Salesforce Lead

About the Organization

We are a mission-driven organization dedicated to delivering clean, modern energy solutions to underserved households in East Africa. Our work directly supports global climate goals and gender equity by helping rural families transition away from polluting fuels.

We are a small but ambitious team of approximately 100 professionals based in East Africa, with an increasing number of remote roles globally. We value autonomy, trust, and transparent communication. Our culture is practical, grounded, and committed to finding scalable solutions that deliver meaningful impact for rural communities.

About the Role

We are seeking an experienced Salesforce Lead to oversee a Salesforce environment supporting about 100+ users. Our Salesforce ERP is five years old and relatively stable, but requires continuous evolution to meet changing business needs.

In this role, you will manage a team of two direct reports, drive technical architecture decisions, and serve as the primary liaison between business stakeholders and the technical team. This position reports directly to the CEO.

Key Responsibilities

Technical Leadership (20%)

• Design and oversee scalable Salesforce solutions aligned with business objectives.

• Establish and maintain technical standards, best practices, and coding guidelines.

• Review and approve all custom development, integrations, and major configurations.

• Optimize system performance and data architecture (Environment: 100 custom objects, 15GB data).

• Conduct regular audits to identify and remediate technical debt.

• Oversee data governance, security models, and backup/recovery procedures.

People Management & Mentorship (40%)

• Manage and develop a team of junior resources

• Conduct regular 1:1s, performance reviews, and career development planning.

• Delegate work appropriately and provide technical guidance on escalations.

• Foster a collaborative team environment focused on continuous improvement.

Business Analysis & Stakeholder Management (20%)

• Gather and document business requirements from various departments.

• Translate business needs into technical specifications and user stories.

• Lead discovery sessions and requirement workshops with business users.

• Manage stakeholder expectations and communicate technical constraints clearly.

Project Management & Delivery (20%)

• Plan and prioritize Salesforce initiatives and enhancements.

• Manage project timelines, resources, and deliverables.

• Coordinate release planning and change management activities.

• Ensure proper testing, documentation, and user training for all releases.

Required Skills & Experience

• Experience

• 5+ years of hands-on Salesforce experience (both administration and development).

• 2+ years in a technical leadership or team lead capacity.

• Proven track record of delivering complex Salesforce projects.

• Experience managing data at scale (archiving, quality, and performance optimization).

• Demonstrated ability to mentor and develop junior technical staff.

• Technical Skills

• Expert Knowledge: Configuration, objects, fields, validation rules, security models, and Salesforce Flow.

• Development: Strong skills in Apex and SOQL/SOSL.

• Integrations: Experience with REST/SOAP APIs and middleware platforms.

• Tools: Proficiency with deployment tools and version control (Git).

• Data: Understanding of relational databases and data modeling.

• Soft Skills

• Excellent communication skills with the ability to explain technical concepts to non-technical audiences.

• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.

• Collaborative leadership style with a focus on team growth.

• Ability to balance competing priorities in a fast-paced environment.

• Preferred Qualifications

• Active Salesforce Certifications.

• Familiarity with cloud infrastructure (e.g., AWS) and third-party backup solutions.