Platform Owner

Job summary

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HMRC’s Taxes, Benefits & Enterprise Operations Platform Team (TB&EOPS) are seeking an experienced Platform Product Owner to help shape the future of our critical national tax infrastructure. The team manages and oversees suppliers responsible for operating and delivering services on the Enterprise Tax Management Platform (ETMP) - a core component of the UK’s Critical National Infrastructure - and HMRC’s corporate IT services through the Enterprise Operations Platform (EOPS).

The team forms part of the Chief Engineering and Platform Office (CEPO) within the Chief Data and Information Office (CDIO) Directorate. HMRC is currently undergoing one of the largest transformation programmes in government to modernise and future proof its IT estate. As part of this, we are evolving one of the public sector’s most complex SAP landscapes, moving from SAP ECC 6.0 to SAP S/4HANA on Sovereign Cloud infrastructure. Our team plays a central role in this transformation - defining and governing technology strategies, designing end to end architecture, and steering large scale change across a dynamic, high value environment.

Working across multiple programmes and services, the team develops strategic roadmaps and ensures technology decisions align with HMRC’s long term objectives. This is a unique and exciting opportunity to join a forward thinking, mission driven team at the forefront of SAP modernisation. Your expertise will directly influence the design and delivery of secure, scalable, and resilient services that make a meaningful difference to millions of HMRC customers and colleagues across the UK.

Job description

As a platform owner, you will work as an engineering manager in the space of SAP S4/Hana migration from legacy trade and revenue platform (TRM) running on R3. The role expects to define and drive roadmap for a defined platform aligned to the broader strategy supporting services at national scale. Operating within CEPO you will be accountable for delivering measurable outcomes within your product/platform area - improving delivery speed, reliability, security, reuse and cost optimisation through effective prioritisation and delivery decisions. You will ensure platform capabilities are secure by default, scalable and easy to consume, enabling teams to deliver services effectively. In addition to migration experience and expertise, other key essence of role is to build engineering capabilities to develop and deliver Level 5 – level 3 change requests (CR’s) in-house.

Working with change delivery group (CDG) teams, technical architecture and migration delivery partner, you will:

• Make prioritisation decisions within the product area, balancing needs, technical constraints and organisational priorities.
• Manage dependencies and ensure alignment with wider platform standards.
• Use metrics, usage data and feedback to assess performance and inform decisions.
• Promote consistent, effective product management practices within your product team.

You will act as an advocate for your product area, working with stakeholders across teams to ensure alignment and delivery of agreed outcomes. This is a key delivery role, offering opportunities to influence platform direction and develop your product management capability within a complex and evolving environment.

Person specification

Key Responsibilities

• Create and drive the roadmap of S/4HANA migration activities, including discovery, design, development, testing, and deployment of SAP and non-SAP integrations integration components.
• Participate and support in different stages of product development life cycle, i.e., system integration testing (SIT), user acceptance testing (UAT) and contribute to detailed cutover planning to ensure a smooth transition to the new platform.
• Champion cross government alignment, embedding agreed architectural standards, guardrails, and principles to support consistent, compliant delivery.
• Independently lead and facilitate the governance forums to ensure the delivery quality and service assurance.
• Work closely with internal HMRC teams, systems integrators (SIs), and vendors, ensuring cohesive delivery, effective issue resolution, and successful outcomes.
• Collaborate confidently with technical and non-technical stakeholders, building strong relationships and promoting clear, transparent communication at all the time.
• Ensure service assurance and proactive risk management, identifying, assessing, and mitigating risks throughout the delivery lifecycle.

Essential Criteria

Engineering Vision & Strategy - Demonstrates the ability to define and articulate a clear SAP S/4HANA engineering vision and technology strategy aligned with organisational digital transformation objectives.

Leadership of Cross-Functional Teams - Proven capability to lead and coordinate multi-disciplinary teams across engineering, architecture, operations, and business functions to deliver complex SAP programmes.

SAP Sovereign Cloud & Modernisation Expertise - Demonstrates strong understanding of SAP Sovereign Cloud, SAP BTP, RISE, Fiori, AI capabilities, and modernisation approaches to transform legacy SAP landscapes.

Innovation & Continuous Improvement - Identifies and implements innovative solutions, automation opportunities, intelligent workflows, and modern engineering practices that improve platform performance and efficiency.

Delivery Excellence - Ability to successfully deliver large-scale SAP initiatives within agreed scope, timelines, budget, and quality standards while managing risks and dependencies effectively.

Platform Ownership & Product Management - Demonstrates effective ownership of platform backlogs, prioritisation decisions, delivery sequencing, and value-based roadmap management.

Stakeholder Management & Business Alignment - Ability to build strong relationships with senior business and IT stakeholders, translating business requirements into practical technical solutions and gaining alignment across teams.

Engineering Performance & Operational Excellence – Understanding of measurable KPIs and operational metrics such as deployment frequency, lead time, service reliability, defect reduction, and technical debt management to drive continuous improvement.

Domain Knowledge & Industry Experience - Demonstrates relevant SAP expertise, preferably including public sector experience and knowledge of SAP TRM, PSCD, FICA, SAP certifications, and Product Owner frameworks (CSPO/PSPO).

Additional Security Information

This role requires the candidate to hold or be willing to hold Security Check (SC) clearance.

Further Location Information

Please ensure that you only apply for a location that you are willing and able to work from, as we will only make one offer of employment. Any additional notes included in a ‘Further Location Preferences (optional)’ field within the application form, will not be considered. Please be aware that you cannot change your location preference after submitting your application.

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