Director of Salesforce & IT
Chicago, IL
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Director of Salesforce & IT

About Cara Collective
Cara Collective seeks to fuel a courageous national movement to eradicate relational and financial poverty.
Through our three entities – Cara, Cleanslate and Cara Plus – we engage job seekers, employers, and other organizations
across the country to break the cycle of poverty through the power and purpose of employment.
At present, we produce 1,000 jobs each year; however, our results don’t just end with employment. Today, we take the
insights gained over the past 30 years to equip other organizations and employers with practices to help build a more
inclusive economy. Learn more at www.caracollective.org.

About the Role
The Director of Salesforce & IT leads a team of staff and managed service providers in overseeing all technology systems
and technology projects for the enterprise. This role supports data analysis, business analysis, system implementation,
system improvement efforts, and technology projects across Cara Collective. Cara Collective’s data ecosystem primarily
revolves around a Salesforce environment utilized by Programmatic, Development, and Social Enterprise teams. Salesforce
is Cara Collective’s primary database for all fundraising, programmatic, business, and financial data (integrated with
FinancialForce).
The Director of Salesforce & Technology will be responsible for maintaining a sophisticated Salesforce and Data/IT
environment that supports the enterprise-wide, mission-driven work of Cara Collective, and for leading any continuous
technology improvement efforts to ensure our environment adapts to meet the changing needs of our participants and
staff.

Reports To
Chief Operating Officer

Direct Report(s)
The Director of Salesforce & IT directly supervises the Salesforce Support Specialist and IT Support Specialist. In addition,
the position supervises several vendor relationships, including Managed Service Providers.

The Responsibilities of the Director of Salesforce & IT:
The Director of Salesforce & IT is responsible for leadership of Cara Collective’s enterprise-wide use of Salesforce,
FinancialForce, Data/IT systems, Generative AI, and related tools to the ongoing upkeep and efficiency of our Data/IT and
Salesforce environment, and to other related technology projects from time to time.

Salesforce Development & Data Analysis (40%)
• Lead the oversight and continuous improvement of Cara’s Salesforce instance, including but not limited to:
     o Develop and deploy new objects that meet end user specifications.
     o Build and maintain flow automation, process automation, and workflow rules.
     o Select and implement new technology tools related to Cara Collective’s Salesforce environment.
     o Install and configure third-party applications.
     o Stay up-to-date on Salesforce system upgrades, changes, and enhancements.
• Partner across enterprise to define and clarify business and program strategy to best leverage data and systems.
• Lead data summarization and analysis for Cara promotional materials, funder proposals and reports, internal
improvement efforts and strategy, and/or ad-hoc requests.
• Partner across enterprise to align data definitions and use of metrics.
• Acts as an advisor to all staff to interpret data.
• Assist and empower staff across the enterprise in the performance of their own independent data analyses.
• Partner with (and oversee the relationship with) retained 3rd party Managed Services provider in their supplemental
support of Cara Collective’s Salesforce instance

Maintenance, Development & Help Desk (30%)
• Uphold system architecture and data integrity.
• Maintain system security, user profiles, and licensing.
• Maintain and implement Salesforce report management standards and organizational schema. Create, organize,
and archive reports and dashboards.
• Oversee fielding of help desk requests related to data maintenance, data merges, data cleanup, and Salesforce
reporting.
• Lead the development and implementation of Cara Collective’s use of Generative AI to improve our participant
outcomes and enhance staff efficiency.
• Facilitate FinancialForce support by acting as liaison between Cara Collective’s Finance team and FinancialForce.
• Perform regular data cleanup within Salesforce, with particular attention to de-duplication of records.
• Perform regular data cleanup and migration between Salesforce and relevant systems, often including data
manipulation and data transformation in Excel.
• Oversee regular Salesforce and Data/IT Team processes, such as new hire setups.
• Lead transition of Cara Collective to Salesforce’s updated products (e.g., non-profit cloud) as relevant.

Vendor Relations (10%)
• Build and maintain positive and proactive service relationships with external technology vendors.
• Oversee I.T. enhancement projects, in partnership with Managed Service Providers.

Leadership & Enterprise Strategy (20%)
• Lead technology team and provide coaching, mentorship and growth opportunities.
• Serve as a member of Cara Collective’s Leadership Team, and a strategic thought leader.
• Collaborate with CFO, COO and the rest of Executive team on development and implementation of organizational
strategic plans and programs.
• Responsible for the achievement of Technology KPIs and objectives. Ensure that evaluation systems are in place
related to these goals and objectives and report progress to the Executive Team.
• Oversee technology initiatives and projects in the context of Cara Collective’s strategic priorities.

Qualifications
• A minimum of 7 years of data management experience, with Salesforce experience and ideally Salesforce Admin
Certification.
• No degree requirement, but relevant education includes degree or coursework in Information Systems, Business,
Computer Science, Library Science, or other relevant disciplines.
• Expertise and comfort in using Excel for data manipulation and data transformation, including use of advanced
Excel formulas.
• Expertise in Microsoft environment and SharePoint.
• Professional experience or demonstrated interest in human services, workforce development, social
entrepreneurship, or other content area relevant to Cara Collective’s mission.
• Strong analytical and abstraction skills, with the ability to understand the relationships between components and
ask clarifying questions to investigate further.
• Excellent oral, written, and listening communication skills; cross-functional collaboration/teamwork skills; and
the ability to manage multiple priorities in a dynamic, fast-paced environment.
• High accountability for strict deadlines; high attention to detail; ability to manage multiple tasks in a fast-paced
environment.

Workplace Type & Team Culture
Cara Collective has a strong team culture that values collaboration, communication, and camaraderie. We believe in the
power of working together in person, which is why we expect our employees to be onsite at one of our Chicago-based
locations multiple days each week. The exact number of onsite days per week may vary by role, employee tenure, and other
factors. This commitment to in-person collaboration fosters a sense of belonging and teamwork among our employees,
creating a supportive and dynamic work environment.
We consistently measure staff satisfaction through employee surveys and have found that year after year, the vast majority
of staff agree that Cara Collective is a great place to work and grow. This high level of employee satisfaction reflects our
dedication to creating a positive and fulfilling workplace for all members of our team.

Starting Pay Range
We take budget and starting salary very seriously. We market our roles and use a salary analysis tool called Payscale and
offer competitive, market-based compensation to all employees.

This position’s expected starting pay range is $105,000 - $110,000 annually.

Benefits
 Medical, Dental, Vision Plans
 Basic Life Insurance
 Long Term Disability
 Personal Technology Stipend
 4 Weeks Paid Parental Leave
 Starting with 17 Vacation Days, 8 Sick Days,
 14 Paid Holidays

Employee Paid Benefits
 Pre-Tax Medical Flexible Spending Account
 Pre-Tax Dependent Care Account
 Pre-Tax Transit & Parking Options
 Supplemental Life and AD&D Insurance
 Short-Term Disability Insurance
 401(k) Retirement Plan (employer match up to 4% upon hire & immediately vested)

As of this posting, we annually review our benefit offerings to meet our employees' needs and be competitive in the
market. All listed benefits offerings are at the discretion of the employer.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Cara Collective is committed to creating a diverse work environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. Cara
Collective does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, gender identity, religion, sexual orientation,
age, disability, parental status, veteran status, or any other protected status under applicable laws. We encourage individuals
of all backgrounds to apply. If you are a qualified candidate with a disability, please email us at kboelkens@carachicago.org
if you require reasonable accommodation to complete this application.