IT Applications Lead

About the Role

Riyadh Cement Company (RCC), a leading player in the industrial and manufacturing sector, is seeking a dynamic and hands-on IT Applications Lead to oversee the delivery, support, and strategic management of its non-SAP business applications. This critical role demands a seasoned professional who will assume full ownership of these business-critical systems, which underpin core operations such as customer-facing platforms, logistics and weighbridge systems, governance and compliance solutions, service management tools, and other operational applications operating outside the SAP ecosystem.

Reporting to the IT Applications Manager, the successful candidate will be responsible for the end-to-end management of these applications, ensuring their reliability, robust support, seamless integration with SAP, and continuous enhancement to align with evolving business requirements. This position offers a unique opportunity to drive technological excellence and operational efficiency within a dynamic and growing organization.

Key Responsibilities

The IT Applications Lead will play a pivotal role in the following areas:

• Application Ownership: Assume full operational responsibility for all non-SAP business applications, including ensuring their availability, performance, support, and ongoing enhancements.
• Business Support & Engagement: Serve as the primary point of contact for business users, addressing their needs, resolving issues, and translating operational requirements into actionable improvements and solutions.
• Project Delivery: Lead the end-to-end delivery of new applications and enhancements, from initial requirements gathering to successful go-live, ensuring timely and high-quality implementation.
• Vendor & Partner Management: Coordinate closely with application vendors and implementation partners to manage day-to-day operations, monitor service level agreements (SLAs), and drive quality outcomes.
• Integration Excellence: Maintain reliable and efficient integration between non-SAP applications and SAP S/4HANA Cloud, ensuring data consistency and operational cohesion across systems.
• Governance & Compliance: Uphold stringent IT governance standards, enforce robust change management processes, manage access controls, and ensure full compliance with regulatory and organizational requirements.

Qualifications & Competencies

To excel in this role, candidates must possess the following qualifications and skills:

• Must-Have:
  • 5–8 years of progressive experience in managing and supporting business applications, excluding ERP systems.
  • Proven hands-on problem-solving ability, with the capacity to personally troubleshoot and support applications, not merely coordinate efforts.
  • Strong expertise in application support and lifecycle management, including incident, problem, change, and enhancement management.
  • Solid understanding of application integration methodologies, including APIs, web services, and middleware solutions.
  • Experience in coordinating with software vendors and implementation partners to ensure project success and adherence to SLAs.
  • Exceptional business engagement skills, enabling effective collaboration with business users and the translation of their needs into technical solutions.
  • Familiarity with ITIL and ITSM best practices to drive efficient and standardized IT service delivery.
• Highly Preferred:
  • Direct experience integrating applications with SAP S/4HANA at a functional level.
  • Proficiency in SQL and reporting tools to facilitate data troubleshooting and generate actionable insights.
  • Background in industrial, manufacturing, or Tadawul-listed environments, demonstrating an understanding of sector-specific operational challenges.
  • Exposure to customer portals, logistics and weighbridge systems, or governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) applications.

Personal Attributes & Certifications

We are seeking a professional with a strong sense of ownership and accountability, who treats the applications under their purview as their own. The ideal candidate will be highly organized, disciplined, and delivery-focused, capable of working autonomously while adhering to managerial governance. A continuous improvement mindset is essential to drive innovation and operational excellence.

While not mandatory, the following certifications will be considered a significant advantage:

• ITIL v4
• Business Analysis (CBAP) or Agile/Scrum certifications
• Project Management Professional (PMP) or PRINCE2 Foundation