Lead Salesforce Consultant

Hi, future teammate!

We are a dedicated group of data nerds inspired by the extraordinary things that can happen when people come together as a community.

We partner with organizations that see community building as a core part of their work. Alongside them we build customized (and beautiful) data tools and strategies to make their work easier and more impactful.

Technological change can be nerve-wracking and that’s why we prioritize the people, culture and long-term success of our community builders. We love to dive deep into new technologies and we surface the best to share with our people.

This position at other companies might be called “Principal Consultant.” Technical Lead is a critical and primary leadership role on one of OpenTent’s three consulting teams. The position exists to guide, support, and provide technical thought leadership to a team of Solutions Engineers, while also providing individual technical contributions to complex Salesforce builds. 

Working alongside a Technical Project Manager, you will be responsible for defining the scope of all projects your team of Engineers take on. You’ll ensure that there is a well-defined backlog of work for each client, that the work is being done correctly and efficiently, and that the team is moving through it and rolling it out to clients in a timely manner. Your exacting technical eye and extensive Salesforce project experience helps you to easily identify the best solutions and ensure they are implemented well. 

Successful candidates will be comfortable with situations such as: 

• Leading a discovery session where the client's stated needs conflict with their actual business processes 
• Providing technical guidance to a teammate who disagrees with your recommended approach 
• Personally debugging a complex integration issue while simultaneously preparing for a strategic planning meeting 
• Mentoring a junior consultant who is struggling with a client relationship while managing your own demanding project timeline 
• Making technical trade-off decisions when timeline, budget, and scope cannot all be optimized simultaneously Y

Your performance will be measured across technical leadership, team leadership, and individual technical contribution (build work).

Success in the role looks like: 

• Engineers on the Portfolio Team share information and work collaboratively 
• High level technical strategy/approach is defined for all projects and represented effectively in project backlogs 
• Technical risks are proactively identified and mitigated before they impact project delivery Product Owners and Engineers have the technical context needed to fulfill their responsibilities 
• Engineers on the Portfolio Team feel supported/mentored 
• QA is happening on all work 
• We are delivering work that meets OpenTent’s technical best practices 
• Delivery estimates are accurate and timeline milestones are being met 
• Technical Lead is personally contributing at the execution level in addition to the strategic level 
• Team utilization is >85% 
• Engineers on the Portfolio Team understand gaps in their technical and consulting skill sets 
• Engineers on the Portfolio Team adopt new technology and stay abreast of Salesforce releases 

Here are some things you can expect to do in the role: S

SCOPING: 

• Support Product Owners in client-facing discovery sessions with an eye towards technical communication, strategy, and data architecture 
• Act as primary engineer on complex projects and determine technical approach 
• Provide technical context to create build project backlogs with clearly defined requirements 
  • This sometimes involves building the backlog directly and sometimes involves collaboration with a Product Owner. There is shared responsibility for ensuring the backlog is complete from both a technical requirements and client prioritization perspective
• Collaborate with Project Managers to manage communication with clients and internal project teams so that everyone is on the same page and understands issues / features we are working on 
• Evaluate and qualify new and prospective client technical systems 
• Provide thought leadership on client support requests and help address underlying root causes 
• Map complex business processes and design Salesforce architecture and automation to support them 
• Take nebulous client problems and help break them down, so that clients and more junior teammates can easily understand how to address them 
• Analyze and mitigate technical and systemic risk 
• Hold context across technical strategy, execution timeline, systemic needs, and stakeholder priorities for 5-7 clients simultaneously
• Meet regularly with the Product Owner to provide technical insight and align on high-level approaches 

BUILDING: 
Note: You will be responsible for facilitating/leading some of what is listed below, and some items will be worked on in collaboration with other engineers. You won’t need to do all of this alone, but you will be accountable for the quality of work and support of the teammates on your team.

• Build A+ features and fixes in Salesforce for our clients, delivered on time and with long-term viability in mind
• Lead teammates to configure Salesforce to meet (and exceed) client needs
• Integrate Salesforce with third-party tools, including email marketing tools, online forms, and payment processors
• Manage data, including migration and cleanup/manipulation, alongside your teammates
• Troubleshoot and resolve complex issues in client instances
• Provide deep technical knowledge and configuration of Nonprofit Cloud and NPSP, as well as commonly used email marketing tools, online forms, and data import tools
• Enhance quality of systems and data through effective design, maintenance and security. 
• QA teammate work to ensure it meets OpenTent technical standards 

TRAINING: 

• Train client staff on the Salesforce features you build, both in person and virtually
• Design comprehensive testing and training plans for clients and teammates to support your solutions
• Oversee system rollouts to ensure client success + comprehensive client user adoption 
• Coach and mentor junior teammates, including providing performance feedback 
• Contributing to technical field guide/developing company-level best practices 
• Hold engineers on your team accountable for meeting deadlines, working within scope, and building to OpenTent technical standards
• Guide teammates in adopting new technologies and navigating new Salesforce releases
• Fuel your personal and professional development by constantly learning more about the software we use, the nonprofit field, and yourself on a personal level
• We'll make sure you have the resources to advance your own learning

• 5+ years with demonstrated track record of delivering 10+ complex Salesforce implementations ($50K+ scope) for nonprofit organizations
• 2+ years leading technical teams of 3+ consultants through complex project delivery, with evidence of team development and retention
• Salesforce Admin certification and Nonprofit Cloud certification (other Salesforce certifications a plus). 
• Ability (and excitement) to travel occasionally to client offices or to meet with your teammates (typically 1-2 times per year). 
• Ability (and excitement) to work out of our offices in Denver or Brooklyn, OR remotely via frequent video conferencing.
• Salesforce Developer experience is a plus but not required. The bulk of our work does not involve coding, but some of it definitely does, and if you can rock some Apex + Javascript we will absolutely be putting those skills to good use.
• Scrum certifications (Certified Scrum Master or Certified Product Owner) are a plus but not required. 

Compensation for a  Lead Salesforce Consultant role at OpenTent begins at $110,000/year and progresses up to $140,000/year based on experience.  Lead Salesforce Consultants are eligible for all of the great benefits offered to full-time OpenTent employees, including excellent no-premium medical coverage for you and your family, unlimited PTO, 401k matching after one year of service, team retreats, paid parental leave, continued professional development, and much more.