Invisible, but indispensable
Our industrial carbon black is not immediately visible, yet it is found almost everywhere – in tires that get you safely to your destination, in the smartphone you hold in your hand every day, in the paint that brings your home to life, and in batteries that supply energy. Without it, modern life would come to a standstill.
But what you can see immediately is that we invest in you. In your development, your prospects and your future. We provide you with the framework you need to grow – professionally, personally and financially. Your commitment makes a difference to us, and in return you receive more than just appreciation: you receive genuine recognition.
At Orion, we are looking for a highly visible and influential leader to take ownership of our global SAP Center of Excellence, at the heart of our IT & Digital organization. As Director, SAP CoE, you will operate across regions and time zones, acting as a trusted partner to senior stakeholders while driving alignment between business priorities and SAP capabilities on a global scale.
Leading a focused team of experts, you will shape the future of our SAP landscape, ensuring operational excellence, delivering critical projects, and elevating the impact of SAP across the organization. This is a role for someone who thrives on presence, influence, and connectivity, bringing people, systems, and strategy together to create real business value.
Before we go into detail: the basics.
37.5 hours per week | flexible working hours | 2 days/week in the office (Cologne) | permanent position | Cologne | 30 days' holiday | salary range: €119.000 - €145,000 (according to the chemical industry pay scale)
The job that makes you happy:
- You take the lead in shaping and evolving a globally distributed SAP organization, guiding a team (USA, Germany and India) across Business Analysis, Basis, Integration, Security, and AMS while driving a modern, product-oriented delivery model that anticipates future business needs.
- At the core of your role, you own the SAP FI/CO domain by combining strong functional leadership with hands-on business analysis to continuously enhance financial processes and capabilities.
- End-to-end responsibility sits with you as you orchestrate the SAP project portfolio—from capturing demand and aligning business cases to prioritizing initiatives and delivering high-impact solutions.
- Acting as a key connector, you build strong relationships across IT, business stakeholders, and external partners, ensuring alignment, transparency, and momentum in a complex global environment.
- Operational excellence is driven by you through strong governance of change processes, effective management of AMS providers, and the continuous optimization of a stable, secure, and high-performing SAP landscape based on ITIL principles.
- With a sharp focus on performance and reliability, you manage escalations, ensure SLA and KPI adherence, oversee audit and SOX compliance requirements, and maintain a resilient system environment through regular updates and improvements.
- Looking ahead, you shape the future of SAP by driving S/4HANA readiness, managing budgets with a clear focus on value creation, supporting licensing and vendor strategies, and introducing innovation through AI, automation, and emerging technologies.
The profile that makes us happy:
- You bring a strong track record of hands-on SAP experience within manufacturing environments, including active involvement in implementations and a deep understanding of how systems translate into real operational value.
- Deep expertise in SAP FI/CO defines your profile, allowing you to confidently navigate complex financial processes and act as a trusted counterpart for both finance and IT stakeholders.
- Leading across borders comes naturally to you, with proven ability to manage and inspire teams and resources in a globally distributed setup.
- Your background includes solid exposure to SOX requirements and SAP-related audits, ensuring compliance is not just met but embedded into the way systems and processes are run.
- Thriving in dynamic environments, you adapt quickly to change while maintaining clarity, structure, and delivery focus even when priorities compete.
- A strong project and stakeholder management skillset enables you to balance multiple initiatives, align expectations, and drive outcomes across complex organizational landscapes.
- You understand today’s SAP ecosystem: from modern architectures to licensing models like RISE and GROW and bring curiosity and openness to work beyond SAP, including data integration and broader technology stacks.
- Financial awareness complements your technical expertise, with experience in managing budgets, tracking performance, and providing transparent reporting to ensure alignment and control.
- Ideally, you hold SAP certifications (such as SAP Certified Application Associate) and communicate fluently in English at a professional (C1) level, enabling you to operate effectively in an international environment.
Reasons to join our team:
Various bonus payments | 6 months' sick pay supplement | Company pension scheme | Supplementary nursing care and accident insurance | Company medical service | Flu vaccinations | Preventive medical check-ups | Subsidized company restaurant (Cologne) | Individual training | E-learning | Language training with Rosetta Stone | Free basic membership at Urban Sports Club | Company run in Cologne | €1,000 Hire-a-Friend bonus | Orion Carnival session | Free parking
Any questions? I'm happy to help!
Christoph Schulz
EMEA Talent Acquisition Manager
christoph.schulz@orioncarbons.com
We look forward to hearing from you – and who knows, maybe you'll soon be part of our team!
We kindly ask recruitment agencies to refrain from sending us enquiries.
