SAP Program Management, Chief Program Manager

Requisition ID # 164353 

Job Category: Project / Program Management 

Job Level: Director/Chief

Business Unit: Information Technology

Work Type: Hybrid

Job Location: Oakland

Department Overview

The Information Technology (IT) organization designs, develops, operates and maintains the technology and telecommunications systems that enable PG&E to meet its commitment to providing safe, reliable and affordable service to customers.

IT partners with the business by increasing capabilities through the development of additional functionality, implementing new technologies, reducing costs, increasing productivity, and facilitating organizational and business effectiveness through enabling technologies.

Position Summary

The SAP Program Management, Chief Program Manager is a key delivery leadership role for PG&E’s Propel program. Propel is a major business and technology modernization program to unlock customer value by simplifying the way we work together. Propel will migrate PG&E to the new version of SAP, S/4HANA, seizing this unique opportunity for PG&E to standardize business processes, clean the technology core, and enable innovation for breakthrough change across Engineering, Operations, Finance, Supply Chain, Human Resources, and Information Technology. Scope of business processes include Design to Operate (DTO), Source to Pay (STP), Inventory to Deliver (ITD), Forecast to Plan (FTP), Record to Report (RTR) and Hire to Retire (HTR). Solutions include: SAP S/4HANA, SAP ECC, SuccessFactors, Ariba, Fieldglass, EPPM, SAC, BOBJ/BW, BTP and hundreds of non-SAP applications.

The ideal candidate should have long history of delivering SAP programs and projects and more recently successful in delivering large complex SAP S4/HANA ERP transformations.

The SAP Program Management, Chief Program Manager is responsible for leading one or more release trains or technical workstreams for Propel – the transformation program at PG&E that defines, delivers, and supports business solutions enabled by SAP S/4HANA ERP and adjacent platforms. Leading all Propel technical co-workers within a release or across multiple workstream including external SI partners and internal IT co-workers in SAP configuration, development, infrastructure, cybersecurity, architecture and data. The SAP Program Management Chief will collaborate and interface with the Business Deployment Manager or Solution Lead(s) in the release train or workstream, IT leaders and 3rd party partner leaders daily to ensure that there is alignment of the technical solution to business objectives and changes.

Reporting Relationship

This position reports to the Director, SAP Program Management Lead; this is a key, high level individual contributor role. 

This position will be based at PG&E headquarters in Oakland, California.  The candidate needs to have the willingness to fully relocate to San Francisco Bay area and commute into Oakland, California office at least 3 days a week.

Job Responsibilities

• Project and Program Excellence: Led multifaceted, cross-functional teams throughout the entire ERP implementation lifecycle. Executed ERP project management strategies –encompassing planning, design, configuration, testing, training and post-implementation support.
• Oral and Written Communication Skills: Has been effective in explaining complex technology solutions in business terms, establish rapport and persuade others.
• Expertise in SAP S/4 ERP systems: Solid understanding of SAP architecture and how to plan releases and promote changes through development, QA and production landscapes
• Partner with system integrator to develop and manage the integrated project plan for the SAP ERP transformation, ensuring alignment with Fit-to-Standard and Clean Core principles across all phases—from requirements gathering to deployment.
• Facilitate and enforce Fit-to-Standard workshops, guiding business stakeholders to adopt SAP standard processes and minimize customizations, ensuring alignment with SAP best practices and clean core strategy.
• Coordinate cross-functional teams, system integrators, and business stakeholders to manage deliverables, dependencies, and integration points, promoting adherence to standardized processes and minimizing technical debt.
• Monitor project progress against the baseline plan, managing risks, issues, and deviations, while ensuring any change requests are justified, strategically aligned, and compliant with clean core principles.
• Support program governance activities through structured phase-gate reviews, validating that each project phase meets SAP Fit-to-Standard criteria, documentation standards, and stakeholder approvals.
• Oversee comprehensive testing cycles (SIT, UAT), data migration, and cutover planning, ensuring testing and deployment activities align with SAP best practices for clean core and sustainable extensibility.
• Manage communication and reporting by providing regular project status updates to program leadership and key stakeholders, highlighting critical path activities and project health.
• Mentor and coach peers and team members in ERP delivery methodologies and best practices

Leadership Qualities

PG&E expects its leaders to conduct themselves with the highest ethics and integrity and to embody specific leadership qualities.

Strategic Mindset

• Seeing ahead to future possibilities and translating them into breakthrough strategies.
• Operating effectively, even when things are not certain or the way forward is not clear.
• Plots a path from the present to the future and understands what must change to get there.

Strong Relationship Manager

• Serves as a strategic partner and trusted advisor to business partners, fostering strong relationships
• Facilitates collaboration between the business, IT, and the system integrator by understanding the organizational/functional needs, prioritizing demands, and developing actionable plans
• Effectively building formal and informal relationship networks inside and outside the program.
• Anticipating and balancing the needs of multiple stakeholders.

Influences and Inspires

• Effectively utilizing diverse communication strategies to address the unique needs of different audiences.
• Navigating complex policy, process, and interpersonal dynamics with ease.

Optimizes Team Performance

• Building strong-identity teams that apply their diverse skills and perspectives to achieve common goals.
• Creating a climate where people are developed and motivated to do their best to help the organization.
• Recognizing the value that different perspectives and cultures bring to an organization.
• Sponsoring and sustaining a high integrity speak-up corporate culture which prioritizes ethics, safety and compliance.

Demonstrates Safety Leadership

• A safety champion in words and deeds with respect to both employee and public safety.
• Maintains an environment of open dialog and free of retaliation.

Compensation

PG&E is providing the salary range that the company in good faith believes it might pay for this position at the time of the job posting. The actual salary paid to an individual will be based on multiple factors, including, but not limited to, specific skills, education, licenses or certifications, experience, market value, geographic location, and internal equity.  To that end, we estimate the base salary would be between $159K to $271K.  This role is also eligible for the Short Term Incentive Plan (STIP) target of 20% of base; and the Long Term Incentive Program (LTIP) in the form of Restricted Stock Units.

Although we estimate the successful candidate hired into this role will be placed towards the middle or entry point of the range, the decision will be made on a case-by-case basis related to these factors.

Background Qualifications

Minimum:

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience.
• 12+ years of relevant IT Project Management experience building and leveraging solutions utilizing SAP Technologies

Desired:

• Experience leading cross functionally, by influence – without direct reporting authority.
• Experience with at least 2 full lifecycle ERP transformation programs enabled by SAP S4/HANA with multi-module implementation (modules in finance, supply chain, HR, and others)
• Experience in leading large / complex SAP S4/HANA program ($MM+ budget) with project management responsibilities.
• Applied experience in SAP Activate Methodology, Waterfall and/or Scaled Hybrid Agile methodologies used by system integrators.
• Delivered large complex SAP programs as delivery lead from Big 4 consulting firm.
• Experience in working in global setting where global design was established and realized.
• Broad technical architecture knowledge SAP S/4HANA, SAP ECC, BTP and SAP
• PMP Certification