refer this job!

Required Skills:

Accountability, Compliance Program Development, Control Monitoring, Cybersecurity, Data Management, Enterprise Architecture, Executive Leadership, Global ERP Implementations, Information Security, IT Risk Assessments, IT Risk Governance, IT Risk Response and Reporting, Knowledge of regulations and frameworks, Leadership, Management Process, Policy and process development, Policy Management, Policy Procedures, SAP Configuration, SAP S/4HANA, SAP Security Administration, SAP Solution Manager, Stakeholder Management, Technical Advice, Transportation Management

Preferred Skills:

Current Employees apply HERE

Current Contingent Workers apply HERE

Search Firm Representatives Please Read Carefully 
Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA, also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, Rahway, NJ, USA, does not accept unsolicited assistance from search firms for employment opportunities. All CVs / resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at our company without a valid written search agreement in place for this position will be deemed the sole property of our company.  No fee will be paid in the event a candidate is hired by our company as a result of an agency referral where no pre-existing agreement is in place. Where agency agreements are in place, introductions are position specific. Please, no phone calls or emails. 

Employee Status:

Regular

Relocation:

VISA Sponsorship:

Travel Requirements:

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Hybrid

Shift:

Valid Driving License:

Hazardous Material(s):

Job Posting End Date:

02/2/2026

*A job posting is effective until 11:59:59PM on the day BEFORE the listed job posting end date. Please ensure you apply to a job posting no later than the day BEFORE the job posting end date.