The Role

The Manager, Business Applications owns the operational governance and service performance of ELPEN’s core enterprise application portfolio (business applications, integrations, and key data pipelines), ensuring reliability, compliance readiness, and continuous improvement.

This role is a key member of the IT leadership group, working closely with the IT Director and peer managers to shape operational priorities, support processes, and application management practices. The Manager of Business Applications guides and supports a team of Application Owners, Platform & Integration Engineers, and Data Engineers, ensuring stable day-to-day operations, effective follow-up on issues and requests, and clear ownership across the application landscape.

The Professional We're Looking For

Your Core Expertise:

• Application Ownership & Operational Oversight: You have experience overseeing enterprise applications such as ERP, CRM, LIMS, QMS, WMS, or similar business-critical platforms. You understand how these systems support business processes, how they interact with integrations and reporting, and what is required to keep them stable, properly supported, documented, and compliant where they are GxP-relevant.

• Practical People Coordination: You have experience guiding small technical teams or acting as a team lead. You know how to help a team prioritize work, balance operational demand, remove blockers, conduct regular check-ins, and create a supportive working environment.
• Core IT Operations: You have a solid practical understanding of IT Service Management. You know how to track incidents and requests, coordinate change management, follow up on escalations, and ensure that operational activities are handled consistently and transparently.

Your Broad Capabilities:

• Team Collaboration & Co-Decision Making: You do not work in a silo. You actively seek input from your team, the IT Director, peer managers, business users, and other stakeholders before making important operational or process decisions. You value alignment, transparency, and practical consensus on major changes.
• Synthesis & Systems Thinking: You view IT as an interconnected system. When you or your team makes a change to an application, you consider how it affects integrations, data flows, reporting, downstream systems, and end users. You collaborate with other departments to ensure your team’s work supports the broader business environment, rather than optimizing only your own area.
• Transformation Enablement & Operational Readiness: You work closely with the Digital Transformation Manager and other IT leaders to ensure that new systems, processes, and digital initiatives can be supported effectively after go-live. While transformation projects are being implemented, you help define the future support model, operational responsibilities, handover requirements, and continuous improvement approach.

Key Responsibilities

Team Coordination & Support :

• Guide the daily activities of the Application Owners, Platform & Integration Engineers, and Data Engineers.
• Help the team prioritize their tasks and ticket backlogs, providing support and direction on complex issues when needed.
• Conduct regular check-ins with team members, providing guidance, feedback, and support for their daily tasks.

Applications Operations Oversight:

• Act as the accountable owner for the operational oversight of assigned business applications.
• Ensure applications are properly supported, maintained, documented, and aligned with business needs.
• For GxP-relevant applications, ensure that operational practices support CSV requirements, EU GMP Annex 11 expectations, data integrity principles, audit readiness, and maintenance of the validated state.
• Keep a clear view of each application’s purpose, users, key processes, integrations, support model, vendors, and operational risks.
• Monitor open issues, improvement needs, vendor actions, support escalations, and follow-up items.
• Ensure resolution paths are clear and that the right internal teams or external vendors are engaged
• Coordinate vendor communication and escalations when needed, making sure priorities, business impact, and expected outcomes are clear.
• Keep application ownership details, support contacts, procedures, and documentation up to date.

Collaborative Operations Management:

• Work with the IT Director and other IT managers to define and refine standard operating procedures, such as handling high-priority tickets, managing deployments, and coordinating support escalations.
• Coordinate the team’s involvement in Incident, Request, Problem, and Change Management processes.
• Ensure application changes are reviewed with their wider impact in mind, including integrations, data flows, reporting, users, compliance, validation impact, data integrity, and the validated state of GxP-relevant systems.
• Support prioritization based on business impact, operational risk, compliance needs, and available capacity.
• Make sure routine activities such as system checks, access reviews, vendor follow-up, support follow-up, and GxP-related documentation are completed consistently.
• Work with the Digital Transformation Manager to define support models, handover needs, and operational readiness for new systems before they move into business-as-usual support.

Qualifications & Experience

Required:

• 5+ years of hands-on experience in IT, specifically in application development, system integrations, applications administration, system support, or a similar technical role.
• 2-3+ years of experience leading, coordinating, or mentoring a small technical team or serving as a team lead/supervisor.
• Practical experience working with enterprise applications such as ERP, CRM, LIMS, QMS, WMS, or similar platforms.
• Good understanding of application support models, vendor management, integrations, data flows, access management, and operational documentation.
• Practical experience with IT ticketing systems and ITIL-based processes, especially Incident, Request, Change, and Problem Management.
• Practical awareness of GxP, CSV, data integrity, access control, and change control expectations for regulated business applications.
• Strong collaboration skills and the ability to work well with business users, technical teams, vendors, and IT leadership.
• Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, or a related field (or equivalent experience).
• Fluency in both Greek and English.

Preferred:

• Experience working in the pharmaceutical, life sciences, or another regulated GxP industry is a significant advantage.
• Familiarity with Computerized System Validation (CSV), EU GMP Annex 11, data integrity principles, validated systems, audit readiness, access reviews, periodic reviews, and change control practices.
• Experience coordinating external vendors, managed service providers, or software partners.

Why Join Us:

• A competitive compensation package combined with additional benefits.
•  Private Insurance for you and your family.
• Hybrid Working Model  
•  Facilities with Parking inside, enticing restaurant and corporate bus.
•  An extensive training program upon induction and throughout employment.
•  Prospects for professional growth.