Enterprise Product Lead - Salesforce

The Chronicle Of Higher Education, Inc.; Boston (MA); Hybrid; USD 157,000 - 228,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Tuition assistance

Wellness program

Job summary

Northeastern University is seeking an Enterprise Product Lead for Salesforce to design and execute a comprehensive Salesforce strategy. You will lead cross-functional teams to align Salesforce with business goals, manage vendor relationships, and drive stable, high-value application portfolios across the university.

The role requires a strong technical background, program management experience, and a proactive, adaptable mindset to keep pace with cloud/Salesforce trends and AI-enabled

Qualifications

• 10+ years in IT with at least 5+ years in a leadership role managing enterprise applications.
• Proven track record in digital transformation and large-scale IT projects.
• Extensive experience with Salesforce and multi-module deployments.
• Vendor and stakeholder management expertise.

Responsibilities

• Strategic leadership: develop and maintain the enterprise applications roadmap.
• Lead digital transformation efforts across overlapping initiatives.
• Mentor and grow a high-performance IT team.
• Engage business leaders to align applications with value.
• Oversee portfolio: prioritization, ROI, and risk.
• Ensure reliability, deployment, and lifecycle management of apps.
• Manage vendor relationships and contract negotiations.
• Ensure compliance and risk management for applications.

Skills

Salesforce

Vendor management

Leadership

Strategic planning

Stakeholder management

Communication

Agile

Education

Salesforce Certifications (Sales Cloud, Marketing Cloud)

Tools

Salesforce CRM

Data analytics tools

Job description

Enterprise Product Lead - Salesforce

About the Opportunity

This job description is intended to describe the general nature andlevel of work being performed by people assigned to thisclassification. It is not intended to be construed as an exhaustivelist of all responsibilities, duties and skills required ofpersonnel so classified.

JOB SUMMARY

The Salesforce Enterprise Product Lead will lead our organization'sSalesforce strategy design and execution, ensuring it effectivelysupports business processes and objectives. The role involves theexecution of strategic planning, leading implementation initiativesand continuous improvement of Salesforce solutions to optimize dataintegrity, operational efficiency and business outcome delivery.The position requires a strong technical background in Salesforceapplications, project/program management, and an ability tocollaborate with cross-functional teams to align Salesforceapplications with business needs, manage vendor relationships andlead support teams that will help the organization achieve andmaintain a stable and responsive portfolio of applications. It isexpected that this leader will help our organization keep up withthe latest trends in the Salesforce market, including (but notlimited to) the use of modern approaches such as cloud Salesforce,platform-as-a-service capabilities and embedded AI capabilities.The Salesforce-focused EPL will need to help manage costs andprioritize initiatives with business stakeholders, drivingmeasurable value from the early to the late stages of suchinitiatives

This role is critical to ensuring that our business technologysolutions align with our university strategy, enhance operationalefficiencies and provide competitive advantage. As a key member ofthe senior IT management team, the EPL will collaborate closelywith other leaders in IT and business units to spearhead digitaltransformation initiatives, optimize application value, and ensurethe security and compliance of our application landscape.

This role requires occasional availability outside of traditionalworking hours to address urgent business needs as they arise,including, but not limited to, responding to security incidents,supporting software deployments, resolving software issues orsystem breaks, and addressing other critical operationalrequirements. The ideal candidate must be proactive and adaptable,ensuring minimal disruption to business operations by promptlyaddressing any issues, regardless of time or day. Flexibility and astrong sense of urgency are essential for success in thisposition.

This role is hybrid and in the office a minimum of three days aweek to facilitate collaboration and teamwork. In-office presenceis an essential part of our on-campus culture and allows forengaging directly with staff and students, sharing ideas, andcontributing to a dynamic work environment. Being on-site allowsfor stronger connections, more effective problem-solving, andenhanced team synergy, all of which are key to achieving ourcollective goals and driving success.

This role requires flexibility in performing duties outside of theprimary responsibilities to support evolving business needs. Theideal candidate must be adaptable and willing to take on additionaltasks or projects as required, ensuring smooth operations acrossthe organization. This may include stepping in to assist withcross-functional teams, handling unexpected challenges, orcontributing to initiatives that support business growth andsuccess. A proactive mindset and the ability to pivot quickly areessential for thriving in this dynamic environment.

Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States. The University is unable to work sponsor for this role, now or in the future.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Minimum of 10 years' experience in IT, with at least five yearsin a leadership role managing enterprise applications supportingmultiple business units, including the management of security,business process, reporting, and integration resources.
• Proven track record of leading digital transformationinitiatives and implementing large-scale IT projects.
• Extensive experience with Salesforce, preferably in anenvironment that deployed 3+ modules.
• Demonstrated success in vendor and stakeholdermanagement.
• In-depth knowledge of enterprise application platforms, cloudcomputing, immersion technologies, and general IT architecture forsecurity and integrations. Ability to use strategic planning totranslate business goals into technology solutions. At least one ofthe following certifications required: Salesforce Salescloud,Marketingcloud, Agentforce
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills. Ability tocollaborate simultaneously with multiple executives from differentparts of the organization, stakeholders and teams across theorganization, and to influence people to achieve common goals.Experience partnering with Fundraising or Higher Educationdesired.
• Strong project management skills, including experience withagile methodologies and change management.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving abilities; proficiencyin data analysis and performance metrics.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES & ACCOUNTABILITIES

• Strategic leadership: Develop and implement acomprehensive strategy for enterprise applications that supportsour organization's business goals and objectives. In collaborationwith the software engineering team, carry out buy-build-customizeanalyses and develop plans to operationalize the results. Own,maintain and promote awareness of the application strategicroadmap.
• Leadership of digital transformation efforts: Identifyopportunities for innovation and improvement, while overseeingongoing implementation of multiple, overlapping large applicationinitiatives.
• Team leadership and development: Lead, mentor anddevelop a high-performance team of IT professionals. Foster aculture of innovation, excellence and ongoing improvement.
• Business engagement: Develop productive relationshipswith business leaders across our organization to influence howapplications can enable new sources of value. Conduct regularsurveys of stakeholders' satisfaction with applications, publishthe results and, where necessary, implement action plans to improvesatisfaction.
• Portfolio management: Oversee the management of ourenterprise applications portfolio, ensuring it meets current andfuture business requirements. Evaluate and prioritize objects basedon strategic alignment, return on investment and risk. Performongoing buy-build-customization analyses for current and futurecomponents of the portfolio. Identify opportunities for systemmodernization, integration, automation and rationalization.
• Operational excellence: Safeguard the reliability,availability and performance of our enterprise applications. Implement best practices for application life cycle management,including development, deployment, maintenance and support. Managemaster data across applications.
• Vendor management: Establish and maintain strongrelationships with key vendors and partners. Develop a nuancedunderstanding of strategic vendors' roadmaps and how these willsupport the company's business objectives. Collaborate with ITsourcing and vendor management teams to strengthen the company'sposition when negotiating with software and service vendors.
• Risk management and compliance: Work with our internalgovernance team to ensure enterprise applications comply with allrelevant laws, regulations and industry standards. Oversee riskmanagement processes to identify, assess and mitigate risksassociated with applications and database systems.
• Budget management: Develop and manage the budget forenterprise applications, ensuring optimal allocation of resourcesand cost-effectiveness.

Competencies & Key Behaviors

• Technical expertise: In-depth knowledge of enterpriseapplication platforms, cloud computing and immersion technologies.Ability to use strategic planning to translate business goals intotechnology solutions. At least one of the following certificationsrequired: Salesforce SalesCloud, CommerceCloud, Ascend,ExperienceCloud, MarketingCloud
• Communication and collaboration: Exceptionalcommunication and interpersonal skills. Ability to collaboratesimultaneously with multiple executives from different parts of theorganization, stakeholders and teams across the organization, andto influence people to achieve common goals. Experience partneringwith Fundraising or Higher Education desired.
• Project management: Strong project management skills,including experience with agile methodologies and changemanagement.
• Analytical skills: Excellent analytical andproblem-solving abilities; proficiency in data analysis andperformance metrics.

Position Type

Information Technology

Additional Information

Northeastern University considers factors such as candidate workexperience, education and skills when extending an offer.

Northeastern has a comprehensive benefits package for benefiteligible employees. This includes medical, vision, dental, paidtime off, tuition assistance, wellness & life, retirement- aswell as commuting & transportation. Visit https://hr.northeastern.edu/benefits/ for more information.

• medical
• vision
• dental
• paidtime off
• tuition assistance
• welfare & life
• retirement- aswell as commuting & transportation

All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply and will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion,color, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, disabilitystatus, or any other characteristic protected by applicablelaw.

Compensation Grade/Pay Type

115S

Expected Hiring Range

$157,130.00 - $227,840.00

With the pay range(s) shown above, the starting salary will dependon several factors, which may include your education, experience,location, knowledge and expertise, and skills as well as a paycomparison to similarly-situated employees already in the role.Salary ranges are reviewed regularly and are subject tochange.