SAP Security Control Specialist

SAP Security Control Specialist
£46,400 - £60,000 plus great benefits (Work Level 5) 
Manchester city centre - in this role you’ll work in a hybrid way splitting your time between home and the office two days per week (find out more about our hybrid working policy at https://jobs.coop.co.uk/hybrid-working-policy).  

We’re open to applications from people who may require flexible working arrangements. There’ll be an opportunity to discuss your flexible working requirements during the interview process, and at offer stage.

We’re reshaping our Digital, Technology and Data function for the future, creating new opportunities, strengthening our capability, and building clearer, more resilient ways of working so we can deliver even better services for our Co-op, our colleagues, members and customers.

We're looking for a SAP Security Control Specialist to join our Enterprise Platforms team and help us keep our SAP landscape secure, compliant and resilient. In this role, you'll design, implement and continuously improve security controls across SAP platforms that support our Finance, Retail, Commercial and Supply Chain operations, helping to protect critical business systems while enabling colleagues to work effectively. Working closely with engineers, architects, product teams and security specialists, you'll ensure security is built into SAP solutions from the start, embedding security-by-design principles and keeping our controls aligned to Co-op's security standards and risk appetite.

Why this role matters

This is an exciting opportunity to influence security, governance and compliance across one of Co-op's most critical technology platforms. You'll help shape how security is embedded within SAP delivery, ensuring risks are managed effectively while enabling business change. It's a role where you'll combine technical expertise, problem solving and stakeholder collaboration to strengthen security controls, improve access governance and deliver meaningful improvements across a complex SAP environment.

What you’ll do

•    Design, implement and maintain security controls across SAP platforms to support secure and compliant operations
•    Manage and improve SAP roles, authorisations and role-based access controls, ensuring access follows least-privilege principles and aligns to business requirements
•    Assess and monitor segregation of duties (SoD) risks, identifying and addressing potential control weaknesses
•    Work with engineering, architecture, product and platform teams to embed security-by-design principles into system changes, configurations and delivery processes 
•    Support risk, audit and compliance activities by providing security expertise, evidencing control effectiveness and ensuring controls meet regulatory and internal requirements 
•    Investigate and resolve SAP security and access-related issues, minimising risk and operational impact
•    Review the effectiveness of existing controls and drive continuous improvement initiatives across the SAP environment
•    Act as a trusted advisor to stakeholders, providing guidance on SAP security risks, controls and best practices

What you’ll bring

We’re committed to making our roles as accessible as possible, so we only ask for the minimum criteria. To thrive here, you’ll need to bring:

•    Experience working with SAP security, including roles, authorisations, role-based access control (RBAC) models and access governance 
•    Good understanding of segregation of duties (SoD), access risk management and SAP security governance
•    Experience working with SAP GRC, access governance solutions and related control frameworks 
•    Knowledge of identity and access management principles, including privileged access, user provisioning, role-based access control and least-privilege models 
•    Experience supporting security risk, audit and compliance activities within complex enterprise SAP environments 
•    Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to assess risks and implement practical solutions
•    Excellent communication skills, with the ability to explain technical security concepts in a clear and business-friendly way
•    A proactive approach to continuous improvement and a commitment to keeping up to date with SAP security trends and best practice

We know some people may hesitate to apply if they don’t meet every requirement. At Co-op, we’re committed to building diverse and inclusive teams, so if you’re excited about this role but your experience doesn’t align perfectly, we still encourage you to apply.

Why Co-op?

At Co-op, we’re owned by our members. And because we’re owned by you, we can do right by you. So when you join us, you’re not just taking a job, you’re joining a movement. We’re an organisation that puts people and communities first, and we’re powered by purpose. We want this to be a place where you can thrive, so you’ll also receive:

•    An annual bonus (based on personal and business performance)
•    28 days holiday (rising to 32 with service) plus bank holidays 
•    A pension with up to 10% employer contributions
•    Private healthcare 
•    Access to a subsidised onsite gym (at our Manchester HQ) 
•    30% discount on Co-op products and 10% off other brands 
•    Stream – early access to a percentage of your pay as you earn it 
•    Virtual healthcare including GP appointments, mental health support, nutrition and fitness advice 
•    24/7 colleague support service 
•    Training and support for your development and career progression
•    Cycle-to-work scheme

A place you’ll belong

We’re building diverse and inclusive teams that reflect the communities we serve. We welcome applications from everyone and are committed to creating a workplace where colleagues can feel like they belong, supported by our inclusive policies and the ways we work.

We’re proud to be part of the Disability Confident scheme and offer interviews to disabled candidates who meet the minimum criteria for a job. If you need any adjustments during the recruitment process, we’ll support you.

Learn more about our recruitment process at jobs.coop.co.uk/apply-process and our inclusion commitments at jobs.coop.co.uk/diversity-inclusion