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- Tasks: Lead the transformation to Salesforce CRM, ensuring quality and strategic implementation.
- Company: Join Baillie Gifford, a forward-thinking firm committed to innovation.
- Benefits: Enjoy a competitive salary, inclusive culture, and opportunities for professional growth.
- Why this job: Be at the forefront of a major cloud transformation and make a real impact.
- Qualifications: Proven Salesforce experience and ability to bridge business and technology.
- Other info: Dynamic role with a focus on collaboration and long-term platform success.
The predicted salary is between 54000 - 84000 £ per year.
The Firm is replacing a legacy CRM platform of nearly two decades with Salesforce. Given the scale, irreversibility, and strategic importance of this change, this role exists to act as the Firm's delivery assurance and platform stewardship lead. This role acts as a key central role between our technical delivery teams and business specialists by providing independent challenge, risk visibility, and deep Salesforce expertise, while leaving day-to-day delivery execution and planning firmly with the core project roles.
This is a fixed-term, outcome-focused role created to ensure the successful end-to-end implementation of Salesforce CRM across the Firm, sponsored by the Clients Department. The role exists to strengthen delivery quality, protect long-term platform value, and ensure the Firm extracts the best outcomes from both the implementation partner and the Salesforce platform.
Cloud SaaS Design & Architecture Expectations: This role exists in the context of implementing Salesforce as a multi-tenant, cloud-based SaaS platform, not as a bespoke or on-premise system replacement. The CRM Transformation & Delivery Assurance Lead is expected to set and uphold clear expectations that all design, architecture, and delivery decisions reflect cloud SaaS best practice, alongside specialists from the Architecture and Delivery function. Specifically, the role will ensure that:
- Salesforce is implemented as a standardised, upgrade-safe cloud SaaS platform, not customised to replicate legacy CRM behaviour.
- Configuration is the default approach, with customisation only where explicitly justified against business intent.
- Architectural decisions remain loosely coupled, API-led, and aligned to Salesforce release cadence and roadmap.
- Integration patterns avoid brittle point-to-point dependencies and favour platform-native capabilities.
- Cloud operational realities (release cadence, environment strategy, security, data residency, and cost model) are considered early.
This role does not replace solution or enterprise architects from the Architecture and Delivery function, but acts as the Firm-side guardian of cloud SaaS integrity, ensuring architectural choices are sustainable, supportable, and aligned to how Salesforce is designed to operate. The guiding principle is simple: we are adopting a cloud platform, not recreating a legacy system in the cloud.
Responsibilities
- Implementation Partner Challenge & Leverage: Act as senior Firm-side counterpart to the implementation partner. Challenge scope assumptions, estimates, and delivery approaches. Ensure design artefacts are reusable, partner-agnostic, and well documented. Guard against scope fragmentation and incremental commercial drift.
- Salesforce Platform Stewardship: Ensure Salesforce is implemented as a cloud SaaS platform using configuration-first principles. Govern configuration vs customisation decisions based on functional intent and long-term impact. Protect upgradeability, scalability, and alignment with Salesforce roadmap. Engage Salesforce Customer Success / Signature Success where appropriate.
- Business Readiness & Adoption Enablement: Ensure business requirements are translated into platform-appropriate outcomes. Challenge unnecessary recreation of legacy behaviours. Support readiness across relationship, servicing, and leadership user groups. Enable sustainable internal Salesforce capability alongside the Product Owner.
- Data, Analytics & Migration Oversight: Ensure data readiness is treated as a first-class workstream. Surface Firm-side data ownership, quality, and remediation effort early. Support pragmatic migration scoping decisions. Ensure analytics is treated as decision enablement rather than reporting replication.
- Risk, Governance & Executive Visibility: Maintain oversight of the CRM risk register and RAG status. Highlight risks requiring executive attention. Provide clear options and trade-offs to sponsors and SteerCo. Ensure success is defined by value realised, not just go-live.
- AI, Security & Non-Functional Readiness: Gate AI adoption through policy alignment, data maturity, and commercial transparency. Promote phased, value-led AI adoption. Ensure performance, resilience, and compliance requirements are validated early.
- End-to-End Delivery Assurance: Has awareness of the overall delivery plan and provides CRM specialist support where required. Confirm legacy CRM decommissioning is planned and achievable. Surface delivery risks early, before they crystallise into delays or rework.
