JPC Partners is looking for an Application Manager that will be responsible for ensuring that application platforms are secure, scalable, and aligned with business strategy, delivering high availability, performance, and continuous improvement. Furthermore, the person in this role will help create and execute business application roadmaps, manage day-to-day operations, and drive the strategic development of application platforms.
The Application Manager will lead and develop a team of business analysts, application specialists, project managers and support staff in fostering a culture of collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement.
Duties and Responsibilities:
Strategic Leadership & Planning

• Contribute to the definition of the applications roadmap ensuring alignment with the company’s strategy and business goals.
• Identify opportunities for innovation and continuous improvement through technology.
• Partner with senior leadership to ensure application strategies support evolving business needs.
• Maintain a forward-thinking approach to emerging technologies and trends ensuring the company remains competitive, future-proof and aligned to best practise.
• Identify cost-effective solutions and manage vendor relationships to maintain budget control.

Application Portfolio Management

• Manage the portfolio of business applications to ensure they are integrated, secure, and optimized for the company’s needs.
• Contribute to the evaluation, selection, and implementation of new business applications as required, coordinating with relevant stakeholders to ensure project success.
• Oversee the lifecycle management of business systems, including continuous improvement, end-of-life considerations, decommissioning, and transition planning.
• Manage upgrades, patching, and system configurations to maximize application capabilities and align with industry best practices.

Project Management & Delivery:

• Maintain a single source of truth for all application-related enhancements, ensure the backlog is well-organised, prioritised, and reflects both business and technical needs.
• Drive cross-functional projects to implement, upgrade, and optimise applications and other business systems, ensuring alignment with business requirements, timelines and budget.
• Develop project plans, manage resources, monitor progress, and report on project status to senior management.
• Ensure a smooth transition to new systems, including training and documentation for end-users and the ongoing upkeep of relevant information.

Systems Integration & Process Automation:

• Collaborate to define and deliver integration strategies to ensure seamless data flow and process coordination across ERP systems and other business platforms.
• Identify opportunities for automation to improve efficiency, reduce manual workload, enhance system capabilities and data accuracy.

Governance, Compliance, and Security:

• Ensure that all business systems comply with relevant regulatory and industry standards.
• Establish and maintain best practices for system security, data integrity, and access control to protect sensitive business information, as per engagement with Cyber Security Team.
• Implement disaster recovery and business continuity plans for critical business applications.

Vendor Management

• Manage relationships with software vendors, implementation partners, and managed service providers ensuring high performance and delivery against KPI’s and performance metrics.
• Constantly seek to improve the mix of insource vs outsourced capability to ensure that we are meeting customer expectations and providing cost effective and efficient solutions to the business.

Requirements

• Minimum of 5-10 years of experience in business systems management, including at least 3 years in a leadership role.
• Demonstrated expertise in ERP management (e.g., JD Edwards, SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics) and experience with other enterprise applications.
• Knowledge of system integration, middleware, APIs, and data flow across applications.
• Ability to leverage Technology to enable business process and efficiency.
• Knowledge of business processes, retail, manufacturing, finance, inventory, distribution and sales.
• Excellent communicator with the ability to engage stakeholders at all levels with the ability to translate complex technical concepts into business terms.
• Familiarity with modern application development, integration platforms, and data analytics tools.
• Solid understanding of system security, data governance, and compliance requirements.
• Experience managing geographically dispersed teams with the ability to collaborate effectively across departments.
• Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Business Administration, or related field.