Rainbow Chicken, a standalone entity emerging from RCL FOODS Group, is seeking a dynamic IT Executive: Enterprise Applications to spearhead the transformation of our IT applications and data analytics landscape and platforms as well as drive deeper more focused value extraction. We are looking for an innovative leader who can bring focus to continuously optimise digital capabilities across the value chain, ensuring systems drive measurable improvements in cost, margin, control and decision velocity, while aligning IT systems with our business strategy. An exciting opportunity to shape and devlop an appplications team in a focused pure play chicken and feed business.
Purpose of role:
IT Executive: Enterprise Applications holds overall accountability for the applications landscape across the full value chain, including SAP S/4, Best-of Breed systems, Data Analytics, functional technologies and cloud solutions. The role is designed to build strong partnerships with business leaders, translating business priorities into IT strategies and solutions, ensuring IT initiatives deliver measurable value.The role needs to ensure stable operations, well-governed change control, strong vendor performance management, and a business-aligned applications strategy and roadmap that supports the value chain end-to-end.
Skills
- Sound SAP knowledge (FI – COPA, PP, QM, SD + Warehousing)
- Application lifecycle management.
- Vendor and contract management.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving capability.
- Budgeting and cost management.
Qualifications and Experience:
- A 3-year degree in Information Technology or Business Management will be required.
- A minimum of 10 - 15 years’ experience in applications leadership is required in a similar field with at least 5 years experience in a senior management capacity.
- Experience in managing multi-system environments in FMCG, agriculture, manufacturing, or logistics with a strong focus on SAP domain expertise.
- Strong knowledge of SAP S/4 (FI/CO, SD, PP, WM/EWM) and functional integration.
- Track record in leading an applications team and outsourced delivery partners.
- Experience with cloud SaaS, integrations, API management, and solution design.
Skills
- Extensive SAP knowledge (FI – COPA, PP, QM, SD + Warehousing)
- Application lifecycle management.
- Vendor and contract management.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving capability.
- Budgeting and cost management.
Leadership Attributes
- Collaborative, business-focused mindset with business centric thinking.
- Talent development and team leadership (coaching and mentoring).
- Able to challenge constructively and drive standards.
- High accountability and delivery discipline.
- Stakeholder influence and credibility.
Responsibilities:
- Own the application and integration strategy, roadmap and architecture for SAP, Data Analytics, Agriculture, Logistics, Finance, HR, Production, and supporting systems.
- Shape and execute the overall IT strategy, aligning key system initiatives with business objectives.
- Lead end to end value chain systems integrity, while taking full value realisation accountability across the enterprise applications suite.
- Business partnering at an Executive level, translating operational performance ambitions and or gaps into system enabled improvements.
- Identify and lead the realisation of opportunities to further digitise and optimise existing business processes.
- Identify and lead the realisation of opportunities to leverage emerging technologies (including AI / ML) for competitive advantage.
- Take full accountability for operational stabbility of enterise systems landscape including leading and coordinating priority incident management processes.
- Work collaboratively with the IT Executive: Enterprise Architecture to ensure mission critical systems are highly available and downtime is appropriately minimised.
- Build and govern an appropriate data platform for improved real-time visibility of key insights to enhance overall decision support and velocity.
- Take full accountability for the appropriate security and governance standards, ensuring they are consistently applied across the enterprise application suite.
- Govern application lifecycle management, releases, enhancements, and problem resolution.
- Oversee compliance of applications with cybersecurity, governance, and change-control frameworks.
- Lead and develop the broader Applications Team (SAP, Data Analytics, Agriculture, Logistics, Functional Technolgy).
- Ensure alignment of applications with business processes, data governance, master data, and BI needs.
- Partner with the IT Executive: Enterprise Architecture and IT Operations team to ensure seamless end-to-end delivery.
- Strategic Vendor Management ensuring application vendors, SLAs, service performance and timeous contract renewals.
- Provide strategic, tactical and operational input into major programmes and drive continuous improvement initiatives.
- Drive digital transformation and the adoption of analytics, automation and emerging technologies to enhance business performance.
- IT budgeting and cost control, balancing innovation with cost decipline and ensuring applications related initiatives are priotised based on business value.