Internals Only: CRM Platform Specialist (Cluster)

Your mission

The Platform Specialist (CRM) plays a key operational and strategic role in ensuring the availability, reliability, security, and ongoing improvement of War Child Alliance’s Salesforce platform as a business-critical global service. The role is responsible for the administration, delivery, maintenance, and optimization of the Salesforce environment, ensuring the platform remains stable, secure, scalable, and aligned with evolving organizational needs. This includes hands‑on administration, configuration, implementation, release management, access control, integrations, incident resolution, documentation, and continuous service improvement. In addition to Salesforce, the role provides technical administration and service ownership for a portfolio of smaller SaaS applications used across the organization, applying the same structured and service‑led approach. The position ensures these systems are effectively governed, supported, maintained, and continuously improved, while also strengthening the integration and alignment between business applications, workflows, and data flows across the organization. Working within War Child Alliance’s wider enterprise systems landscape, including Salesforce, Unit4 Business World, and other cloud-based tools, the Application Platform Lead (CRM) ensures that business‑critical platforms operate as a stable and integrated ecosystem. The role works closely with business stakeholders, suppliers, and internal IT colleagues to ensure that Salesforce and related SaaS platforms are implemented in a scalable and supportable way, operated as managed services, and enhanced over time to meet changing operational and organizational needs. The role is intended to be staffed within a Country Office, in line with War Child Alliance’s wider strategy to increasingly co‑locate global resources closer to program and operational delivery. Embedding Salesforce platform administration within a Country Office environment will help strengthen adoption of the Salesforce platform by ensuring closer alignment between the global solution and operational realities in country programs. This will also provide greater insight into how the platform can be better configured, deployed, and supported to meet both global and country-level needs.

What you will do

• Own and lead the end-to-end administration, delivery, support, and continuous improvement of the Salesforce platform as a business-critical service. The Salesforce platform includes multiple instances of Salesforce Cloud and multiple third‑party application integrations.
• Drive and deliver implementation and enhancement cycles, including requirements gathering, solution design, configuration, testing, deployment, and release management.
• Translate and prioritize business requirements into scalable, secure, and sustainable Salesforce and SaaS solutions aligned with organizational needs.
• Administer and optimize the Salesforce environment, including user management, roles, permissions, workflows, automation, data models, and platform configuration.
• Own and manage ITIL service management processes for the platform, including incidents, service requests, problems, changes, releases, and escalation pathways.
• Monitor and proactively improve system performance, reliability, service levels, and user experience through root cause analysis, KPI tracking, and issue prevention.
• Lead continuous improvement by identifying process enhancements, automation opportunities, and roadmap priorities across Salesforce and supporting SaaS applications.
• Ensure accountability for system integration, data flows, data integrity, and alignment across Salesforce, Unit4, and other connected business systems.
• Provide ownership and oversight of user support, adoption, documentation, training, and resolution of recurring issues through sustainable solutions.
• Coordinate and manage internal stakeholders, vendors, and implementation partners to ensure timely delivery, alignment of expectations, and accountability for outcomes.

ROLE-SPECIFIC OR CONTEXT RESPONSIBILITIES

• Maintain and safeguard core applications, ensuring system performance, stability, and effective alignment with user and business needs.
• Safeguard and maintain data accuracy, consistency, and application logic across integrated systems, ensuring alignment with business processes and controls.
• Coordinate and support application testing, system upgrades, and change deployments, including documentation updates and user readiness activities.
• Deliver first- and second-line support for core applications, resolving incidents and liaising with vendors where required to ensure timely resolution.
• Collaborate with IT colleagues to maintain system interfaces and ensure seamless data exchange between applications and external platforms.
• Provide and maintain user training, guidance, and support materials, including manuals, FAQs, and system documentation in collaboration with process owners.
• Identify and propose system and process improvements, supporting implementation of enhancements aligned with organizational priorities.
• Establish and monitor user access and authorization structures, ensuring compliance with internal controls, security requirements, and safeguarding standards.
• Participate in cross-functional and multidisciplinary teams focused on improving digital workflows, systems integration, and organizational processes.
• Uphold and embed War Child safeguarding and data protection principles in all application administration, support, and system management activities.
• Maintain and operate ITIL-aligned change, release, and service management processes across supported applications and platforms.
• Evaluate and support adoption of new system features and application capabilities where they improve efficiency, usability, or service delivery.

Your profile

Education

• HBO+ (Bachelor’s level or higher applied education) working and thinking level in IT, Computer Science, Information Systems, or a related field.
• Relevant certifications in Salesforce Administration and Platform Management are highly desirable.
• Certifications in ITIL, Agile, or service management frameworks are an advantage.

Experience

• Minimum 5 years of experience in Salesforce administration, configuration, and implementation.
• Strong experience with Salesforce configuration, including roles, profiles, permission sets, flows, automation, and data models.
• Proven experience managing systems as operational services, including ownership of reliability, performance, and support.
• Experience with ITIL-based service management practices, including incident, problem, change, and release management.
• Experience with release management processes, structured deployments, and controlled system changes.
• Experience administering and supporting SaaS platforms and cloud-based business applications.
• Experience supporting or managing system integrations and data flows between applications.
• Experience working with external vendors, implementation partners, and service providers.
• Experience working in multi-system environments, ideally including enterprise platforms such as Salesforce and ERP systems.
• Experience in NGO, humanitarian, or international development organisations is an advantage.
• Familiarity with Agile and/or Waterfall delivery methodologies.
• Strong experience in stakeholder engagement and translating business needs into technical solutions.
• Strong communication experience across technical and non-technical stakeholders in multi-location environments.

Languages

• English, mandatory
• Dutch, French, Spanish or Arabic, desirable.

Technical Knowledge

• Strong knowledge of Salesforce administration and configuration, including automation, data structures, and user management.
• Strong understanding of service management (ITIL) principles and operational IT service delivery.
• Knowledge of SaaS platform administration and lifecycle management.
• Understanding of system integrations, APIs, and data exchange principles.
• Understanding of data management, data quality, and governance principles.
• Knowledge of release and change management processes.
• Understanding of cloud-based application environments and enterprise systems ecosystems.
• Familiarity with Agile and Waterfall methodologies.
• Awareness of information security, access control, and data protection principles.
• Experience with support and ticketing systems for incident and service management.

What we offer

• Location: We work with global teams with team members being based in different locations. War Child is currently operating in Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, Colombia, DR Congo, Germany, Jordan, Lebanon, the occupied Palestinian territory, South Sudan, Sweden, Syria, Uganda, Ukraine (soon to be registered), and Yemen. Preference is given to applicants who reside and have valid working permits. War Child does not offer relocation.
• Type of Contract: Local contract with salary and secondary labour conditions based on the in-country salary scale, local T&C’s will apply. Internals only may apply.