Director, Enterprise Transformation (ERP & HCM Strategy)

Corporate Office – Newton, MA•Newton, MA

18h

About The Position

The Director, Enterprise Transformation (ERP & HCM Strategy) will lead Sonesta’s evaluation and strategic direction for its core enterprise platforms, including ERP and Human Capital Management (HCM) systems. This role is responsible for guiding the organization through discovery, assessment, and decision-making regarding the future state of these platforms—whether that involves transformation, consolidation, modernization, or stabilization. This is a strategic, program-oriented role focused on defining the future roadmap and enabling executive decision-making. The role will work in close partnership with Enterprise Applications, HR, Finance, and Transformation leadership to ensure alignment between business priorities and technology direction.

Requirements

8–12+ years of experience in enterprise systems, consulting, or transformation roles
Proven experience leading ERP and/or HCM evaluations, selections, or major transformations
Experience working across Finance and HR domains, ideally in complex or multi-entity organizations
Strong strategic thinking and structured problem-solving
Ability to translate business needs into technology strategy and vice versa
Experience building executive-level business cases and decision materials
Strong stakeholder management and influence skills across senior leadership
Familiarity with leading ERP/HCM platform implementations (e.g., Workday, Dayforce, Oracle, SAP, ADP, etc.)
Collaborative and people-first approach; able to partner effectively without creating organizational friction
Comfortable operating in ambiguity and defining structure where none exists
Strong communicator who can simplify complex topics for executive audiences
Bias toward action while maintaining rigor in analysis

Nice To Haves

Background in hospitality, multi-unit operations, or franchise models is a plus

Responsibilities

Lead a comprehensive assessment of current ERP and HCM platforms, including capabilities, gaps, cost structures, and operational effectiveness
Evaluate business needs across Finance, HR, Payroll, and adjacent functions to define future-state requirements
Develop clear recommendations on whether to optimize existing platforms or pursue replacement
Evaluate and lead assessments of technology solutions and operational effectiveness in other business domains as needed
Design and lead structured discovery efforts, including stakeholder interviews, workshops, and current-state documentation
Partner with business and IT leaders to define success criteria, guiding principles, decision frameworks and KPI’s to measure success
Build executive-ready materials to support key decisions (e.g., business cases, ROI models, risk assessments)
Lead evaluation of ERP and HCM vendors, including RFP/RFI processes where applicable
Engage with vendors to understand capabilities, implementation approaches, and total cost of ownership
Facilitate objective comparisons and recommendations aligned to Sonesta’s strategy and scale
Continue vendor engagement post implementation to ensure optimal adoption, new features and capabilities are evaluated
Maintain ongoing vendor partner relationships with key business and IT stakeholders
Define a multi-year roadmap for ERP/HCM evolution, including sequencing, dependencies, and resourcing needs
Establish high-level program structure, governance, and delivery approach for future transformation initiatives
Partner with PMO/Portfolio teams to ensure readiness for execution
Partner with the PMO/Portfolio teams to ensure project timelines and deliverables align with other strategic initiatives and resources
Measure ROI of implementations and evaluate further opportunities or ongoing enhancements to meet operational goals
Serve as a bridge between business stakeholders (Finance, HR, Operations) and IT
Align with the Transformation Office to ensure consistency with broader enterprise priorities
Build consensus across stakeholders with differing perspectives and priorities
Manage cross-functional project resources as necessary
Work in close collaboration with the Sr. Director of Enterprise Applications and their team
Ensure continuity of current system operations while future-state strategy is being defined
Leverage Enterprise Applications team expertise in current-state systems, integrations, and support realities
Collaborate with Enterprise Applications on ‘quick wins’ or short-term enhancements realized as part of discovery