Sr. SAP Specialist

Job Summary

Serves as the critical bridge between business stakeholders and technical development teams, translating complex finance and tax requirements into functional SAP specifications and ensuring their correct implementation. This role carries a strong emphasis on Colombian tax regulations and local fiscal compliance, including electronic invoicing (facturación electrónica), DIAN requirements, withholding taxes (retención en la fuente), industry and commerce taxes (ICA), and VAT (IVA) management within SAP.

The analyst will work closely with Finance, Tax, Commercial, and IT teams to support, optimize, and evolve end-to-end processes within the SAP ecosystem, ensuring that system configurations accurately reflect both business needs and regulatory obligations.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Functional Analysis & Business Liaison
• Act as the primary point of contact between business units (Finance, Tax, Accounting, Commercial) and SAP development/IT teams, ensuring clear and accurate translation of requirements into functional specifications.
• Conduct workshops and interviews with business stakeholders to gather, document, and validate requirements for tax and finance processes.
• Prepare functional design documents (FDDs), process flow diagrams, and gap analyses to support system enhancements, rollouts, and regulatory changes.
• Provide expert guidance on SAP best practices for finance and tax processes, recommending solutions aligned with both business goals and Colombian legal requirements.

SAP Finance & Tax Configuration
• Configure and maintain SAP FI/SD/MM modules with a focus on tax-relevant settings, including:
• Tax condition types, tax codes, and pricing procedures in SAP SD.
• Account determination for tax postings (FI integration).
• Customer and vendor master data tax classifications.
• Withholding tax (retención en la fuente) configuration and management.
• VAT (IVA) and ICA tax setup and reporting.
• Support the implementation and continuous improvement of electronic invoicing (facturación electrónica) in compliance with DIAN regulations (UBL 2.1 and applicable updates).
• Manage SAP billing and invoicing configurations to ensure fiscal documents meet Colombian legal standards.
• Support rebate, consignment, and returns processes from a tax and billing perspective.

Project Delivery & UAT
• Lead or support User Acceptance Testing (UAT) activities for tax and finance-related SAP implementations and upgrades, including test planning, scenario design, defect tracking, and sign-off coordination.
• Coordinate with cross-functional teams (Logistics, Master Data, Pricing, IT) to resolve functional issues during project cycles.
• Provide post-go-live hypercare support and knowledge transfer to business users.

Compliance & Regulatory Adherence
• Monitor changes in Colombian tax legislation and DIAN regulations, assessing their impact on SAP configurations and business processes.
• Ensure SAP processes comply with local requirements such as:
• DIAN electronic invoicing mandates and technical specifications.
• SARLAFT (Anti-Money Laundering) compliance controls within O2C processes.
• Withholding tax certificate (certificados de retención) generation and reporting.
• Exógena (tax information reporting) data accuracy within SAP.
• Collaborate with external auditors (e.g., Big Four firms) and internal audit teams to support fiscal reviews and regulatory audits.

Incident Management & Continuous Improvement
• Track, prioritize, and resolve SAP functional incidents related to tax and finance using ITSM tools such as ServiceNow or JIRA, ensuring SLA adherence.
• Analyze root causes of recurring issues and design sustainable solutions to prevent recurrence.
• Define and monitor KPIs related to billing accuracy, tax compliance, and process efficiency; report results to management with actionable improvement plans.
• Identify and lead continuous improvement initiatives that optimize O2C and finance processes, reducing manual effort and error rates.

Documentation & Training
• Develop and maintain comprehensive functional documentation including SOPs, configuration guides, test scripts, and training materials.
• Train end users and super users on SAP tax and finance processes, ensuring understanding of compliance requirements and system usage.
• Keep documentation current in response to system changes, regulatory updates, or process redesigns.

Required Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering, Finance, Accounting, Business Administration, or a related field.
• Experience: Minimum 8 years of hands-on experience as an SAP Functional Analyst or SAP SD/FI Consultant, with demonstrated focus on tax and finance processes.
• SAP Expertise:
• Deep knowledge of SAP SD (pricing, billing, rebates, consignment, returns, customer master data).
• Strong understanding of SAP FI integration with SD and MM (account determination, tax postings, document flow).
• Proven experience configuring tax codes, withholding taxes, and condition types in SAP.
• Hands-on experience with SAP electronic invoicing implementation and validation (DIAN compliance).
• Colombian Tax Knowledge:
• In-depth understanding of the Colombian tax framework: IVA, retención en la fuente, ICA, timbre, and exógena reporting.
• Familiarity with DIAN regulatory requirements, UBL electronic invoice standards, and fiscal document management.
• Knowledge of SARLAFT compliance controls is a strong plus.
• Tools & Systems: Proficiency in ServiceNow, JIRA, Salesforce, or Zendesk for incident and project management.
• Language Skills: Spanish (native); English (advanced) — required for collaboration with global teams and documentation.

Preferred Qualifications
• Experience with SAP S/4HANA implementations or migrations, particularly in LATAM rollouts.
• Exposure to industries with complex tax environments: pharma, healthcare, oil & gas, or consumer goods.
• Certifications in SAP SD or SAP FI, PMP, or Six Sigma (Green/Black Belt).
• Experience working with external auditors (KPMG, Deloitte, EY, PwC) in fiscal compliance reviews.
• Knowledge of additional LATAM tax regulations (e.g., Chile, Mexico, Brazil) is a plus.
• Familiarity with Salesforce CRM for commercial process integration with SAP.

Work Environment & Additional Information
• Location: Colombia, Bogotá preferred).
• This role may require occasional travel for project rollouts or client-site activities within LATAM.
• The analyst will operate within a regulated environment and must maintain strict adherence to data confidentiality and compliance standards.