Business Efficiency Manager

Job category: FMCG, Retail, Wholesale and Supply Chain

Location: Roodepoort

Contract: Permanent

EE position: Yes

Clicks Group

We are looking to recruit an Business Efficiency Manager to work for United Pharmaceutical Distributors (UPD). The role will be based at our Lea Glen branch and will report to the Head of Finance .

This role will lead and support key transformation initiatives within UPD Finance, driving business readiness, process optimisation, and system integration across multiple business units.

The position will play a pivotal role in enabling and supporting UPD's current and new business development to enable rapid expansion and ensuring that the following tasks are performed:

Develop finance systems and processes that are scalable, compliant, and efficient as the group's operations continue to evolve in complexity and scope.

Development of the agenda to ensure that operations are streamlined to drive efficiency and optimum productivity and improved customer service.

Performing in-depth analysis of key processes to identify transformation and improvement opportunities.

Lead projects on business innovation, expansion and maximise capacity improvement.

Improve the effectiveness of the end-to-end business processes in order to reduce waste and align business KPI's.

1. Gross Profit Project Ownership

• Lead the transition and handover from NTT, ensuring full documentation, testing, and business sign-off.
• Serve as the Subject Matter Expert (SME) for GP processes.
• Develop and deliver comprehensive training materials and user manuals.
• Support the finance team in managing GP recovery and embedding sustainable processes.

2. SAP GRC (Soterion) Implementation

• Partner with internal stakeholders to deliver a seamless implementation within scope, budget, and timelines.
• Post go-live, take ownership of roles, authorisations, and governance controls within the business.
• Ensure compliance with group policies and regulatory standards.

3. S/4HANA Group Transition

Support UPD's transition to the Group S/4HANA platform.

Act as a technical finance bridge between IT and Finance teams.

Drive business readiness, change management, and adoption across end users.

4. Growth & Operational Challenges (currently UPD Africa and MFA)

Enable the transformation new operations, enabling growth in sales in sales.

Identify and mitigate risks arising from disparate financial / ERP systems or manual processes in stock tracking, purchase orders, and invoicing.

Design and implement scalable process and system solutions to safeguard financial integrity.

Evaluate the feasibility of a dedicated SAP instances for alternate systems.

5. Strategic Integration & Scalability

Support the integration of newly acquired entities, including the consumables company, into the broader UPD structure.

Ensure systems and processes are scalable and adaptable to future growth.

6. Project Governance, Stakeholder Management & Communication

Maintain appropriate master data and control segregation, balancing efficiency with risk management.

• Documented business process and improvements with training and materials for sustainability
• Demonstrate go-live readiness for business projects
• Efficiency improvements resulting in higher throughput and reduced costs
• Clearly defined process metrics and KPI's
• Finance tracking dashboards and analysis tools to demonstrate improved competency and Business compliance to process

Skills:

Proven experience in Finance, Procurement, Business Analysis, and Change Management.

Strong project management and delivery capability in fast- paced environments.

Deep understanding of SAP systems, particularly S/4HANA and GRC (Soterion).

Demonstrated success in designing and implementing customised ERP solutions.

Exceptional communication, training, and stakeholder engagement skills.

Proven ability to drive user adoption and embed process change.

Problem-solving and analytical thinking skills.

Knowledge:

Essential: Deep SAP S/4HANA Finance & Cross-Module Knowledge

Essential: SAP Governance and Project Delivery (End-to-End Lifecycle) Knowledge

Essential: Finance & Accounting Knowledge, especially the mechanics of a P&L and Balance sheet

Essential: Change management and business readiness knowledge

Essential: Knowledge of business process modelling and Critical path management

Desirable: Developing instructional and procedural documentation

Desirable: Integration & Scalability Knowledge

Detail-oriented and pragmatic in approach.

Highly organised and self-driven.

Passionate about delivering measurable business impact.

Collaborative and consultative team player.

Comfortable working in complex and ambiguous environments.

Writing and Reporting

Learning and Researching

Lead by example and portray the company values

Education and Qualification

• Essential: Bachelor's degree in either Finance, Business, Information Systems, Supply Chain or related field.

Experience

• Essential: 2-3 years' experience in a business analyst role in supply chain, logistics or operations within a retail, wholesale or distribution environment.
• Essential: Experience facilitating workshops and delivering training.
• Essential: 2-3 years' experience in project management.