Solution Owner Source to Pay in Reading

Empower, Connect, Evolve, and Inspire - these are the values that drive us and make BMI a company where you can thrive and grow.

As a BMI Solution Owner, you are accountable for key decision-making on Solution designs within the BMI Procurement process. Ensure that business requirements are met while supporting the overall objectives for BMI business and adhering to Industry best practices. Champion standardisation and simplification of solutions. You are expected to combine deep technical expertise with a strong understanding of business processes to design and implement solutions that contribute to BMI’s overall success. You will be the bridge between business requirements and technical solutions, ensuring that BMI’s systems enable and enhance the efficiency of business operations.

As a specialist of Procurement functional area, you will work closely with the functional global process owner team to ensure that the solutions we design and develop will meet the requirements of our business; be compliant with BMI’s overall Enterprise Architecture; and be as close to core standard as possible, with minimal change. You will also work closely with our delivery partners to ensure that what is built meets the design and technical specifications, is delivered to BMI standards, is fit for purpose, and is fully documented. This role reports directly to the Head of Enterprise Applications.

BMI’s solution is core to its business and future growth, as such this role is one of a few that are considered essential to recruit and retain as end-to-end knowledge of our solution underpins realising our business strategy.

• Solution Design: Develop comprehensive and fit-for-purpose solution designs. Collaborate with Global Process Owners to gather, understand and analyse business related requirements and the processes that they support. Translate these business requirements into effective solutions using the best-fit applications, collaborate with vendors to assess cost implications and ensure the complete impact is accessed and documented. Ensure the design considers fit-with-standard, scalability, flexibility, future growth and assure the quality of the solution via the review and approval of testing outcomes, assess the impact on the existing solution for regression and maintain documentation updated.
• System Architecture: Define and implement an optimised system architecture. Plan and design the system landscape, considering factors such as performance, security, and integration related to Solutions. Align the architecture with industry best practices, BMI’s standards and BMI’s Enterprise Architecture. Evaluate and select technologies that offer a cost-effective solution for supporting all desired business processes. Selection should be made in collaboration with global process owners, and both implementation and maintenance expenses should be considered.
• Integration with Existing Systems: Ensure seamless integration of solutions with existing systems. Collaborate with other architects, developers, and integration teams to design effective interfaces and end-to-end integration across solutions. Identify and resolve integration challenges to maintain data flow and business process continuity.
• Project Delivery: Support delivery of projects to time, quality and budget. Participate in the project planning to ensure there is full coverage of Solution activities and the timelines are realistic. Collaborate and engage with 3rd party delivery partners to ensure that what is being built aligns with requirements and specifications. Collaborate with project managers to identify and mitigate risks that could impact project delivery. Accountable for creating and maintaining comprehensive documentation of the solution architecture, configurations, ensuring accessibility and compliance.
• Performance Optimisation: Identify and implement performance improvements in systems. Regularly assess system performance and identify opportunities for optimisation. Optimise system configurations and recommend enhancements to improve overall efficiency and performance.
• Quality Assurance: Accountable for the quality, security and reliability of solutions through rigorous testing and validation processes, maintaining documentation as evidence. Conduct system assessments and reviews to identify and address potential issues and to ensure that our solutions are fit for purpose. Collaborate with testing teams to validate that the implementation meets specified requirements.
• Continuous Improvement and BAU: Keep up to date with trends and technologies to ensure that solutions are optimised and continuously assessed for improvement. Stay informed about Solution updates, new releases, and emerging technologies. Evaluate and recommend opportunities for enhancing the BMI landscape based on industry advancements.
• Business as Usual (BAU): Work with BAU partners and BMI service managers to ensure smooth day-to-day operations (BAU) for the BMI solutions. Oversee overall BAU status and drive resolution of priority tickets and escalations to achieve service level targets.
• Clear Communication with Stakeholders: Communicate technical concepts and decisions to GPOs and non-technical stakeholders. Work closely with GPOs to ensure alignment between solutions and overall business and process strategy. Provide regular updates on solution developments and status.

• Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field.
• Proven experience as an SAP (process area) Solution Architect, with a minimum of 8 years in a similar role.
• Extensive knowledge of SAP technologies, including S/4 HANA, (relevant SAP functional areas).
• Strong technical skills in SAP architecture, configuration, and customization. Ability to design and implement complex SAP solutions to meet business requirements.
• Proficiency in solution design and system architecture, ensuring that SAP implementations align with business goals, scalability requirements, and industry best practices.
• Strong understanding of SAP integration technologies and methodologies, data migration, and system landscape design.
• Strong leadership and communication skills with the ability to work collaboratively in cross-functional teams, with the ability to convey complex technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders.
• SAP certification (e.g., SAP MM, SAP SRM, VIM) is a plus.
• Familiarity with industry best practices and emerging trends in: Procurement, Vendor Management, Purchase Order Processing, Invoice Verification.

• Excellent interpersonal, collaboration, and communication skills.
• Strong negotiation and conflict-resolution abilities.
• Effective planning, organisation, and delegation skills.
• High energy, tenacity, and enthusiasm for delivering results.
• Proficient in business English (and other required languages as applicable).