SAP S4/HANA FICO Lead (Automotive)
1 day ago
Madrid
Reports to : ERP Program Manager EMEA, Automotive Segment Description : We are specifically looking for SAP FICO professionals with strong hands-on implementation experience in manufacturing environments and located in Spain. This role is not suited for candidates with mainly support, AMS, key-user, or junior consulting backgrounds. Join a growing core team leading a greenfield SAP S/4HANA implementation in Europe for a global automotive supplier. You'll help define and deploy standardized processes in Finance and Controlling, while maintaining the decentralized agility that drives our business. This is a unique opportunity to shape a modern ERP from the ground up, bringing together the strengths of our divisions into a solution built for our company way of working. You will be part of a highly visible SAP implementation core team, focused on aligning strategic objectives with tactical demands. This role can be performed remotely from a home office, with travel required during key project phases. Required Location: Spain Preferred region: Catalonia Role Summary As the Senior SAP S/4HANA Lead for Financial Accounting & Controlling, you will own end-to-end SAP FI/CO processes in an automotive supplier environment, with strong focus on Manufacturing Controlling, Product Costing, Inventory Valuation, Profitability Analysis and Financial Accounting integration. You will play a key role in defining scalable finance and controlling processes while balancing standardized foundations with the operational agility required in a decentralized manufacturing environment. You will: Lead the design and implementation of Manufacturing Controlling processes including Product Costing, Cost Center Accounting, Inventory Valuation, Margin & Profitability Analysis and Manufacturing Variance Analysis Ensure full compliance with all internal and external Financial Accounting requirements, Fixed Assets, and Financial Reporting Framework Support compliance with automotive requirements such as internal and external reporting and operational manufacturing finance visibility Collaborate with plant managers, plant and divisional controllers, and accounting teams to design and optimize finance and manufacturing controlling processes within SAP S/4HANA Support change management by translating SAP technical solutions into clear operational and financial business impacts for Controllers, Accountants and Manufacturing teams Collaborate closely with logistics, manufacturing and sales workstreams to ensure end-to-end process consistency across costing, inventory valuation, reporting flows and operational finance processes Lead solution design and hands-on SAP FI/CO configuration activities in collaboration with business stakeholders and implementation partners Key Responsibilities Solution Design & Delivery Translate business and operational manufacturing requirements into scalable SAP S/4HANA Finance & Controlling solutions. Act as long-term owner of the SAP Finance & Controlling template, ensuring its evolution through future rollouts and enhancements. Lead the project workstream incl business requirements, solution design and hands-on SAP FI/CO configuration workshops. Engage with key users to shape Finance and Controlling processes in SAP that balance common foundations with local agility. Build, test, and validate a scalable ERP template for automotive manufacturing operations. Data & Testing Coordinate with divisional teams and Data Migration Coordinator to prepare and validate data Guide user acceptance testing and assist in test script creation Ensure financial processes in SAP support compliance, auditability, and strong master data governance. Training & Support Train key users based on configured processes Provide post-go-live functional support and transition solution ownership to local teams Leadership & Ownership Act as long-term functional owner of the SAP CO/FI template, ensuring scalability, consistency and evolution through future rollouts and enhancements. Provide hands-on functional leadership during implementation phases while collaborating closely with system integrators and business stakeholders. Communicate status, risks, and progress clearly to project leadership Key Skills & Qualifications: Must-Have: 10+ years of hands-on implementation experience with SAP FICO Modules for manufacturing industries (preferred Automotive Supplier industry) and at least 2 implementations with SAP S/4HANA. Strong expertise in manufacturing controlling, including: Product Costing, Standard Costing, Inventory Valuation, Manufacturing Variance Analysis, Cost Center Accounting, Profitability Analysis (COPA) in an automotive or discrete manufacturing environment. Deep SAP CO expertise is required; FI knowledge remains important but secondary to strong manufacturing controlling capabilities. Successful track record in SAP implementation projects including blueprint, configuration, data migration, testing, and user training. Strong experience working in mid-sized manufacturing companies with decentralized organizations, where collaboration, adaptability and the ability to balance local operational needs with scalable SAP processes are essential. Nice-to-Have: Exposure to SAP BTP, Fiori apps Experience with SAP S/4HANA Public or Private Cloud Experience with local regulations and reporting requirements (e.g. SII) Multilingual: English (mandatory); Spanish, Italian, or German preferred What we offer: A unique opportunity to define and implement a brand-new SAP S/4HANA system from scratch Influence process design across multiple divisions in a global automotive organization The ability to shape a future-proof ERP solution while growing with a highly capable team A collaborative, remote-first work environment with occasional travel Competitive compensation and social benefits Ideal Candidate Profile You are a proactive leader who navigates complex, multi-country environments with ease, working closely with local teams in a decentralized, pragmatic setup rather than enforcing rigid top-down standards You communicate effectively across technical and non-technical teams and are eager to take ownership of a greenfield implementation. You understand both the technical landscape and the real-world challenges of automotive manufacturing and quality. You’re not just looking for a role—you’re looking for impact. Travel Requirement: 30-40%, based on project phase Language: Fluent in English (written & spoken); additional European languages preferred