Our 7 Hardest SAP Skills and Roles to Hire for in 2026 — and what employers can do about it
Not every SAP role is difficult to fill.
Some searches produce strong candidates quickly. Others take weeks just to find the right people to speak to.
That’s why describing the entire SAP market as a “talent crisis” tells employers very little. The difficulty depends on the experience you need, where you need it, what you’re offering and how you approach the search.
At Growe Global, we’ve listed seven areas that have been among our most challenging searches across the US and internationally.
1. SAP S/4HANA Solution & Enterprise Architects
The ‘Architect’ title is often overused in SAP. It doesn’t tell you what someone has actually owned. Solution Architects need proven design experience across processes, data and integrations. Enterprise Architects also need to connect the wider landscape and roadmap to business priorities. Add your industry, scale and complexity, and the shortlist gets tighter.
2. SAP Business AI & Joule Specialists
SAP Business AI and Joule are HOT topics right now, with many capabilities still relatively new. Courses and demos build useful knowledge. The harder search is for someone who has delivered a real business use case and can bring that experience into your organization.
3. S/4HANA Public Cloud Consultants
Public Cloud implementations experience matters. A lot of S/4HANA experience comes from on-premise or Private Cloud projects. Finding someone who has led fit-to-standard workshops, worked through gaps in standard functionality and taken their area through more than one go-live narrows the pool. Our searches have been competitive, with what feels like more Public Cloud openings across the SAP ecosystem than available, experienced talent.
4. SAP Supply Chain Specialists: TM, EWM & GTS
The challenge differs in each area. With TM and GTS, we’re finding fewer experienced specialists. With EWM, finding someone with 10+ years isn’t necessarily the hardest part—securing them is, especially with warehouse automation experience. We’re also seeing people pivot into these areas and market themselves as experts, so check their implementation history, what they designed and what they personally delivered.
5. VP, Head of SAP & CoE Leaders
Finding a proven SAP leader with experience matching your industry, scale and complexity narrows the search. You want the battle scars: what went wrong, how they handled it and how they kept teams delivering under pressure. They need to build your SAP capability and get the best out of people. This could be your most critical hire. An Oracle or Dynamics 365 background alone doesn’t cut it.
6. SAP Industry Specialists
Retail, Fashion, Pharma and Utilities each bring specific requirements. Finding someone who understands the business and its SAP solutions becomes harder when you add S/4HANA delivery experience, program scope and location constraints. An industry name on a resume is useful, but what they delivered—and how it relates to your program—matters more.
7. SAP Business Data Cloud Architects
BDC is still relatively new, so there’s been less time to build a proven BDC delivery track record. BW, Datasphere and SAC experience provide a useful foundation. The harder search is finding someone who can build on that background, make sound architecture decisions and help your business adopt Business Data Cloud.
What does this mean for your SAP hiring plans?
Before starting a search, understand the experience you need, how much is available, where to find it and who else is looking for it.
How widely has the the solution been adopted? How many people have delivered it in a live environment?
For newer SAP areas, limited adoption means fewer opportunities to build hands-on experience.
Even a small number of organizations hiring can put pressure on that talent pool. In more established areas, industry knowledge, program complexity and location requirements can quickly narrow your options.
Understanding those differences helps you set realistic expectations and choose the right approach.
Be clear about what you need
Separate essential experience from the things you’d ideally like someone to have.
Flexibility in the right areas can widen your options without compromising on capability. Focus on what someone has delivered and how that experience would translate to your team.
Give people a reason to consider you
Know where the talent sits, who else wants it and what those employers are offering.
A pharma business in Boston has a different local talent pool from one in Los Angeles. The same applies to retail and fashion in the tri-state area versus Atlanta.
If you need five days onsite, consider the alternatives candidates have. What would persuade someone to give up their current hybrid or remote flexibility? If relocation is possible, discuss it early. We’ve seen greater reluctance to relocate in recent years, with candidates weighing mortgage rates and the risk of moving for a company that could later cut their role.
Salary and hourly rates matter, alongside the team, leadership, technology and the work itself. What makes your opportunity worth a conversation? Be ready to explain it clearly.
Know when to move beyond job ads
Job adverts can work well for roles requiring more general SAP experience, especially in locations with larger relevant talent pools. They also reach experienced people looking after layoffs, acquisitions or organizational changes.
But when the same vacancy is still being advertised six months later, people start asking questions. A bit like a house that’s been on the market for months: why hasn’t anyone taken it? What’s wrong with it? That can affect how candidates see the role and your company.
For specialist hires, your next hire may never apply. They could be busy delivering a program, comfortable where they are or unaware of your opportunity.
Start with the companies, teams and projects where the experience sits. Ask for referrals and reconnect with people you’ve worked with. A recommendation from someone you trust is often a strong starting point.
At Growe Global, 90% of our hires come through outbound search and community building. Those relationships help us reach people who may never see an ad or consider applying.
A call or trusted introduction can get a conversation moving faster than waiting for an email reply, an InMail buried among several others that day or an application that may never arrive.
If the search has stalled, find out why
Are suitable people difficult to identify? Are they declining to speak? Does interest drop when compensation or working arrangements come up? Are interviews revealing gaps in the experience you need?
Each calls for a different response.
Six months with an open vacancy doesn’t automatically mean the talent isn’t there or that you’ve exhausted the market. You may not have reached the right people and, unfortunately, you may not be as active in the market as you think—your approach may need to shift from inbound to outbound.
When talent is in short supply, how you approach the market matters even more.
If you’re planning an SAP hire, team build or struggling with a search, we can help you understand where the right experience sits, whether your offer is competitive and how to reach the people you need.
Evelina Anderson
Marketing & Operations
Comments