The purpose of this role is to lead the architecture capability of the company by establishing and maintaining the people, process and tooling that allows the leadership of the company to understand and change how both the business and technology operates.
Job Description:
Role Overview
The Salesforce Solutions Architecture Director is a senior leadership role combining client advisory, solution leadership and commercial acumen with responsibility for the technical strategy and capability development of the Salesforce team in Ireland.
The role translates client business priorities into compelling, commercially sound Salesforce solutions, leading executive conversations and shaping opportunities from discovery through proposal and delivery. It balances client value, solution quality, delivery feasibility and profitability.
As the senior technical authority for the Salesforce Practice, the role remains accountable for architecture quality, engineering standards, capability maturity and solution assurance, ensuring technical decisions support measurable client outcomes and sustainable growth.
Working closely with the sales, solutions, client leadership and alliance teams, the role helps set direction, prioritise capability investment and shape strategic pursuits. It provides visible senior leadership to clients and teams, connecting market ambition with the capability to win and deliver profitable Salesforce transformation programmes.
Key Responsibilities
Senior Leadership & People Development
- Contribute to Salesforce strategy and senior leadership decisions, bringing a clear view of client priorities, solution opportunities, commercial trade-offs and capability investment
- Directly lead, manage and develop the Ireland Salesforce technical and solutions team as a core priority
- Develop relationships and strong collaboration with other Merkle Salesforce delivery teams across UKI, EMEA and global delivery centres
- Provide leadership on modernisation of Salesforce delivery including AI, automation and evolving Salesforce product set.
- Set clear objectives, expectations and development priorities for the Ireland-based Solution Architects, Technical Architects and specialist consultants
- Own Ireland technical capability planning, including team shape, skills coverage, recruitment needs and succession planning
- Build a strong Ireland leadership bench by coaching future technical leaders and creating clear progression paths
- Establish regular coaching, mentoring and performance conversations across the Ireland technical team
- Create a clear sense of community, engagement and ownership across the Ireland Salesforce technical team
- Collaborate across the wider Salesforce Practice through matrix leadership, shared standards and communities of practice
- Influence and coordinate with UK&I Salesforce leadership to align Ireland capability priorities with wider practice goals
Capability Strategy
- Own the development of practice capability aligned to Salesforce market demand and business strategy
- Define the Salesforce capability roadmap to support the Salesforce GTMs
- Identify future skills requirements and capability gaps
- Drive certification and accreditation plans
- Develop reusable assets, accelerators and best-practice frameworks
- Embed consultative selling skills throughout the technical community
- Support GTM readiness for emerging Salesforce technologies
- Ensure technical capabilities align to future client & business demand
Architecture & Technical Governance
- Act as the technical design authority for the Salesforce Practice
- Own architecture governance across Salesforce engagements
- Establish technical standards and engineering principles
- Define architecture review processes
- Govern technical quality and design consistency
- Lead technical escalations and solution reviews
- Ensure delivery follows agreed architecture standards
- Drive quality assurance and technical risk management
- Promote scalable and repeatable delivery approaches
Client, Solutions & Commercial Leadership
- Build trusted relationships with senior client stakeholders, advising on how Salesforce can address business priorities and deliver measurable value
- Lead discovery and executive workshops to define the client problem, challenge assumptions and shape the transformation roadmap and investment case
- Own solution strategy and architecture for priority pursuits, bringing together business, platform, integration and delivery considerations into a coherent proposition
- Shape and qualify opportunities with growth and client leaders, assessing strategic fit, client value, delivery feasibility and commercial viability
- Apply commercial judgement to scope, estimates, delivery models, assumptions and risks, working with commercial and delivery leads to support competitive pricing and protect margin
- Lead solution responses to RFPs and RFIs, proposals and client presentations, clearly articulating differentiation, business benefits and the rationale for investment
- Provide technical design authority and solution assurance across strategic opportunities, making trade-offs explicit before commitments are agreed
