Business Systems Director

Description

Join Us in the Fight Against Hunger!

At the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina, we believe in a future where no one goes hungry. Our mission is simple but powerful: Nourish people. Build solutions. Connect communities.

We’re looking for passionate, dedicated people to bring their talents to an organization where every role makes a real difference. Guided by our values - Integrity, Compassion, Dedication, Teamwork, and Fun - we work hard, support one another, and celebrate the impact we create together.

If you’re ready to put purpose at the center of your career, we’d love to have you on our team!

ABOUT THE ROLE

The Business Systems Manager serves as the primary technical owner of the Food Bank’s core business applications, including the ERP (Ceres on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central) and the integrated fundraising CRM environment (Bonterra EveryAction and Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT) — the systems that track every pound of food through our warehouses and power the fundraising and donor relationships that make our work possible.

This role blends hands-on system administration, project and upgrade leadership, business analysis, and close partnership with the Data Analytics team: keeping these systems healthy and well-governed day to day, guiding departments in using them effectively, and leading the upgrades, integrations, and improvement projects that keep the Food Bank’s technology aligned with its mission.

Reporting to the VP of Technology and Data Strategy, the Business Systems Manager ensures these systems directly support the Food Bank’s mission to nourish people, build solutions, and connect communities, and to serve neighbors experiencing hunger and strengthen the network of partner agencies across our communities. This is a role for a systems generalist who wants genuine ownership: you will be the person our finance, operations, development, and communications teams turn to when they need to understand what the systems can do — and the person trusted to run this portfolio in a mission-driven environment.

Responsibilities

System Ownership & Administration

Serve as the primary technical owner and administrator for Ceres on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, Raiser’s Edge NXT, and EveryAction — including user account provisioning, security roles and permissions, configuration, and routine maintenance — and administer additional SaaS applications in the portfolio as assigned.

Monitor system health, scheduled jobs, and the integrations between Raiser’s Edge NXT and EveryAction (and between the CRM environment and other systems), troubleshooting sync errors and data discrepancies before they affect staff, donors, or partner agencies.

Manage software licenses, subscriptions, and renewals across the business application portfolio; track entitlements, forecast costs, and identify savings opportunities — recognizing that every dollar saved extends the Food Bank’s capacity to serve neighbors.

Maintain current documentation of system configurations, integrations, business processes, and administrative procedures.

Project & Upgrade Leadership

Plan and lead upgrades, migrations, and implementation projects for the ERP and CRM environment — including scoping, vendor coordination, testing, data validation, training, cutover, and post-go-live support — with minimal disruption to food distribution and fundraising operations.

Guide the ERP platform roadmap, including evaluation and planning for future migration and upgrade paths.

Manage relationships with software vendors and implementation partners (Blackbaud, Bonterra, Ceres solution partners), holding them accountable to timelines, budgets, and quality.

Evaluate new tools, modules, and integrations; make build/buy/configure recommendations grounded in total cost of ownership and staff capacity.

Business Analysis & Departmental Guidance

Partner with Finance, Operations, Development, Communications, Community Impact, Data Analytics and other departments as necessary to understand their workflows and translate business needs into system configurations, reports, and process improvements — leading process and data mapping efforts where needed to support system changes and improvement projects.

Assist with workflow automation efforts across the business application portfolio, identifying opportunities to reduce manual effort and connect systems.

Support end-user training in partnership with departmental business owners, providing system documentation and training materials for the platforms this role supports.

Data Analytics Partnership

Serve as the Data Analytics team’s subject-matter expert on source-system data structures, field definitions, and the behavior of integrations, ensuring they have reliable, well-understood data for measuring and expanding the Food Bank’s impact.

Resolve source-system data quality issues and flag upstream changes — upgrades, configuration changes, integration modifications — that could affect reports.

Support operational data needs between business systems — imports, exports, and reconciliations, particularly between fundraising and finance — coordinating with the Data Analytics team where reporting pipelines depend on source systems.

Partner with the Director of Data Analytics on data governance across core systems and support data quality and related standards.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Information Systems, Business Administration, or a related field; equivalent combination of education and experience will be considered.
• 5+ years of combined experience administering and/or analyzing enterprise business systems (ERP, CRM, or comparable line-of-business platforms).
• Demonstrated experience leading a system upgrade, migration, or implementation from planning through go-live.
• Strong business analysis skills: process mapping, requirements gathering, data mapping, and workflow documentation.
• Experience managing vendor relationships and software licensing/renewals.
• Excellent communication skills, with a proven ability to explain technical concepts to non-technical staff and to elicit real requirements from busy departments.
• Strong data skills: comfort with data imports/exports, deduplication, reconciliation, and troubleshooting data discrepancies across integrated systems.
• Self-directed work style; able to own a portfolio with minimal supervision, prioritize competing requests, and communicate status proactively.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central (or Dynamics NAV); direct experience with the Ceres food banking solution is a significant plus.
• Experience with Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT and/or Bonterra (EveryAction) products.
• Nonprofit experience, especially in food banking or another Feeding America network organization.
• Familiarity with fundraising operations and development data practices (gift processing, appeals, acknowledgments, donor segmentation).
• Working familiarity with reporting and query tools (Jet Reports, SQL, Power BI, or comparable) — enough to collaborate effectively with a data analytics team and troubleshoot source-data questions.
• Experience with workflow automation tools and administering integrations between SaaS platforms (native connectors, API-based syncs, iPaaS, or comparable).
• Formal project management training or certification (CAPM, PMP, or equivalent practical experience).

CORE COMPETENCIES

Technical Ownership — Takes full accountability for application reliability and user experience, treating systems as their own. Process & Systems Thinking — Sees business processes end-to-end across departments and systems, and finds the right point to intervene.

Versatility — Comfortable spanning ERP, CRM, productivity, integration, and reporting responsibilities in a lean team structure. Collaboration — Works effectively with infrastructure, cybersecurity, data, and support teams, as well as business stakeholders across departments.

Communication — Translates application and process concepts into language that leadership, peers, and end users can understand.

Continuous Learning — Stays current with evolving SaaS platforms, automation tools, and AI-assisted technologies.

Calm Under Pressure — Maintains composure and clear thinking during incidents and high-priority cutovers, providing steady direction to the team.

Stewardship — Manages application investments, licenses, and vendor relationships responsibly, recognizing the direct link between operational efficiency and mission delivery.

Mission Alignment — Grounds application decisions in the Food Bank’s mission and the needs of neighbors and partner agencies.

Physical Requirements

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. While performing the essential functions of this position, the employee is regularly required to talk, hear, and interact without deliberate impediment. The employee is often required to sit and use their hands and fingers to handle or feel. The employee is occasionally required to stand, walk, reach with arms and hands, climb, balance, to stoop, crouch or crawl, and to lift and/or carry up to 30 pounds. Vision abilities required by this job include close vision.

These physical demands are representative of the physical requirements necessary for an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of the job. Reasonable accommodations can be made to enable people with disabilities to perform the described essential functions.

Work Environment

While performing the responsibilities of the job, the employee is required to work in an office setting. Occasionally, the employee will be required to drive an automobile. The employee is required to interact with employees and customers in their offices, in the community at large, the warehouse or in branches of the Food Bank. In doing so, the employee will occasionally be exposed to moving mechanical parts and vehicles. The noise level in the work environment is usually quiet to moderate.

While performing the responsibilities of the job, these work environment characteristics are representative of the environment the job holder will encounter. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable people with disabilities to perform the described essential functions.

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature of the work being performed by people assigned this job. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all essential functions and skills required of personnel so classified.