CRM Architect
A CRM Architect leads the design, selection, development, implementation, and maintenance of a CRM platform, running the full project lifecycle and coordinating across departments to deliver an accessible, effective solution. This is a sample job description from Excelon Associates that you can adapt as a template for your own hire.
What does a CRM Architect do?
The CRM Architect leads the design, selection, development, implementation, and maintenance of complex information technology projects, specifically a customer relationship management (CRM) platform that initially services Student Affairs, Advancement, Workplace Solutions, and Marketing and Communications. The role collaborates within IT and across college departments to support customers and partners on all aspects of projects and service delivery, from requirements gathering and technical specifications through vendor evaluation, solution design, implementation, data management, and training.
It is a senior technical and project leadership role within the higher education sector.
A CRM Architect designs and delivers a customer relationship management platform and owns the full project management lifecycle: discovery, initiating, planning, executing, monitoring, controlling, and closing. In higher education, the platform typically supports recruitment, advancement, and communications functions across multiple departments.
What does the CRM Architect own?
Key responsibilities of a CRM Architect
- Architect a CRM solution that efficiently meets customer needs and fits well within the institution’s systems.
- Design, develop, maintain, and iterate systems and processes that provide accessible and effective user experiences.
- Provide impact analysis and integration needs with other systems, functional workflows, and departmental tasks.
- Perform the full range of the project management lifecycle: discovery, initiating, planning, executing, monitoring, controlling, and closing.
- Assemble the project team, assign responsibilities, identify resources, and develop schedules to ensure timely completion within schedule, budget, and design constraints.
- Manage vendors and vendor deliverables, prepare analyses or feasibility studies, and manage grant reporting and budgeting.
- Serve as the single point of contact for facilitation and communication of project goals, deliverables, and schedules, and coordinate user groups to define needs.
- Develop training programs and materials and provide hands-on support and training across programs and divisions.
- Stay current on emerging educational technology and accessibility laws, making recommendations about new tools.
What qualifications does the role require?
- Bachelor’s degree, with 3 to 5 years of demonstrated project leadership or project management experience.
- 3 to 5 years of demonstrated experience with CRM platforms, plus strong critical thinking, problem-solving, and communication skills.
- Demonstrated ability to work with technical teams and non-technical stakeholders, and to adhere to institutional policies and standards.
- Master’s degree and demonstrated experience in higher education.
Why is the CRM Architect role important?
A CRM is central infrastructure that touches recruitment, advancement, and communications. The architect ensures it is well-designed, integrated, and adopted, which determines whether the institution gets value from a major investment instead of an expensive system no one uses.
Because the role spans technical design and stakeholder management, the strongest architects can model a data integration and run a requirements session with non-technical staff in the same day. CRM projects fail more often on adoption than on technology, which makes that dual skill set decisive.
A hiring note from Excelon
CRM implementations in higher education succeed or stall on adoption, not architecture diagrams. Through our higher education practice, we look for architects who pair real CRM and project management depth with the ability to win over Student Affairs, Advancement, and Marketing users, since the institutions that get value from a CRM are the ones whose architect could lead both the build and the rollout.
The strongest architects can model a data integration and run a requirements session with non-technical staff in the same day.
Related sample job descriptions
CRM Architect: frequently asked questions
What does a CRM Architect do?
A CRM Architect leads the design, selection, development, implementation, and maintenance of a customer relationship management platform, managing the full project lifecycle and coordinating across departments from requirements gathering through training.
What qualifications does the role require?
This sample role requires a bachelor’s degree, 3 to 5 years of project leadership or project management experience, and 3 to 5 years of experience with CRM platforms. A master’s degree and higher education experience are preferred.
Which departments does the CRM platform serve?
In this sample, the CRM platform initially serves Student Affairs, Advancement, Workplace Solutions, and Marketing and Communications, with the architect coordinating needs across these units.
Is this a technical or a project role?
It is both. The CRM Architect needs deep technical knowledge of CRM systems and the project management discipline to run discovery, planning, execution, monitoring, and closing across the lifecycle.
Why is this role important?
A CRM is central infrastructure that touches recruitment, advancement, and communications. The architect ensures it is well-designed, integrated, and adopted, which determines whether the institution gets value from a major investment.
Hiring a CRM Architect?
Excelon Associates recruits CRM architects, IT project leaders, and higher education technology professionals for colleges and universities across the United States through our higher education recruitment practice. Retained executive search since 2007, headquartered in Asheville, NC, with offices in Boca Raton and Delray Beach, FL.
More Sample Job Descriptions
Templates you can adapt for your own roles.