Global ERP Program Director at Sage Publishing in London, England, GB

Global ERP Program Director – 18 month to 2 year fixed-term contract

Join us and be part of a mission-driven, independent publisher. You’ll work with a diverse group of people who share a passion for empowering researchers, educators, and institutions to shape the future.

About Sage:

Sage is a global academic publisher of books, journals, and library resources with a growing range of technologies to enable discovery, access, and engagement. Believing that research and education are critical in shaping society, Sara Miller McCune founded Sage in 1965. Today, we are controlled by a group of trustees charged with maintaining our independence and mission indefinitely. 

Our guaranteed independence means we’re free to:

• Do more – supporting an equitable academic future, furthering disciplines that drive social change, and helping social and behavioural science make an impact
• Work together – building lasting relationships, championing diverse perspectives, and co-creating resources to transform teaching and learning
• Think long-term – experimenting, taking risks, and investing in new ideas

About our Team:

The Global Finance team at Sage is a collaborative, high‑performing function with finance teams and business leaders across the US, UK and India. Together, we support Sage’s growth by delivering trusted financial insights, strong governance and modern, scalable processes. As we embark on a multi‑year transformation to create a single global finance system, this team will play a pivotal role in shaping how Sage operates, ensuring our colleagues have consistent, reliable and intuitive tools that enable confident decision‑making and seamless global collaboration.

Could you be our new ERP Program Director? Are you?

• Experienced in leading large‑scale ERP transformations across multiple regions, with a track record of delivering measurable business outcomes?
• Confident influencing C‑suite and board‑level stakeholders, building trust through sound judgement, integrity and consistent delivery?
• Skilled at driving global process harmonisation, balancing simplification with regulatory and financial control requirements?
• Able to lead high‑performing cross‑functional teams, strengthening collaboration and reducing organisational friction?
• Experienced in programme governance, risk management, financial control and vendor oversight for programmes exceeding $20m?
• Knowledgeable about modern ERP platforms, cloud‑based architectures, integrations, data migration and multi‑phase delivery?
• An exceptional communicator who can translate complex concepts clearly for both technical and non‑technical audiences?
• Passionate about organisational change, ensuring colleagues are supported through training, communication and adoption planning?

Your new role:

The Global ERP Program Director is a senior, business‑critical leader responsible for delivering one of Sage’s most important global transformation programmes. Reporting to the CFO and working in close partnership with the CIO, you will lead the design, delivery and adoption of a single, cloud‑based ERP system that modernises our operating platform, simplifies global processes and creates a trusted financial system of record. You will bring clarity, momentum and strategic alignment across regions, ensuring the programme delivers measurable business outcomes and sets the foundation for Sage’s next phase of growth.

• Deliver a single global ERP instance that provides a trusted financial system with consistent, high‑quality data.
• Establish and embed a global programme governance model that enables fast, transparent decision‑making and strong executive alignment.
• Create and maintain an integrated programme plan covering design, build, testing, data, integrations, change and deployment across all regions.
• Drive global process standardisation using “global first, local by exception” principles, ensuring compliance while reducing complexity.
• Lead organisational change and adoption activities, ensuring colleagues are ready, supported and confident ahead of go‑live.
• Manage systems integrators and external partners, holding them accountable for delivery quality, milestones and knowledge transfer.
• Ensure risks, issues and dependencies are proactively managed, escalated and resolved to keep the programme on track.

Overview of benefits:

• 25 days annual leave (plus bank holidays) with 2 additional floating personal days.
• Hybrid working up to 2 days per week in office and a home working allowance.
• Life assurance, income protection, and travel insurance.
• Private medical cover and access to the company doctor.
• Tuition scheme and support for pursuing professional qualifications, including access to Sage books and journals.
• Variety of snacks and beverages available in the office.
• Healthy lifestyle reimbursement and anniversary trips.
• Access to Company loans (season ticket loan, rental deposit loan, cycle loan).

We’re a Disability Confident Employer (Level 1). If you’d like to apply under this scheme, please let us know in your application.

We’re committed to making our recruitment process accessible and inclusive. If you’d like to request reasonable adjustments, please email humanresources@sagepub.co.uk. Please note we only accept applications via email if an adjustment has been agreed.

Closing date for applications: September 2nd 2026

To ensure we can give each application the attention it deserves, we may consider bringing the closing date forward. Therefore, we encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible to ensure it is considered.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

At Sage, we are committed to building a diverse and inclusive team and to sustaining a culture that celebrates diversity, encourages authenticity, and builds a deep sense of belonging. We encourage applications from all members of society irrespective of age, disability, sex or gender identity, sexual orientation, colour, race, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion, or belief as crafting value through diversity is what makes us strong.