Principal Solutions Architect – SAP
Up to £100,000 plus great benefits, including a car allowance or a company car, up to 10% employer pension contributions, an annual incentive scheme and private healthcare (Work Level 4)
Manchester city centre (hybrid working)

We welcome applications from people who many require flexible working arrangements, such as condensed working hours. You’ll be able to discuss your flexible working requirements during the interview process and at offer stage.

This role is eligible for Skilled Worker (Tier 2) visa sponsorship

We’re looking for a Principal Solutions Architect to join our Architecture team and provide expert guidance on SAP solutions and roadmaps; making sure these are aligned to our wider business goals and priorities. You’ll be the ‘go-to’ person for any SAP-related questions from our senior leaders and you’ll play a key role in shaping and driving our SAP strategy (with a strong emphasis on Retail, Finance, and Analytics solutions). We’ll look to you to collaborate with our team of SAP Solution Architects to design and assure new and innovative solutions across (or integrating with) our SAP landscape. In this role you’ll work in a hybrid way – splitting your time between home and the office (find out more about our hybrid working policy at colleagues.coop.co.uk/hybrid-working-policy).

At Co-op, we’ve made a large investment in SAP, which mainly features solutions for our Food Retail business area, and we continue to expand with programs like S/4 Finance, BTP, and Datasphere. As our Principal Solutions Architect, you’ll be responsible for leading the development of our SAP roadmap, driving strategic growth, and helping to deliver solutions that match our proposed designs.

What you’ll do

• Lead the strategic vision for our SAP solutions (focusing mainly on Retail and Finance); providing expert guidance and collaborating with multiple architects to ensure cohesive roadmaps and designs
• Collaborate with senior leaders across Co-op to understand their priorities and gain their support for our SAP strategy
• Proactively monitor new technologies, relevant industry trends and latest innovations; using these to influence our strategy and architecture designs
• Analyse solution options, make key design decisions, and complete the appropriate architecture design documentation
• Provide the necessary input, challenge and guidance to ensure the delivered solutions will meet business needs and align with architectural governance and standards
• Contribute to our architecture community of practice, sharing your knowledge and experience with other colleagues

This role would suit people who have

• Significant experience defining SAP strategy at the enterprise level and extensive knowledge of architecture design, best practices and standards
• Experience building and maintaining relationships with senior/exec-level colleagues
• Experience working on complex SAP projects, including landscapes with tightly integrated end to end solutions
• A solid understanding of SAP solutions and future direction
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to build and maintain positive relationships with colleagues of all levels of seniority

Why Co-op?

If you’ve got the skills and experience we’re looking for, we can offer you a competitive salary and great benefits package which includes 30% off Co-op branded products in our food stores (as well as other discounts on Co-op products and services). You’ll also get:

• A company car or car allowance of £6,000
• Private healthcare
• An annual bonus (based on personal and business performance)
• 28 days holiday (rising to 32 with service) plus bank holidays
• A pension with up to 10% employer contributions
• Access to a subsidised onsite gym (at our Manchester HQ)
• Coaching and training to support your career development
• Wagestream – a money management app that gives you access to a percentage of your pay as you earn it

Building an inclusive work environment

At Co-op, we’re proud to do things a different way. As one of the world’s largest co-operatives, owned by millions of members, community is at the heart of what we do. Since our Co-op was founded in 1844, we’ve had a clear social purpose, and everything we do as a business helps to build a fairer world for our members, customers, colleagues, and communities.

We’re actively building diverse teams and we welcome applications from everyone. If you have a disability, we can make reasonable adjustments to our recruitment process according to your needs. We’re also part of the Disability Confident scheme, meaning we’ll always offer an interview to disabled candidates who apply through the scheme if they meet the minimum criteria for a job.

We’ll ask whether you’d like to be considered under the Disability Confident scheme when you apply.

If we invite you to take part in the recruitment process for any of our jobs, we’ll ask you if you need any reasonable adjustments to enable you to participate.

You can find out more about our recruitment process at jobs.coop.co.uk/apply-process.

You can find out more about the Disability Confident scheme and all our commitments to diversity and inclusion at colleagues.coop.co.uk/diversity-inclusion-and-wellbeing.

As part of your application, you’ll need to complete an online assessment. This assessment typically takes between 45-60 minutes. If you’re a current Co-op colleague, this does not need to be completed.