Your knowledge and experience
Essential:
- Proven experience delivering large-scale Salesforce CRM implementations end-to-end.
- Strong understanding of cloud SaaS delivery models and SDLC discipline.
- Experience challenging top-tier implementation partners.
- Background in Asset Management, Financial Services, or regulated environments.
- Ability to bridge business, technology, and commercial considerations.
Desirable:
- Experience with Salesforce Financial Services Cloud.
- Experience with complex data migration and integration estates.
- Exposure to AI, analytics, or data-driven CRM capabilities.
- Salesforce certifications (Administrator, App Builder, Consultant).
The type of candidate that we're looking for: The ideal candidate is a senior Salesforce CRM delivery expert who can act as the firm-side guardian of a major cloud CRM transformation, ensuring that Salesforce is implemented as a true cloud SaaS platform rather than a recreation of legacy systems. They bring independent challenge, delivery assurance, architectural discipline, and business-technology translation skills to a high-stakes programme.
Critical skills:
- Digital effectiveness (including AI).
- Enabling others.
- Improvement mindset.
- Systems thinking.
- Team working.
Closing Date: February 12, 2026. At Baillie Gifford we are committed to fostering an inclusive and respectful culture in which each of our colleagues can thrive and develop. We believe that our clients are best served by a diverse workforce with the experiences, ideas and perspectives that this brings. If you are currently working at Baillie Gifford as an employee or contractor please apply to this job from the firm's Workday internal career site.
CRM Transformation & Delivery Assurance Lead (20 month fixed term contract) employer: Baillie Gifford
Contact Detail:
Baillie Gifford Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land CRM Transformation & Delivery Assurance Lead (20 month fixed term contract)
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to your connections in the industry, especially those who have experience with Salesforce or CRM transformations. A friendly chat can lead to insider info about job openings that aren't even advertised yet.
✨Tip Number 2
Prepare for interviews by diving deep into Salesforce and cloud SaaS best practices. Brush up on your knowledge of implementation strategies and be ready to discuss how you can ensure the successful delivery of projects like the one we're working on.
✨Tip Number 3
Showcase your expertise! Bring examples of past projects where you've successfully challenged assumptions or improved delivery outcomes. This will demonstrate your ability to act as a guardian of cloud SaaS integrity, just like we need for this role.
✨Tip Number 4
Don't forget to apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets seen by the right people. Plus, it shows you're genuinely interested in joining our team at Baillie Gifford.
We think you need these skills to ace CRM Transformation & Delivery Assurance Lead (20 month fixed term contract)
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your Application: Make sure to customise your CV and cover letter to highlight your experience with Salesforce CRM implementations. We want to see how your skills align with the role, so don’t hold back on showcasing your relevant achievements!
Showcase Your Expertise: This role is all about delivery assurance and platform stewardship, so be sure to emphasise your knowledge of cloud SaaS models and your ability to challenge implementation partners. We’re looking for someone who can bridge the gap between business and technology.
Be Clear and Concise: When writing your application, keep it straightforward and to the point. Use bullet points where possible to make your key achievements stand out. We appreciate clarity and want to quickly see why you’d be a great fit for our team!
Apply Through Our Website: Don’t forget to submit your application through our official website! It’s the best way for us to receive your details and ensures you’re considered for this exciting opportunity. We can’t wait to hear from you!
How to prepare for a job interview at Baillie Gifford
✨Know Your Salesforce Inside Out
Make sure you brush up on your Salesforce knowledge, especially around cloud SaaS delivery models. Be ready to discuss how you've successfully implemented Salesforce in the past and how you can ensure it aligns with best practices.
✨Understand the Business Needs
Get a solid grasp of the business requirements that the firm is looking to address with this CRM transformation. Think about how you can translate those needs into platform-appropriate outcomes and be prepared to challenge any legacy behaviours.
✨Prepare for Technical Discussions
Since this role involves acting as a bridge between technical teams and business specialists, be ready to dive deep into technical discussions. Familiarise yourself with integration patterns and architectural decisions that support a cloud-based approach.
✨Showcase Your Risk Management Skills
Highlight your experience in maintaining oversight of risk registers and providing clear options to stakeholders. Be prepared to discuss how you've managed risks in previous projects and how you can ensure successful delivery without delays.
