Zoho CRM Specialist

Job Description This is a remote position. Zoho CRM Specialist Offshore contract engagement · StorSuite Engagement type: Independent contractor · Initial term: [14 weeks, with option to extend] · Commitment: [20–40 hrs/week] · Location: Fully remote, offshore · Reports to: VP of Sales & Revenue About StorSuite StorSuite is a vertically integrated, asset-based service provider supporting owners and operators in the self-storage industry. Our team brings deep knowledge across operations, marketing, technology, tenant protection and investments, and we exist to improve our clients' operational efficiency and accelerate their growth. Authenticity, transparency and excellence sit at the centre of how we work, and we expect the same from the partners we bring in. Engagement Summary We are engaging an experienced Zoho CRM specialist on a contract basis to rebuild the operational layer of our Zoho environment. This is a hands-on build engagement rather than an advisory one. The system is live, carries real volume and is well integrated, but the routing, follow-up, governance and reporting layers were never implemented. The work is well defined, the priorities are already understood, and success is measurable. How this role relates to our in-house position. We are separately considering a permanent in-house Zoho Specialist. This contract engagement is scoped to deliver the remediation and build work on a defined timeline; it can either stand alone or hand over to a permanent hire at the end of the term. Candidates should expect knowledge transfer and documentation to be a graded part of the deliverables either way. Scope of Work Configuration and process design Design and implement lead assignment and routing rules by source and service line, including round-robin distribution within groups. Implement lead scoring, follow-up cadences, blueprints and approval processes so that every record has a clear owner and a defined next step. Redesign the opportunity pipelines: stage definitions, probabilities, forecast categories and layout-specific pipelines that reflect how each line of business actually sells. Build custom business processes using custom fields, workflows, page layouts, dynamic layouts, record types, actions, custom settings and mobile administration. Configure and maintain the custom modules supporting our service lines, including Facilities, Claims, Plans, Services, Investor Accounts and Underwriting Fees. Manage roles, profiles, sharing rules and groups in line with least-privilege access. Automation, scripting and integration Develop, maintain and troubleshoot custom functions and business logic using Zoho Deluge. Build and manage automated workflows using Zoho Flow and comparable integration platforms to connect Zoho applications with third-party systems and remove manual steps. Configure APIs, webhooks, custom actions and scheduled functions as required. Diagnose and repair the existing failing custom functions, and implement failure alerting so that errors surface immediately rather than silently. Review, consolidate and retire duplicate or unused custom functions and inactive workflow rules. Maintain and document the integration estate, including Zoho Bookings, Sign, Desk, Projects, Finance Suite, SalesIQ, LeadChain, ActiveCampaign and Google Workspace. Data quality and system health Perform data imports, deduplication, field rationalisation and picklist governance, including merging duplicate lead-source values and backfilling source attribution. Build a controlled bulk-import process with templates, validation and post-import assignment, so imported records arrive complete and owned. Carry out proactive maintenance: security reviews, release evaluation and periodic health checks. Support email deliverability and compliance monitoring, including hard and soft bounces, spam reports, opt-out rate, and IP and domain health. Reporting Build, maintain and optimize Zoho Analytics dashboards and reports covering sales, marketing, operational and business performance. Automate the weekly KPI report for the CEO, CTO and COO / Director of Business Development so that it requires no manual assembly. Instrument the operational metrics that show whether the process is working, including speed to first contact, lead-to-opportunity conversion by source, pipeline aging and forecast accuracy. Documentation and enablement Produce written configuration documentation covering every process, automation and integration you build or modify, maintained as you go rather than at the end. Create self-guided training material and publish it in Zoho Learn. Record short walkthrough videos for the processes our sales and marketing users touch daily. Deliver a knowledge-transfer session and handover pack at the end of the engagement or on transition to a permanent hire. Requirements Working Arrangements Time zone overlap. Our leadership team works US Central Time. We require a minimum of four hours of daily overlap with 8:00–17:00 US Central, Monday to Friday. State your usual working hours and the overlap you can commit to. Meetings. A weekly progress call with your StorSuite point of contact, and attendance at the weekly Sales and Marketing alignment meeting where the agenda affects your work. All other collaboration is asynchronous. Communication. Written updates in Zoho Cliq or email at an agreed cadence, with a short weekly summary of what was delivered, what is in progress and what is blocked. We value clear written English over polish. Tools and equipment. You provide your own computer and a reliable internet connection with a stated minimum speed and a backup option. We provide Zoho licences and any third-party tool access the work requires. Language. Professional written and spoken English is essential, since you will be writing training material and documentation for our staff. Access, Security and Change Control Access is granted on a least-privilege basis under a named individual account. Credentials are not to be shared, and multi-factor authentication is required. A signed non-disclosure agreement is required before access is granted. Customer and investor records are confidential and must not be exported, copied to personal storage or used outside the engagement. All configuration and code changes are built and tested in a sandbox where one is available, and deployed to production only with written approval from your StorSuite point of contact. A change log is maintained for every production change, including what changed, why, and how to reverse it. Bulk data operations, mass deletions, mass updates and any automation that sends email to customers require explicit written approval before execution. All work product, configuration, custom code and documentation created under this engagement is the property of StorSuite. Required Qualifications Four or more years of hands-on Zoho CRM administration and build experience, or a comparable CRM background with demonstrated Zoho delivery. Demonstrated experience creating and maintaining custom functions in Zoho Deluge, or a comparable scripting language with evidence of transferable work. Experience with Zoho Flow, Zapier, Make or similar workflow automation and integration platforms. Working understanding of APIs, webhooks, data mapping and system integrations. Experience configuring assignment rules, scoring rules, cadences, blueprints, approval processes and multiple pipelines. Experience with data migration and cleanup at a scale of several thousand records, including deduplication and field consolidation. Experience building reports and dashboards in Zoho Analytics or a comparable BI tool. Strong written English and the ability to produce documentation and training material without supervision. Ability to work independently across time zones, manage your own priorities and raise blockers early. Preferred Zoho certification, or verifiable references from prior Zoho CRM implementations. Experience inheriting a partially built CRM and rationalising it, rather than only greenfield implementations. Familiarity with the wider Zoho One suite, particularly Desk, Projects, Sign, Finance Suite and Learn. Experience with email deliverability and marketing compliance. Experience in self-storage, real estate, insurance or another asset-based service industry.