SAP Deployment/Cutover Lead
Waltham, MA

Job Description

About us

Every day we deliver safe and secure energy to homes, communities, and businesses. We are there when people need us the most. We connect people to the energy they need for the lives they live. The pace of change in society and our industry is accelerating and our expertise and track record puts us in an unparalleled position to shape the sustainable future of our industry.

To be successful we must anticipate the needs of our customers, reducing the cost of energy delivery today and pioneering the flexible energy systems of tomorrow. This requires us to deliver on our promises and always look for new opportunities to grow, both ourselves and our business.

Job Purpose

The National Grid IT team is seeking an experienced, organized, and results-oriented SAP Deployment Lead. The role requires an extremely organized individual who pays close attention to details in order to help our programs and projects plan and execute complex deployments. This Deployment Lead will be responsible for planning large-scale SAP deployments from pre-cutover activities to post-deployment tasks which include a successful transition to our Application Maintenance teams. This role will report to the Directors in the SAP Portfolio within Global Solution Development and have high visibility and interactions within both IT and the business.

NOTE: At National Grid, "Cutover" refers to the technical steps that must be executed during a project's go-live, typically during a weekend. "Deployment" refers to the overall process of taking a project or program live. In addition to including the Cutover activities, Deployment also includes things like pre-go-live readiness checks, mock cutovers, business activities, health checks and end user readiness. This role is for an overall Deployment Lead.

Key Accountabilities

* Develop and own the overall Deployment workplan. This should contain a list of deliverables and activities that will be executed by the Deployment workstream.
* Provide written documentation describing a project or program's overall Deployment strategy
* Work with project and program workstreams to plan and develop detailed cutover plans, which include both technical and functional steps to be executed during the deployment phase.
* Identify risks, cross application dependencies and downstream impacts for each release
* Lead small team of cutover team members during the preparation and execution phases
* Lead deployment planning activities with IT, business and third party teams
* Determine go-live readiness criteria, socialize them with key stakeholders and obtain requisite approvals
* Plan and execute mock cutovers to help teams prepare for the final production cutover
* Establish and communicate the overall Deployment plan with senior stakeholders such as program management, business unit leads and the CIO
* Manage the scope and schedule of cutover activities
* Manges risks and issues associated with the cutover and prepare appropriate mitigation plans
* Provide detailed backout options for severe contingencies
* Ensure compliance with IT processes including proper documentation and securing approvals of requisite changes through our Change Advisory Board process
* Provide timely escalation to IT leadership where necessary.
* Liaise with the functional SAP experts and business teams in order to assist with the planning and execution of Deployment activities.



Qualifications

* Bachelors
* At least three years prior experience in having led SAP cutovers
* Familiarity with SAP Deployment and Cutover methodology
* Strong organization skills and attention to detail
* Ability to manage by influence within and across various IT and business disciplines
* Strong negotiation skills
* Effective oral and written communication skills
* Deep experience in MS Office, particularly Project



More Information

This position has a career path which provides for advancement opportunities within and across bands as you develop and evolve in the position; gaining experience, expertise and acquiring and applying technical skills. Internal candidates will be assessed and provided offers against the minimum qualifications of this role and their individual experience.

National Grid is an equal opportunity employer that values a broad diversity of talent, knowledge, experience and expertise. We foster a culture of inclusion that drives employee engagement to deliver superior performance to the communities we serve. National Grid is proud to be an affirmative action employer. We encourage minorities, women, individuals with disabilities and protected veterans to join the National Grid team.