ERP Manager at Lerman Holding CO Inc – South Bend, Indiana

Position Summary

The ERP Manager is a seasoned IT leader responsible for the strategy, implementation, support, and continuous improvement of all ERP systems across Lerman Enterprises. This role leads a team of developers and functional analysts, providing direction, mentorship, and day-to-day management to ensure high-quality, business-aligned ERP solutions. The ideal candidate has a proactive, can-do approach to projects, strong communication skills, and drive to build a team of high achievers. Above all, this candidate needs to drive results and effectively manage multiple initiatives across multiple systems.

This position serves as the primary bridge between IT and the business, partnering closely with operational and functional stakeholders to understand needs, prioritize initiatives, and position ERP systems as strategic enablers of business performance. Throughout projects, this position leads by example and plays a hands-on role when needed. The ERP Manager is equally comfortable guiding technical development work, facilitating process design, gaining alignment from business leaders, and orchestrating complex implementations involving internal and external resources.

Key Responsibilities

ERP Strategy & Ownership

• Own the ERP roadmap across all Lerman Enterprises entities, ensuring systems are aligned with current and future business needs

• Lead the planning, execution, and oversight of ERP implementations, upgrades, and major enhancements

• Evaluate and recommend ERP tools, modules, third-party integrations, and ISV solutions

• Establish and maintain governance processes for change management, release management, and system stability

Business Partnership

• Partner with business leaders across operations, finance, sales, and other functional areas to gather requirements and translate them into effective ERP solutions

• Serve as a trusted advisor to stakeholders, proactively identifying opportunities to leverage ERP capabilities to improve business outcomes

• Communicate IT-related information clearly and effectively to both technical and non-technical audiences, including senior leadership

• Represent the ERP team in steering committees, project reviews, and cross-functional planning sessions

Implementation & Support

• Oversee end-to-end ERP implementation projects, from requirements definition through go-live and hyper care

• Ensure the ERP team delivers robust, user-friendly solutions through sound design, testing, and deployment practices

• Manage ERP environments, including build, configuration, integration points, and application landscape

• Drive timely resolution of system issues by working collaboratively with developers and vendor support teams

• Manage ISV relationships and ensure third-party solutions are properly installed, maintained, and upgraded

Team Leadership & Development

• Directly manage a team of developers and functional analysts, providing clear direction, coaching, and performance feedback

• Foster a collaborative team culture that values both technical excellence and business partnership

• Assess team training needs and create opportunities for professional development and career growth

• Participate in IT change management programs, performance evaluations, and staffing decisions

Technical Oversight

• Provide technical leadership and architectural guidance to the development team, including review of solution designs and code

• Identify hardware and software infrastructure needs in partnership with IT infrastructure teams

• Advise on application integration strategy, data mapping, and extensibility considerations

• Take the lead on significant IT change initiatives of varying scale and complexity

Core Competencies

Accountability

Motivating Others

Analytical Thinking

Change Advocacy

Business Partnership

Building Effective Teams

Priority Setting

Problem Solving

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, MIS, or a related field

• 8+ years of experience managing ERP systems, including hands-on involvement in implementations, upgrades, and ongoing support

• 5+ years of experience leading IT teams, including direct management of technical and/or functional resources

• Demonstrated ability to manage internal and external resources in a unified ERP team structure

• Experience working directly with business stakeholders to define requirements and deliver solutions that meet operational objectives

• Strong understanding of ERP architecture, business processes, and integration patterns

• Excellent communication, collaboration, and organizational skills

• Experience in the manufacturing industry

Preferred Qualifications

? Experience with Invex or similar metals-industry ERP systems

? Experience with Plex

? Familiarity with project management tools (Jira or similar)

? Familiarity with modern integration tools, SQL, Azure DevOps, or cloud environments

? Familiarity with major cloud providers (Azure, AWS, or similar)