Director, Enterprise Transformation (ERP & HCM Strategy)

We’re Sonesta International Hotels.
The 8th largest hotel company in the U.S.—and growing fast.

An epic blend of full-service and focused hotels in major cities, Sonesta’s uniquely diverse portfolio of owned, managed, and franchised properties makes us everywhere you want to be. Driven by the human side of hospitality, we deliver service with passion, loyalty with purpose, and experiences that truly connect.

Together We Thrive—bringing quality, value, and amazing hospitality to every guest, every stay, across 1000+ properties in eight countries and counting.

Job Description Summary

The Director, Enterprise Transformation (ERP & HCM Strategy) will lead Sonesta’s evaluation and strategic direction for its core enterprise platforms, including ERP and Human Capital Management (HCM) systems. This role is responsible for guiding the organization through discovery, assessment, and decision-making regarding the future state of these platforms—whether that involves transformation, consolidation, modernization, or stabilization.

This is a strategic, program-oriented role focused on defining the future roadmap and enabling executive decision-making. The role will work in close partnership with Enterprise Applications, HR, Finance, and Transformation leadership to ensure alignment between business priorities and technology direction.

This position reports to the VP, Head of Information Technology.

Job Description

Key Responsibilities

1. Enterprise Platform Strategy & Assessment

• Lead a comprehensive assessment of current ERP and HCM platforms, including capabilities, gaps, cost structures, and operational effectiveness
• Evaluate business needs across Finance, HR, Payroll, and adjacent functions to define future-state requirements
• Develop clear recommendations on whether to optimize existing platforms or pursue replacement
• Evaluate and lead assessments of technology solutions and operational effectiveness in other business domains as needed

2. Discovery & Decision Support

• Design and lead structured discovery efforts, including stakeholder interviews, workshops, and current-state documentation
• Partner with business and IT leaders to define success criteria, guiding principles, decision frameworks and KPI’s to measure success
• Build executive-ready materials to support key decisions (e.g., business cases, ROI models, risk assessments)

3. Market Evaluation & Vendor Engagement

• Lead evaluation of ERP and HCM vendors, including RFP/RFI processes where applicable
• Engage with vendors to understand capabilities, implementation approaches, and total cost of ownership
• Facilitate objective comparisons and recommendations aligned to Sonesta’s strategy and scale
• Continue vendor engagement post implementation to ensure optimal adoption, new features and capabilities are evaluated
• Maintain ongoing vendor partner relationships with key business and IT stakeholders

4. Roadmap & Program Definition

• Define a multi-year roadmap for ERP/HCM evolution, including sequencing, dependencies, and resourcing needs
• Establish high-level program structure, governance, and delivery approach for future transformation initiatives
• Partner with PMO/Portfolio teams to ensure readiness for execution
• Partner with the PMO/Portfolio teams to ensure project timelines and deliverables align with other strategic initiatives and resources
• Measure ROI of implementations and evaluate further opportunities or ongoing enhancements to meet operational goals

5. Cross-Functional Alignment

• Serve as a bridge between business stakeholders (Finance, HR, Operations) and IT
• Align with the Transformation Office to ensure consistency with broader enterprise priorities
• Build consensus across stakeholders with differing perspectives and priorities
• Manage cross-functional project resources as necessary

6. Partnership with Enterprise Applications

• Work in close collaboration with the Sr. Director of Enterprise Applications and their team
• Ensure continuity of current system operations while future-state strategy is being defined
• Leverage Enterprise Applications team expertise in current-state systems, integrations, and support realities
• Collaborate with Enterprise Applications on ‘quick wins’ or short-term enhancements realized as part of discovery

Qualifications

Experience

• 8–12+ years of experience in enterprise systems, consulting, or transformation roles
• Proven experience leading ERP and/or HCM evaluations, selections, or major transformations
• Experience working across Finance and HR domains, ideally in complex or multi-entity organizations
• Background in hospitality, multi-unit operations, or franchise models is a plus

Skills & Capabilities

• Strong strategic thinking and structured problem-solving
• Ability to translate business needs into technology strategy and vice versa
• Experience building executive-level business cases and decision materials
• Strong stakeholder management and influence skills across senior leadership
• Familiarity with leading ERP/HCM platform implementations (e.g., Workday, Dayforce, Oracle, SAP, ADP, etc.)

Leadership Characteristics

• Collaborative and people-first approach; able to partner effectively without creating organizational friction
• Comfortable operating in ambiguity and defining structure where none exists
• Strong communicator who can simplify complex topics for executive audiences
• Bias toward action while maintaining rigor in analysis

Success Measures

• Clear, aligned recommendation on ERP/HCM future state
• Executive confidence in decision-making process and outcomes
• Well-defined, realistic roadmap for transformation or optimization
• Strong partnership and trust with Enterprise Applications and business stakeholders
• Minimal disruption to current system operations during assessment period
• Ongoing ROI measurement and regular business case evaluation

Additional Job Information/Anticipated

Pay Range

Pay Range: 150k - 200k. Base pay offer may vary depending on various factors, including but not limited to job related knowledge, skills and job specific/overall experience. 

Benefits

Sonesta recognizes that benefits play a vital role in helping ensure the health and financial security of employees and their families. We offer a variety of benefits to our employees including:

• Medical, Dental and Vision Insurance
• Health Savings Account with Company Match
• 401(k) Retirement Plan with Company Match
• Paid Vacation and Sick Days
• Sonesta Hotel Discounts
• Educational Assistance
• Paid Parental Leave
• Company Paid Life Insurance
• Company Paid Short Term and Long Term Disability Insurance
• Various Employee Perks and Discounts
• Hospital Indemnity
• Critical Illness Insurance
• Accident Insurance

Sonesta is an equal opportunity employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status or other characteristics protected by law.

Upon submitting your application, please ensure you complete a full application in addition to attaching a resume. Incomplete applications received will not be considered.