Director IT Application Readiness (SAP S/4HANA)

CenterPoint Energy • Houston, TX

4d

About The Position

The Director of Application Readiness / Delivery Lead is accountable for ensuring end‑to‑end application readiness and controlled go‑live execution for CenterPoint’s SAP S/4HANA, SAP Edge, and integrated non‑SAP solutions within the Velocity program. This role owns the detailed planning, coordination, and execution required to move the solution safely from build completion through cutover, go‑live, and stabilization. The Director works in close partnership with the IT Transformation Lead, Business Transformation leadership, and the Director of Change Management & Business Readiness to ensure solutions are production‑ready, risks are surfaced early, and go‑live outcomes are predictable, compliant, and stable.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Information Systems, Engineering, Business, or related field required.
• 10+ years of experience in large‑scale enterprise application delivery or ERP programs.
• 6+ years in leadership roles overseeing application readiness, cutover, go‑live, and stabilization for SAP S/4HANA or comparable ERP implementations.
• Demonstrated experience operating within complex, multi‑vendor delivery environments.
• Proven success managing high‑risk go‑live events in regulated or asset‑intensive industries.
• End‑to‑end application readiness and cutover leadership
• Strong dependency, defect, and release management discipline
• Deep understanding of SAP and non‑SAP integration landscapes
• Structured, detail‑oriented, execution‑focused mindset
• Clear, direct communication and escalation skills
• Ability to remain calm and decisive under go‑live pressure

Nice To Haves

• Advanced degree preferred.

Responsibilities

• Own end‑to‑end application readiness across SAP S/4HANA, SAP Edge, and integrated non‑SAP systems from build completion through stabilization.
• Define and manage objective readiness entry and exit criteria for testing, cutover, go‑live, and hypercare.
• Plan and execute cutover activities, including sequencing, mock runs, dress rehearsals, and go‑live runbooks.
• Manage cross‑application and cross‑workstream dependencies spanning integrations, data, environments, security, and infrastructure.
• Drive defect triage, prioritization, and resolution with a strong bias toward production readiness.
• Identify readiness and execution risks early and escalate with clear mitigation recommendations.
• Coordinate readiness of all environments (development, test, UAT, pre‑production, production).
• Enforce release, transport, and configuration management discipline across partners.
• Ensure non‑functional readiness, including performance, availability, batch processing, and monitoring.
• Coordinate execution across System Integrators, Business Integrators, application teams, and infrastructure teams.
• Serve as the primary execution integrator ensuring workstreams are aligned to go‑live sequencing.
• Drive closure on readiness gaps without ambiguity in ownership.
• Provide concise, fact‑based readiness status reporting to IT Transformation leadership and governance forums.
• Lead post‑go‑live stabilization, including defect management, prioritization, and operational handoff.
• Maintain calm, structured control during high‑pressure cutover and go‑live periods.
• Execute against solution intent, design standards, and governance defined by the IT Transformation Lead.
• Partner with Change Management & Business Readiness to align readiness milestones, training cutoffs, and adoption timing.
• Maintain clear separation of accountability, with this role owning application readiness and execution and other leaders owning design, business outcomes, and adoption.

Benefits

• Competitive pay
• Paid training
• Benefits eligibility begins on your first day
• Transit subsidies
• Flexible work schedule
• Paid holidays
• Paid time off
• Access to discounts at fitness clubs
• On-site wellness center at our headquarters in Houston
• Professional growth and development programs
• Tuition reimbursement
• 401(k) Savings Plan featuring a company match dollar-for-dollar up to 6% and a company contribution of 3% regardless of your contribution

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director