About the Opportunity
Axian Telecom is seeking a delivery-focused Senior Manager, Platforms & Delivery – Enterprise to own the lifecycle, delivery, and continuous improvement of enterprise-grade platforms that support the internal operations of the Group and its pan-African OpCos. Reporting to the Director, Digital Platforms & Delivery, this role is responsible for the Enterprise platform portfolio – with primary focus on ERP, Human Capital Management (HCM), HR applications, and Group Core Components that span shared services, finance, procurement, and operations.
This is a hands-on delivery leadership role that transforms approved architecture and business demand into working, reliable, and high-quality platform solutions. The ideal candidate brings deep experience in enterprise software delivery (SAP, Oracle, or equivalent), a strong understanding of HCM and HR technology ecosystems, and the ability to run agile delivery squads across a complex, multi-OpCo environment.
While some interaction with commercial platforms (billing, CRM) will occur at integration points, the core mandate of this role is the Enterprise and Group internal platform stack.
Key Responsibilities
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- ERP Delivery & Lifecycle Management
- Own the full delivery lifecycle of the Group ERP platform – managing releases, enhancements, configuration, incident resolution, and version governance across all entities using the platform.
- Translate Finance, Procurement, and Shared Services business requirements into structured ERP delivery pipelines, managing sprint planning, backlog prioritisation, and deployment execution.
- Ensure ERP configuration and customisation remain within architecture guardrails, minimising technical debt and preserving upgrade pathways.
- Manage ERP release cycles including testing, UAT coordination with Finance and Procurement leads, change advisory processes, and post-deployment validation.
- Govern ERP platform health including performance monitoring, data quality, system integrations, and capacity planning for multi-OpCo rollouts.
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- HCM & HR Application Delivery
- Lead the delivery and continuous improvement of the Group HCM platform and HR application suite – covering Core HR, Payroll, Talent, Performance, Learning, and Workforce Planning modules.
- Partner with Group HR leadership and OpCo HR teams to translate HR transformation initiatives into structured delivery roadmaps and release plans.
- Manage HCM configuration, localisation for each OpCo jurisdiction (payroll rules, leave policies, regulatory compliance), and data migration for new entity onboarding.
- Coordinate UAT with HR business owners, ensuring user acceptance is rigorous and adoption-ready ahead of each release.
- Ensure HCM and HR application integrations with ERP (payroll posting, cost centre management) and IAM (employee lifecycle provisioning) are maintained and operationally stable.
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- Group Core Components Delivery & Governance
- Own the delivery roadmap and operational health of Group Core Components
- IAM, Document Management, Group Reporting Layer, Workflow & Approval engines, and Group Collaboration tools.
- Ensure Group Core Components remain fit-for-purpose across all OpCos, with delivery cycles governed by Group IT architecture standards and business demand.
- Lead the rollout of Group Core Components to new OpCos or entities, managing onboarding, integration, configuration, and hypercare.
- Maintain a Group-wide view of Core Component consumption, capacity, and SLA compliance, escalating risks to the Director proactively.
- Drive rationalisation and consolidation of duplicate or legacy tools where Group Core Components can replace them across OpCos.
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- Agile Execution & Release Governance
- Lead agile delivery squads responsible for ERP, HCM, and Group Core Component releases – running structured sprint ceremonies, backlog grooming, and demo-driven delivery cadences.
- Own delivery metrics across the Enterprise portfolio: release velocity, sprint throughput, defect escape rate, change success rate, and MTTR.Maintain delivery transparency through accurate sprint reporting, milestone tracking, risk registers, and proactive escalation to the Director.
- Govern release management including change advisory processes, deployment windows, rollback plans, and post-release stabilisation.
- Facilitate cross-functional testing and UAT coordination with Finance, HR, Procurement, and OpCo teams ahead of each release.
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- Platform Enhancement & Continuous Improvement
- Proactively identify opportunities to enhance ERP, HCM, and Core Component functionality, user experience, and inter-platform integration quality.
- Establish structured feedback loops with Finance, HR, Procurement, and OpCo IT teams to continuously refine the platform backlog.
- Monitor and enforce SLAs for all Enterprise platforms, ensuring availability, performance, and incident response meet agreed thresholds with business functions.
- Drive post-release reviews and translate lessons learned into improvements to delivery practice, configuration standards, and testing frameworks.
