SAP Jobs at Clarkston: SAP Life Sciences and Senior Manager Career Q&A with Paulo

Paulo is a senior manager and the SAP life sciences lead at Clarkston Consulting. He shares how his SAP career has evolved below! Read his Q&A to gain insight into what an SAP career with Clarkston is like!

Paulo’s SAP Experience

How does Clarkston help you pursue an SAP career of excellence and job fulfillment? (ie. What is your favorite part about working at Clarkston?)

Clarkston offers a comprehensive approach to professional growth for SAP consultants. Alongside formal training programs facilitated by the Professional Development team, the exposure to diverse projects and collaboration with experienced teams contribute to an environment that encourages continuous learning and the acquisition of new technical and soft skills. This combination of opportunities and environment allows you to expand your knowledge, broaden your expertise, and excel in your role as an SAP consultant.

Why did you join Clarkston as an SAP consultant, and why have you stayed?  

I joined Clarkston in 2011 after having worked for industry and big consulting firms. The main differentiator for me is and has always been the corporate culture. The Win3 cornerstone of our philosophy is absolutely true and is present in every aspect of the company. This guideline makes sures the consultant and our clients are being taken care of, and a result the company will also do well. The company size is ideal so that as a consultant you get to really know the team you’re working with and you get to work with them in various engagements and socialize in company meetings. The camaraderie and a true interest in the consultant’s well-being is a big aspect of what has made me stay at Clarkston this long.

What advice would you give to someone hoping to grow their SAP skillset and career? (ie. What has worked well for you?)

What has worked for me to acquire new skills in SAP is to first do a self-study to understand how the new tools work and how they can help our clients. Then I reach out to Professional Development or go through our internal training tools to get technical knowledge. The next step is to get hands on experience by either practicing in our ClarkstonLabs SAP client, or, better yet, to apply them in a real SAP project, where you can clarify and get support from other colleagues.

What made you pursue a career in SAP? (ie. What was your career path like? Is there a typical SAP career path?)

I graduated from Engineering of Information Systems and my true passion was always around process reengineering and enhancements. Upon graduation my first job was in a hands-on SAP position and that was my introduction to how technology could be the perfect vehicle for a wholistic business transformation. I started learning about functionality, modules, and my main interest was around procurement processes. I found my calling and have stayed on the path for over 20 years. I’ve been extremely satisfied with where this career has taken me and how it has shaped my outlook.

Clarkston Career Story

How long have you been with Clarkston?

I’ve been with Clarkston for over 12 years.

What is your role at Clarkston?

I’m currently a senior manager and also the co-lead of the SAP Community, but my career has evolved from a senior consultant, to a principal and then to manager. Currently I’m involved in managing large SAP projects, participating in sales proposals and helping shape Clarkston’s strategy for SAP technologies and methodologies.

Tell us about a new skill you’ve developed recently.

I’m currently on the path to get an SAP certification in Project Management with Activate Methodology. This has been made possible with having access to the SAP Learning Journey’s content through our Clarkston Professional Development department.

If you had to choose, which of Clarkston’s core values do you feel resonates with you the most?

• Brilliant Client Service, because it ensures all our consultants give it their all to make sure our projects are successful and add value to our clients’ processes.
• Flexibility and Adaptability: This helps foster professional learning and growth
• Diversity: When people from diverse backgrounds, cultures, and experiences come together, they bring a wide range of perspectives and ideas, which results in a dynamic enterprise

How has your work changed post-COVID?

Remote work now seems to be the norm although we still see exceptions. My last project was local, so I was at the client’s site 90% of the time. The bottom line is that both our clients and our consultants have seen that remote works does work.

Which internal initiatives, communities, or projects are you involved in at Clarkston?

I’m currently the co-lead of our SAP Community, where we’re looking to integrate more efficiently with other communities to create synergies that may benefit our firm and our clients, as well as looking into new technologies such as Signavio and Datasphere to integrate to our portfolio of available solutions.

Curious about an SAP career at Clarkston?

• Check out our SAP Jobs page!
• Learn how you can develop your career at Clarkston by visiting our Careers page.