- Partner with account and delivery leaders to identify further client needs and ensure a clear handover from the proposed solution to delivery
Delivery Excellence
- Ensure architecture decisions translate into successful delivery outcomes
- Provide governance across major programmes
- Support delivery teams with technical decision-making
- Support issue resolution on complex engagements
- Drive best practice delivery methodologies
- Improve delivery predictability and quality
Key Performance Indicators
- Architecture Governance: Percentage of strategic Salesforce engagements with documented architecture reviews, approved design decisions and clear technical risk tracking
- Technical Quality: Reduction in avoidable technical escalations, rework and quality issues through agreed engineering standards, design assurance and delivery governance
- Capability Growth: Progress against the Salesforce capability roadmap, including priority skills coverage, certification targets, succession plans and readiness for agreed GTMs
- Practice Engagement & Leadership: Stronger engagement across the Salesforce technical community, evidenced through active communities of practice, regular knowledge-sharing, visible leadership and clearer ownership across the technical team
- Team Leadership & Performance: Clear goals, role expectations and development priorities agreed for the Salesforce technical team, with regular check-ins and visible progress against agreed objectives
- Coaching & Development: Evidence of structured coaching, mentoring and career development for Solution Architects, Technical Architects and specialist consultants, including growth plans for high-potential team members
- Succession & Future Leaders: Progress in building a stronger leadership bench, with named successors or deputies identified for critical technical leadership areas
- Team Engagement & Retention: Improved engagement, retention and participation across the Salesforce technical team, supported by clear communication, inclusive leadership and stronger connection to practice priorities
- Reusable Assets & Standards: Number and adoption of reusable architecture patterns, accelerators, delivery standards and best-practice frameworks used across pursuits and live engagements
- Client, Solutions & Commercial Contribution: Senior client engagement and agreed solution roadmaps; contribution to priority pursuit conversion and commercially viable proposals, with clear client value, scope, estimates, assumptions and delivery risks
- Delivery Excellence: Improved delivery predictability, margin protection and client satisfaction through better technical decision-making, issue resolution and architecture governance
Core Competencies & Experience
- Proven senior leadership experience setting practice direction, leading technical consulting teams and aligning capability investment with client demand and business growth
- Senior Salesforce Technical Architect or Enterprise Architect background
- Experience leading Salesforce architecture across multiple enterprise programmes
- Experience establishing governance and architecture standards
- Ability to shape commercially viable solutions, assess business cases, scope, estimates and pricing trade-offs, and balance client value with profitability, delivery risk and margin protection
- Experience leading solution strategy for complex bids and strategic pursuits, translating client needs into differentiated proposals and credible delivery approaches
- Ability to build trusted relationships with executive clients, influence senior business and technical stakeholders, and explain solution choices in terms of business value and commercial impact
- Experience building and scaling technical communities
What we offer
· This is a permanent role
· The team is based in our Dublin office but operates under flexible working arrangements.
· As well as a competitive salary, you’ll enjoy a benefits package that you can tailor to your needs.
Inclusion and Diversity
At Dentsu, we embrace diversity and inclusion, valuing the unique perspectives and contributions of every individual. We believe that diversity fuels creativity and innovation, benefiting our employees, partners, and communities.
We welcome applications from all individuals, regardless of race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability, marital status, or any other protected characteristic. Beyond recruitment, we strive to create an environment where everyone feels respected, supported, and empowered to bring their authentic selves to work.
We recognise the importance of work-life balance and are open to discussing flexible working arrangements for all roles. If you need reasonable adjustments due to a disability or medical condition during our recruitment process, please contact us at accommodations@dentsu.com, quoting the reference number of the role that you are applying for. Your needs will be handled with respect and confidentiality to ensure an inclusive and accessible experience.
#LI-Hybrid
Location:
Dublin
Brand:
Merkle
Time Type:
Full time
Contract Type:
Temporary
