Specialist, Business Systems

Description

WHO WE ARE

In 2020, 11.6 million children in the U.S.—16% of all children nationwide—lived in poverty, and those children were disproportionately children of color. Students living in poverty often have physical and mental health, social-emotional, cognitive, and identity development needs that schools are not equipped to support. Rooted in community for more than 45 years, Communities In Schools (CIS) strives to bring community resources inside public schools, where they are accessible, coordinated, and accountable. CIS Co-Founder Bill Milliken said, “It’s relationships, not programs, that transform children. A great program simply creates the environment for healthy relationships to form between adults and children.” 

Bill Milliken’s vision is alive through a strong network of trained CIS staff imbedded in schools nationwide building support and relationships inside schools. Today, CIS serves more than 3,500 schools, the overwhelming majority are Title I-eligible schools across two channels: (1) independent affiliates and (2) licensed partnerships. Grounded in the power of transformative relationships to unlock a young person’s potential, CIS has a national, research-based history of delivering local results that support improved student relationships with adults, better-quality relationships with peers, and increased engagement and sense of belonging. These outcomes lead to improved attendance, improved academic success, and improved on-time high school graduation rates. 

MISSION AND VALUES 

Communities In Schools (CIS) is “all-in” for kids. It is our passion—it is our mission. At the National Office, CIS collaborates with local affiliate organizations to provide resources and create communities of caring adults who work hand-in-hand with educators to make sure young people have the tools they need to stay in school and achieve in life. We are the nation’s largest dropout prevention organization, and we achieve our mission by hiring bright, creative, and innovative team members who demonstrate a passion for what they do. 

‘Within the national office, we foster a culture inspired by our mission, our values of integrity, accountability, equity, collaboration, and excellence, and a commitment to Equity, and Inclusion. Our culture is centered on three core tenants:  

• We acknowledge contributions and perspectives. 
• We collaborate across roles and departments. 
• We honor a whole-person approach and encourage balance. 

We aim to create a psychologically safe environment where relationships matter, and mutual respect is paramount.  

ABOUT THE ROLE

Do you want your technology skills to make a difference beyond the screen?

The Specialist, Business Systems is responsible for the day-to-day administration, maintenance, and continuous improvement of CIS’s Salesforce environments and integrated applications supporting fundraising and network resources. Reporting to the Director, Business Systems, this role maintains system health, data integrity, security, and user access; troubleshoots technical issues and integrations; manages system updates, testing, and releases; and leads smaller-scale system improvements. The Specialist also provides user support and training, manages support requests, documents system processes, and partners with staff and external vendors to ensure systems meet business needs and operate effectively.

The role primarily supports one of CIS’s two Salesforce environments but requires working knowledge of both to support business continuity and balance workload as needed.

PRIMARY DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

System Administration and Maintenance (30%)

• Maintain Salesforce system health, configurations, security, and platform updates.
• Configure and maintain objects, fields, page layouts, record types, list views, validation rules, reports, and dashboards.
• Conduct data audits, resolve duplicate records, support data imports, and maintain data quality.
• Monitor integrated applications, system storage, and license utilization.
• Investigate technical issues and integration failures, identify root causes, and coordinate timely resolutions with internal teams and vendors.

Security and User Access (10%)

• Manage user accounts, licenses, permissions, sharing rules, and internal and external access.
• Coordinate user onboarding, access changes, deactivation, and periodic access reviews.
• Apply established security and privacy practices to help ensure appropriate access to systems and data.

System Enhancements and Improvements (20%)

• Configure and test system enhancements in sandboxes before implementation.
• Conduct user acceptance and regression testing, validate deployments, and confirm system functionality after releases.
• Develop and maintain Salesforce flows and Experience Cloud components to support business processes.
• Identify opportunities to improve system functionality, efficiency, and user experience.
• Lead smaller system improvement projects, investigate business and technical challenges, recommend solutions, and implement approved changes.
• Document system configurations, changes, procedures, and processes.

Cross-Functional Support and Training (30%)

• Respond to support requests, troubleshoot technical issues, and help users resolve system and application problems.
• Provide guidance and training on system functionality and business processes.
• Develop and maintain user guides, training materials, and other documentation.
• Partner with staff to understand business needs and identify practical system solutions.
• Communicate progress on support requests and escalate complex issues as needed.

Release Management (10%)

• Monitor Salesforce releases, platform updates, and feature retirements.
• Assess potential impacts on system functionality, integrations, and business processes.
• Test updates and configuration changes before deployment and validate functionality afterward.
• Coordinate necessary changes and communicate updates to affected staff, providing training or documentation as needed.?

Requirements

SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATES ARE REQUIRED TO HAVE THE FOLLOWING SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skills and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable differently-abled individuals to perform the essential functions.

Required skills & qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in information technology, computer science, business, or a related field, or equivalent relevant experience.
• Minimum six years of related experience in business systems administration or comparable technical systems support, with a strong preference for 1–3 years of Salesforce experience.
• Salesforce Administrator certification preferred; candidates without certification must obtain it within their first year.
• Working knowledge of Salesforce configuration, data management, security, user access, reporting, dashboards, and application integrations.
• Experience troubleshooting technical issues, testing system changes, analyzing root causes, and recommending practical solutions.
• Strong written and verbal communication, customer service, and relationship-building skills, with the ability to work effectively with diverse colleagues, departments, vendors, and managed service providers.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively, manage competing priorities, adapt to change, and document processes clearly.
• Demonstrated commitment to continuous improvement, operational excellence, ongoing learning, and an inclusive, collaborative work environment.

TRAVEL

Travel of up to 5% may be required, including domestic travel within the United States and occasional overnight stays.

ABOUT US

CIS staff continue to work in a virtual environment; however, the national office is open and available for staff to use as appropriate. 

To ensure the health and safety of staff and job applicants, all interviews will be conducted by phone and/or video conference.

BENEFITS & PERKS

Work that makes a difference—the opportunity to contribute to an important mission!

Competitive and comprehensive compensation and benefits package, including:

• Five weeks of Paid Time Off
• Generous 403b Retirement Savings Plan contribution
• 10 Paid Holidays
• 90% of employee health care premiums paid by the organization
• Summer Work Schedule and Winter Break
• Employer-paid short-term and long-term income replacement programs, and much, much more!

Communities In Schools is committed to a workforce that is representative of the varied communities we are privileged to serve. We provide a work environment that does not discriminate based on race, color, national origin, gender, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, mental or physical disability, genetic information or any other basis protected by applicable law. CIS prohibits harassment of applicants or employees based on any of these protected categories. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

For more information on Communities In Schools please visit our website.