Business Applications Manager

Contract: 2-year Fixed Term
About the role
As the Business Applications Manager for CHANEL Hong Kong & Macau, you will be the market-level owner and key contact for all business applications supporting operations across boutiques and corporate offices. In the rapidly changing luxury retail environment, where customers expect a seamless blend of traditional elegance and cutting-edge digital engagement, your role is critical. HKMO markets are high-pace environments where operation efficiency, system reliability, and data accessibility are key for experience success.
The Tech & Digital Solutions team (T&DS) drives digital transformation for our client and retail experience in Hong Kong and Macau. This role ensures the successful delivery, evolution, and support of retail, corporate, and office applications (notably POS, traffic analytics, visual merchandising solutions, Advisors tools, and corporate productivity tools), in alignment with CHANEL’s omnichannel and digital transformation strategy. You will act as the bridge between business and technology, collaborating closely with Regional Technology teams, local business stakeholders (Retail, Operations, Finance, People & Organization), and other HKMO T&DS team members. You will ensure market needs are translated into scalable, sustainable solutions, while maintaining alignment with regional/global platforms and governance. The role also acts as a strategic advisor to local leadership, proactively identifying opportunities to leverage technology for enhanced client experience, boutique performance, and corporate efficiency.
Additionally, this position incorporates a Business Solution Analyst dimension, driving requirement gathering, impact analysis, feasibility assessment, and solution definition in partnership with architects and regional teams, ensuring high-quality delivery and user adoption. This includes conducting cost-benefit analyses, evaluating solution alternatives, and producing detailed functional specifications. The role also plays a critical part in service reliability, acting as the local owner of application performance, support coordination, and continuity in case of incidents or disruptions, encompassing Business Systems Management accountability for the local application portfolio.
What impact you can create at Chanel
Market Application Ownership: Act as the primary point of contact in HKMO for all business applications (boutique and office), including POS (legacy and Oracle Xstore), traffic analytics, VM & Advisor tools, and corporate applications. Ensure alignment of local initiatives with regional/global platforms and omnichannel strategy. Identify opportunities where technology can enhance business performance and client experience. Maintain a comprehensive application portfolio inventory and evaluate emerging retail technology trends.
Business Solution Analysis & Solutioning: Lead requirement gathering and analysis with business stakeholders. Facilitate workshops to define business processes, user journeys, and functional needs. Collaborate with architects and business analysts to assess impact on existing systems and define target solution architecture. Evaluate and compare solution alternatives, providing clear recommendations. Translate requirements into user stories, functional specifications, and backlog items. Support testing phases (SIT/UAT) to ensure solutions meet business expectations.
Project Delivery & Change Management: Own or contribute to project planning, scope, timeline, and delivery tracking. Coordinate with regional teams and vendors for on-time, on-budget delivery. Drive Change Impact Analysis and work closely with Change Manager to prepare business teams for upcoming changes, ensure adoption of new tools and processes, and support training and communication.
Application Run, Support & Service Management: Own the service performance and reliability of applications in HKMO. Act as the local escalation point for incidents and major issues. Coordinate with regional IT teams and vendors for troubleshooting and resolution. Monitor and improve service levels. Ensure business continuity and disaster coordination support. Manage the local application lifecycle.
Governance, Vendor & Security Management: Ensure compliance with CHANEL technology standards, governance, and InfoSec frameworks. Manage relationships with vendors. Monitor risks, dependencies, and escalations. Contribute to IT budget planning. Ensure all applications adhere to data privacy regulations (e.g., PDPO) and CHANEL’s global information security policies.
Stakeholder Management: Act as the trusted partner to local business teams (Retail, Boutique Operations, Office functions, Finance, People & Organization). Liaise with regional/global teams to align priorities. Communicate project status, risks, and outcomes. Build strong, trust-based relationships to understand operational realities and technology needs. Proactively engage stakeholders on technology roadmap and innovation opportunities.
Innovation & Continuous Improvement: Continuously assess the local application landscape to identify gaps and opportunities for optimization. Propose and lead process improvement initiatives. Foster a culture of innovation and digital curiosity. Benchmark against industry best practices.
You are energized by
Strategic Vision: Thinking strategically about the long-term tech and digital ecosystem and its impact on luxury retail.
Collaboration: Working collaboratively with diverse teams, building strong relationships, and fostering collective progress.
Ownership and Performance: Taking full ownership of your domain, driving performance, and seeing initiatives through to successful completion.
Innovation: Continuously assessing opportunities for optimization, proposing new solutions, and fostering a culture of innovation and digital curiosity.
Problem-Solving: Tackling complex challenges with an analytical mindset, attention to detail, and a focus on practical solutions.
Client and Employee Experience: A deep passion for creating exceptional client and employee experiences through technology and digital enablement.
CHANEL Values: Aligning with CHANEL’s brand values and contributing to an inclusive culture that nurtures personal growth.
Resilience and Adaptability: Thriving in complex and ambiguous environments.
Cultural Sensitivity: Operating effectively within a diverse and multicultural setting.
What you will bring
Experience:
5+ years of experience in Business Applications / Business Systems Management, Business Analysis and solution design, and/or Retail and omnichannel technology environments.
Proven experience delivering end-to-end projects across multiple stakeholders (local, regional, vendors).
Strong exposure to retail technology ecosystem: POS systems (ideally Oracle Xstore), Omnichannel integrations (OMS, eCommerce), Traffic analytics and boutique performance tools, Clienteling / CRM platforms.
Experience working within a luxury Maison or premium retail brand with high expectations for client experience.
Exposure to ITIL / IT Service Management frameworks and incident/problem management processes.
Experience with corporate application environments (ERP, HRIS, Finance systems) and and/or data and analytics platforms is a plus.
Functional & Technical Skills:
Strong capability in requirement elicitation, process mapping, functional design, managing user stories, backlog, and testing cycles.
Proficiency in solutioning with architects and technical teams, conducting feasibility studies, cost-benefit analyses, and solution evaluations.
Good understanding of application lifecycle, system integration, data flows, solution architecture, data governance, IT security fundamentals, and data privacy regulations relevant to HKMO.
Experience with Agile / project delivery methodologies.
Proficiency with project management and collaboration tools (e.g., Jira, Confluence, ServiceNow, MS365).
Leadership & Soft Skills:
Strong stakeholder management and communication skills, with the ability to bridge business and technology effectively.
Analytical mindset with problem-solving capability and attention to detail.
Proven ability to work in cross-functional and multicultural environments, manage complexity and ambiguity, influence decisions, and drive alignment.
Strong facilitation skills to lead workshops, drive consensus, and navigate competing priorities.
Fluent in English; Cantonese and/or Mandarin proficiency is a strong advantage given the strong Retail exposure.
High degree of integrity and discretion when handling sensitive business data and strategic information.
Personal Attributes:
Strategic thinker with long-term vision on tech and digital ecosystem
Collaborative and relationship-oriented
Performance-driven with strong ownership mindset
Resilient and adaptable in complex environments
Culturally sensitive and aligned with CHANEL brand values
Naturally curious about technology trends and passionate about creating exceptional client and employee experiences through tech and digital enablement
High degree of integrity and discretion when handling sensitive business data and strategic information
At Chanel, we are you focused on creating an inclusive culture that nurtures personal growth, contributing to collective progress. We believe the uniqueness of each individual increases the diversity, complementarity and effectiveness of our teams. We strongly encourage your application, as we value the perspective, experience and potential you could bring to Chanel.