At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead CRM strategy and implementation to support young athletes' development.
- Company: Join SportsAid, a charity empowering the next generation of British sporting talent.
- Benefits: Flexible working, competitive salary, healthcare, and professional development opportunities.
- Why this job: Make a real impact on young athletes' lives while driving digital transformation.
- Qualifications: Experience in CRM leadership within a charity and Salesforce expertise required.
- Other info: Collaborative environment with growth potential and a focus on inclusion.
The predicted salary is between 60000 - 60000 £ per year.
Salary £60,000 per annum FTE; pro-rated to £36,000 per annum for 3 days/week.
Founded in 1976, SportsAid is a national charity that provides recognition and financial help to emerging young talented sports people – the next generation of British sporting heroes and heroines – often at a crucial time in their personal and sporting development. SportsAid’s Mission is to champion and support the next generation of athletes to fulfil their potential in sport and life. We put athletes first. We champion fairness and inclusion. We work together. We are ambitious and accountable. We bring together partners, supporters and alumni to provide financial help, trusted guidance and belief – particularly at the moments when staying in sport becomes hardest.
About The Role
SportsAid is currently implementing Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud as our new organisation-wide CRM platform to strengthen engagement with athletes and their parents/care-givers, supporters and funders, partners, alumni, volunteers and other key stakeholders. The Head of CRM will provide strategic and operational leadership for the charity’s CRM function. Initially the focus of the role will be to realise the value of the implementation, including adoption, embedding ways of working and processes across teams, improving data quality, refining reporting, ensuring good system governance and optimising organisation-wide usage. Longer term, the role will develop and lead a CRM roadmap, identifying priorities and enhancements for future development and planning the strategic evolution of our new CRM ecosystem and long-term sustainability of our Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud platform. You will lead organisational change, embed best practice CRM processes, ensure high-quality data governance and maximise the value of CRM insights to support fundraising, programme delivery, marketing, partnerships and impact reporting.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
- Champion CRM adoption across all function areas.
- Serve as the internal subject matter expert on CRM best practice.
- Lead continuous improvement and optimisation of the platform.
- Develop and deliver a multi-year CRM roadmap aligned to organisational strategy.
- Act as Product Owner for Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud.
- Lead final configuration, rollout and optimisation of:
- Constituent management
- Fundraising and donation management
- Grants management
- Beneficiary engagement
- Programme and impact tracking
- Custom objects, fields, page layouts, record types
- Validation rules and automation
- Reports and dashboards
- Permission sets and role hierarchy
Data Governance & Compliance
- Develop and enforce data governance policies and procedures.
- Ensure compliance with UK GDPR and Charity Commission reporting requirements.
- Maintain data integrity, security and role-based access controls.
- Implement duplicate management, data cleansing and quality assurance processes.
- Develop data retention and archival policies.
Reporting, Insight & Impact Measurement
- Develop organisation-wide reporting frameworks.
- Build dashboards to support beneficiary progression and impact reporting.
- Ensure reliable KPI tracking aligned to Board reporting requirements.
- Support data-driven decision making at SMT and Board level.
User Adoption & Training
- Develop and deliver a CRM training strategy for all staff.
- Create user guides, process documentation and onboarding materials.
- Provide ongoing support and troubleshooting.
- Establish and support CRM ‘champions’ (super-users) across function teams.
- Monitor adoption metrics and address any resistance to change.
- Manage relationships with Salesforce partners and third-party vendors.
- Oversee licence management and budget control.
- Contribute to digital transformation projects across the charity.
ESSENTIAL SKILLS & EXPERIENCE
- Substantial experience of a similar role within a UK charity (essential).
- Experience with Marketing Cloud, Account Engagement (Pardot), Experience Cloud, Payment integrations (eg Stripe, FinDock), Grants management workflows.
- Experience managing small CRM or data teams.
- Understanding of impact measurement frameworks in sport or social change.
Salesforce & Technical Expertise
- Salesforce Administrator certification (ADM-201); ideally Salesforce Advanced Administrator certification.
- Strong understanding of data model architecture, schema design and object relationships, flow automation (Salesforce Flow), validation rules and approval processes, reports and dashboard development.
- Familiarity with managing integrations using APIs, middleware or tools such as REST/SOAP APIs, Zapier or similar marketing automation integrations.
- Experience in implementing and managing Salesforce Applications.
- Experience managing CRM data migrations.
- Understanding of role hierarchy, profiles and permission sets.
CRM Leadership Experience
- Proven experience leading CRM implementation or major system transformation.
- Experience developing CRM strategies in a UK charity, membership or sport organisation.
- Experience driving organisational adoption and behavioural change.
- Demonstrable success improving CRM data quality and insight capability.
Data & Governance
- Strong understanding of UK GDPR and data protection principles, data governance frameworks, information security best practice.
- Experience implementing data quality monitoring processes.
Project & Change Management
- Experience managing system rollouts and phased releases.