- Benchmark Enterprise platform maturity and propose investment cases for upgrades, consolidation, or capability extensions.
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- AI & Automation Enablement
- Identify and implement AI and automation opportunities within the Enterprise platform stack – including intelligent payroll exception management, automated financial reconciliation, HR workflow automation, and AI-assisted reporting.
- Collaborate with the Group Data & AI team to integrate analytics and ML components into ERP and HCM platforms where business value is demonstrated.
- Automate low-value delivery and operations tasks within Enterprise platform pipelines to improve team throughput and reduce manual effort.
- Ensure all AI and automation initiatives remain compliant with Group data governance, security policies, and explainability standards.
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- Stakeholder Collaboration
- Serve as the primary operational point of contact for Enterprise platform delivery with Group Finance, Group HR, Group Procurement, and Shared Services leadership.
- Interface with the Enterprise Architecture & Business Engagement team to ensure all delivery pipelines reflect approved architecture decisions, integration standards, and demand priorities.
- Partner with Infrastructure & Cybersecurity teams to ensure Enterprise platform environments are secure, monitored, patched, and operationally resilient.
- Coordinate with OpCo IT teams on local deployment, configuration, and adoption of Group Enterprise platforms.
- Provide structured, proactive delivery updates to the Director, flagging risks, dependencies, and recommendations in advance.
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- Vendor & Partner Management
- Manage Enterprise platform vendors and system integrators (ERP, HCM, Core Components) on day-to-day delivery performance and SLA compliance.
- Monitor vendor deliverable quality, documentation, knowledge transfer, and capacity against contractual obligations.
- Support the Director in commercial reviews, contributing delivery performance data and compliance assessments to inform contract decisions.
- Maintain forward visibility of vendor capacity and proactively plan resource requirements to prevent delivery bottlenecks.
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- Team Leadership & Development
- Lead a team of Platform Delivery Leads, Release Managers, and Technical Analysts focused on ERP, HCM, and Group Core Components.
- Foster a delivery culture of ownership, accountability, continuous improvement, and cross-functional collaboration.
- Coach and develop team members through structured feedback, certification support (SAP, Oracle, Success
- Factors, Workday), and stretch assignments.
- Manage team capacity across concurrent Enterprise platform workstreams, balancing resourcing to delivery priorities.
- Education
- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Business Technology, Finance & Technology, or a related field.
- Agile/Scrum certification (CSM, PSM, or SAFe Agilist) strongly preferred.
- ITIL Foundation is a plus.
- Experience
- Minimum 8 years in IT or digital delivery, with at least 3 years managing delivery teams responsible for ERP, HCM, or enterprise application platforms.
- Proven hands-on experience delivering SAP (S/4HANA, Success
- Factors), Oracle (ERP Cloud, HCM Cloud), Workday, or equivalent enterprise platforms in a multi-entity or multi-country environment.
- Strong track record managing full ERP or HCM delivery lifecycles – including requirements, configuration, testing, UAT, cutover, and post-go-live hypercare.
- Experience running agile delivery squads with structured sprint planning, backlog management, release governance, and retrospective practices.
- Demonstrated experience coordinating HCM localisation for multi-jurisdiction payroll, leave, and compliance requirements is a strong advantage.
- Experience operating in telecom, financial services, or a complex multi-OpCo Group technology environment is desirable.
- Certifications
- SAP Certified (S/4HANA, Success
- Factors) or Oracle HCM/ERP Cloud certified is highly preferred.
- Agile/Scrum Master, SAFe Agilist, or equivalent delivery certification is strongly preferred.ITIL v4 Foundation or higher is desirable.
- Cloud platform experience (AWS, Azure, GCP)
- Language
- Fluency in English is mandatory.
- French proficiency is highly desirable given the pan-African OpCo footprint.
Technical Skills
- Deep knowledge of ERP platform ecosystems: Finance, Procurement, Fixed Assets, AP/AR, GL, Budgeting (SAP, Oracle, or equivalent).
- Strong understanding of HCM and HR application architecture: Core HR, Payroll, Talent, Performance, Learning, and Workforce Planning modules.
- Familiarity with Group Core Component platforms: IAM, Document Management, Workflow engines, Reporting layers, and Collaboration tools.
