Salesforce Administrator

About Us
Independent Sector (IS) is the nation's membership organization for nonprofits and philanthropy. Our vision is for a charitable sector that is healthy, trusted, and equitable and helps all people in the United States thrive in a vibrant civil society and just democracy. We unite nonprofits and philanthropy to strengthen the charitable sector, identifying structural challenges and mobilizing around policy and practice solutions. Independent Sector aims for a sector where charitable organizations are financially robust; powered by a thriving workforce that reflects the communities they serve; trusted, well-governed, and effective; and informed and active advocates.

Driven by the deep recognition of our impact, our organization is growing to meet the need for our services. At IS, we are seeking passionate individuals with a deep understanding of the social sector and a commitment to strengthening nonprofit institutions that, in turn, strengthen our nation. We deeply value diversity, equity, and inclusion, and we welcome those who bring their whole selves to our work. In this role, you will have a unique opportunity to shape the future of our team and our sector. If you are ready to make a meaningful impact, drive transformative change, and lead with purpose and passion, we invite you to join us in advancing this critical mission.

Summary

At Independent Sector, technology and data help us better understand, connect, and serve the nonprofit and philanthropic sector. We are looking for a Salesforce Administrator who is excited about using technology to strengthen a mission-driven organization and help our teams work more effectively.

This role has meaningful ownership of Independent Sector's Salesforce environment and works directly with staff to understand business needs, improve processes, strengthen data practices, and help the organization get greater value from Salesforce and connected systems. Our Salesforce environment is relatively small, offering breadth, autonomy, and the opportunity to see the direct impact of your work across the organization.

What Success Looks Like

Success in this role means staff can rely on Salesforce and connected systems to support their work; organizational data becomes increasingly accurate, accessible, and useful; processes become easier and more efficient; and Independent Sector continues to get greater value from its technology investments.

Just as importantly, the Salesforce Administrator will become a trusted partner to colleagues who understands both the technology and the people and processes the technology is intended to support.

Work Location: This position follows Independent Sector's hybrid work model and requires regular in-person work in our Washington, DC office Tuesday through Thursday. Candidates must live in the Washington, DC metropolitan area by the time they begin the position and be able to work regularly from our DC office.

Essential Job Functions

• Serve as the primary administrator and technical resource for Independent Sector's Salesforce platform, with ownership of its day-to-day functionality, platform strategy, standards, and continuous improvement.
• Manage Salesforce users and access, platform configuration, automation, reporting, and other core administrative functions.
• Establish and maintain Salesforce and data governance standards, including data definitions, naming conventions, configuration standards, and data-management practices.
• Partner with staff to understand business needs and translate them into practical, maintainable Salesforce, workflow, reporting, and data solutions.
• Design, test, document, and deploy enhancements to Salesforce functionality and business processes.
• Monitor Salesforce performance, storage, automation, integrations, and data quality, and address issues that could affect platform effectiveness.
• Troubleshoot Salesforce and related system issues, identify root causes, and implement or recommend appropriate solutions.
• Monitor and support integrations and data flows between Salesforce and other organizational systems, coordinating with consultants and vendors when specialized expertise is required.
• Maintain the accuracy, consistency, and overall quality of Salesforce data, including processes for identifying and resolving duplicate, incomplete, inconsistent, or inaccurate records.
• Develop reports and dashboards and provide user support, documentation, and training to help staff use Salesforce effectively and make better use of organizational data.

Supervisory Responsibilities
None

Experience & Education:

• Bachelor's degree and 3–5 years of relevant experience; or an equivalent combination of education and professional experience.
• 3–5 years of hands-on Salesforce administration experience in a production environment.
• Experience with Salesforce configuration, automation, reporting, data management, user support, and integrations with other SaaS platforms.
• Salesforce Administrator certification strongly preferred.
• Experience in a nonprofit, membership, association, or similarly structured organization is a plus.

Qualifications

• Strong analytical and troubleshooting skills, with the ability to identify root causes and distinguish requested solutions from underlying business needs.
• Ability to translate business needs into practical technology solutions and communicate technical concepts clearly to nontechnical staff.
• Working knowledge of relational data concepts and the ability to understand data relationships and flows across multiple systems.
• Sound judgment in evaluating competing priorities based on organizational impact, urgency, risk, and available resources.
• Strong documentation skills and attention to detail.
• Ability to work independently, collaborate effectively across the organization, and recognize when specialized technical expertise is needed.
• Curious and collaborative, with a commitment to continuously developing technical and business knowledge.
• Willingness to adhere to Independent Sector's organizational values of Leadership, Equity, Collaboration, and Well-Being.

Work Environment

The work environment is a typical office environment. The noise level is usually quiet. Less than 10% of travel is required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Physical Demands

• Remaining in a stationary position, often sitting for prolonged periods.
• Communicating with others to exchange information.
• Repeating motions, such as typing or answering a phone, that may include the wrists, hands, and/or fingers.
• Assessing the accuracy, neatness, and thoroughness of work.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.