Lead SAP Ariba Consultant

We are seeking an experienced SAP ARIBA Consultant with strong functional expertise and fluency in Arabic to support a key client engagement. The consultant will be responsible for delivering high-quality financial solutions, supporting business processes, and ensuring successful implementation and support of SAP modules. Location : Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (onsite) Contract : 12 months, (extendable) Experience : 10+ years Only immediate joiners who are willing to relocate to Saudi will be considered for this opportunity. Required Qualifications: 8+ years of hands-on SAP Ariba experience spanning multiple end-to-end implementations and steady-state support. Practical expertise in Ariba Buying & Invoicing (including Guided Buying, catalogs, approvals), Ariba Sourcing & Contracts, and Supplier Lifecycle & Performance. Experience with Ariba Network (supplier onboarding, cXML/Commerce Automation) and integration to SAP ERP/S/4HANA via CPI. Strong deploy/go-live readiness, hypercare stabilization, and incident/problem management (SLAs, RCA, workaround to permanent fix). Proficiency with test cycles (SIT/UAT), cutover planning, data validation, and change management. Tools: ticketing (ServiceNow/Jira), test management (ALM/Zephyr), and reporting/analytics (Excel/Power BI). Excellent communication and stakeholder management; ability to coach end users and super users. Nice to Have: Arabic and English bilingual capability. Experience in regulated industries or public sector. Familiarity with SAP S/4HANA procurement (MM) and Finance touchpoints. Exposure to Ariba Guided Buying enablement and catalog strategies. Deliverables & Success Metrics: Deploy Readiness Pack: confirmed configuration, access, catalogs, supplier connectivity, and cutover checklist signed off. Hypercare Runbook: SOPs, quick guides, and triage workflows handed over to operations. Issue/Defect Closure: 95% of P1/P2 issues resolved within SLA; clear backlog burndown trend. Adoption & Stabilization: measurable improvements in PO cycle time, first-pass invoice match rate, catalog utilization, and user satisfaction scores. Weekly Reports: status, risks, RCAs, and KPI dashboards shared with PMO/leadership.