ERP and Enterprise Applications Recruitment

The honest answer depends on where you are in the process, but in most cases the first hire should be someone who can own the project from your side first.

If you do not yet have an internal ERP Programme Manager or a Business Systems Manager, that is usually the role to fill first. This is the person who will translate your business requirements into a brief that an implementation partner can actually deliver against.

Once that role is in place, the next hire often depends on the platform and the complexity of your rollout, whether that is a Solution Architect to own the technical design or a Functional Consultant with deep knowledge of the specific modules you are implementing.

There is no single right answer here, and we would rather have an honest conversation with you about your situation than give you a generic response.

An IT contractor can be the better choice when you need specialist capability for a defined period, particularly during the implementation phase itself when the workload is intense but temporary.

A permanent hire makes more sense when the system will need ongoing ownership once the implementation is complete, since someone has to manage upgrades, support the user base, and keep extending the system as the business changes.

Many of our clients end up using both, bringing in contract specialists to support the implementation while building a permanent team underneath them who will carry the system forward. We can help you work out which combination makes sense for your project before you commit to either approach.

Your implementation partner’s consultants work for the implementation partner, and their incentives are not always the same as yours, even when everyone involved has good intentions.

A partner is typically paid to deliver the project, not to make sure the system genuinely fits the way your business operates day to day, and once the project ends and the partner moves on to their next client, you are left supporting a system that nobody on your side fully understands.

Having your own hire, whether that is a Head of Enterprise Applications, a Programme Manager, or a senior internal consultant, gives you someone who represents the business throughout the project and remains accountable for the system long after the partner has left. T

hat person challenges the partner where needed, makes sure decisions are made in your interest rather than the path of least resistance, and carries the knowledge of the system forward once everyone else has gone

We recruit across the major enterprise platforms used by Irish businesses, including SAP, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Oracle and NetSuite. Our network spans leadership roles such as Head of Enterprise Applications and ERP Programme Manager through to specialist consultants who live inside specific modules every day. If you are working with a platform that is not listed here, it is worth a conversation regardless, since our network often extends further than a published list suggests.

Yes, and this is one of the searches we are most often asked to run quietly and quickly.

A struggling implementation usually needs someone with a very specific profile, a person who can walk into a project that already has history, politics and pressure attached to it, diagnose what has actually gone wrong, and rebuild confidence with both the business and the implementation partner.

This is rarely about technical skill alone. It is about judgement, credibility and the ability to make hard calls under pressure. We understand how sensitive these searches are and we move quickly, because every week a troubled project continues without the right leadership in place is a week of cost and risk that compounds. I

f this is your situation, get in touch and we will start the conversation today.

ERP and enterprise application roles in Ireland span a wide range of seniority and platform specialism, and compensation reflects that breadth. For the senior and leadership roles that Star Recruitment focuses on, the picture looks broadly like this.

A senior SAP, Microsoft Dynamics 365, or Oracle Consultant with strong functional or technical expertise will typically earn a permanent salary in the range of €75,000 to €110,000 plus in Ireland, depending on the platform, the module specialism, and whether the role sits in a client organisation or an implementation partner.

An ERP Project Manager will typically attract €75,000 to €100,000 plus in a permanent role, rising to €100,000 to €130,000 plus at Programme Manager level. A Head of Enterprise Applications can command €100,000 to €145,000 or beyond, particularly where the role carries ownership of a major implementation programme or a complex multiple systems environment.

On the contractor side, senior ERP and enterprise applications consultants are typically working on day rates of €450 to €800, with the strongest candidates on major SAP or Dynamics 365 programmes often attracting rates above that range, particularly during an active implementation phase when competition for specialists intensifies.

If you are preparing a budget for an ERP hire, whether for a new implementation or for an established system, and you want an honest view of what you are likely to need to offer to attract the right person, give us a call and we will take it from there.