- Familiarity with Agile or iterative delivery approaches.
- Strong stakeholder engagement skills across technical and non-technical audiences.
- Ability to translate operational needs into technical CRM solutions.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Ability to influence senior leaders and Board members.
- Strong facilitation and training capability.
- Collaborative, solutions-focused and pragmatic approach.
Personal Attributes
- Strategic thinker with strong operational delivery capability.
- Highly organised with attention to detail.
- Comfortable working in a growing and evolving organisation; happy to be ‘hands on’.
- Passionate about the power of sport to change lives.
- Committed to inclusion, diversity and safeguarding principles.
Further Information
What We Offer: The opportunity to lead SportsAid’s digital transformation to ensure the charity is enabled to make a lasting impact on the lives of young athletes and their families. A collaborative, supportive working environment where your ideas and contributions are valued. Professional development opportunities to enhance your skills and grow within the role. Flexible working: reasonable flexible, remote and hybrid working options are available. Salary: a FTE salary of £60,000 per annum; pro-rated to £36,000 for 3 days/week. Pension: SportsAid makes a contribution of 3%, and the employee makes a minimum contribution of 5%. Healthcare: membership of the SportsAid private health insurance scheme is available for the employee with premiums paid by SportsAid. Cycle to Work Scheme: available to all staff. Death in Service Benefit: inclusion in company scheme. Season ticket loan: an interest free loan is available to all staff. Holidays: 25 days per year, plus Bank Holidays, increasing by 1 day for each year of service, up to 30 days (pro-rated for part-time roles).
Please apply with your CV and a one page cover note on how you meet the essential criteria to jobs@sportsaid.org.uk – the application deadline is by 5pm on Friday 17th April 2026. On receipt of your application, you will be sent a confidential equal opportunities form, which all applicants will be asked to complete. Shortlisted applicants will be notified by Wednesday 22nd April 2026 to have a preliminary online conversation with the recruiting panel (including the Chief Executive and the database implementation consultant). Interviews will be held in person on Thursday 30th April 2026 at the SportsAid office in London. Note: The SportsAid office is in London, but this role can be based remotely. As the role may involve indirect, online contact with young people, the appointee will be required to undergo an enhanced DBS check in relation to the post.
Head of CRM employer: Sport + Recreation Alliance
Contact Detail:
Sport + Recreation Alliance Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Head of CRM
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to your connections in the sports and charity sectors. Attend events, webinars, or even local meet-ups. You never know who might have the inside scoop on job openings or can put in a good word for you.
✨Tip Number 2
Show off your skills! Create a portfolio or a presentation that highlights your CRM expertise and how it can benefit SportsAid. Tailor it to their mission and values, and be ready to share it during interviews or networking chats.
✨Tip Number 3
Be proactive! Don’t just wait for job postings. Reach out directly to SportsAid or similar organisations. Express your interest in the Head of CRM role and ask if they’d be open to a chat about potential opportunities.
✨Tip Number 4
Prepare for interviews by researching SportsAid’s current CRM strategies and challenges. Think about how your experience aligns with their goals. This will show them you’re not just another candidate, but someone who genuinely cares about their mission.
We think you need these skills to ace Head of CRM
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your CV: Make sure your CV is tailored to the Head of CRM role. Highlight your relevant experience with CRM systems, especially Salesforce, and showcase how you've driven organisational change in previous roles.
Craft a Compelling Cover Note: Your cover note is your chance to shine! Use it to explain how you meet the essential criteria outlined in the job description. Be specific about your achievements and how they relate to SportsAid's mission.
Show Your Passion for Sport: We love candidates who are passionate about sport and its impact on lives. Make sure to weave in your enthusiasm for helping young athletes and how your skills can contribute to their success.
Apply Through Our Website: For a smoother application process, we encourage you to apply through our website. It helps us keep everything organised and ensures your application gets the attention it deserves!
How to prepare for a job interview at Sport + Recreation Alliance
✨Know Your CRM Inside Out
Make sure you’re well-versed in Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud and its features. Familiarise yourself with the specific functionalities that SportsAid is implementing, like constituent management and fundraising tools. This will show your potential employer that you’re not just a candidate, but a knowledgeable asset ready to hit the ground running.
✨Showcase Your Leadership Skills
As the Head of CRM, you’ll need to lead organisational change and champion CRM adoption. Prepare examples from your past experiences where you successfully led a team through a CRM implementation or transformation. Highlight how you managed resistance to change and drove user adoption.
✨Understand the Charity's Mission
SportsAid is all about supporting young athletes. Research their mission and values thoroughly. Be ready to discuss how your CRM strategies can align with their goals of championing fairness and inclusion, and how you can enhance their engagement with athletes and stakeholders.
✨Prepare for Technical Questions
Expect questions about data governance, compliance, and reporting frameworks. Brush up on UK GDPR principles and be prepared to discuss how you would ensure data integrity and security within the CRM system. Showing your technical expertise will reassure them that you can handle the complexities of the role.