Application Guide

How to Apply for Data & Systems Lead

at Acumen

🏢 About Acumen

Acumen is a pioneering impact investment firm that combines business principles with moral imagination to tackle global poverty through clean energy solutions. Unlike traditional investment firms, Acumen operates as a nonprofit that invests patient capital in early-stage companies serving low-income communities, having impacted over half-a-billion lives since 2001. Working here means joining a mission-driven organization that measures success not just in financial returns but in lives improved and CO2 emissions reduced.

About This Role

This Data & Systems Lead role is critical for building and strengthening Acumen's global Salesforce ecosystem and connected data systems to support impact measurement across clean energy investments. You'll combine technical architecture oversight with team enablement—specifically building and training a distributed data operations team in Bogotá to ensure long-term adoption and data excellence. Your work will directly support tracking how $166M in assets under management impacts 238 million lives and offsets 48 million metric tons of CO2.

💡 A Day in the Life

A typical day might involve morning meetings with global stakeholders to align on Salesforce architecture decisions, followed by afternoon sessions training the Bogotá-based data operations team in Spanish on new governance protocols. You'd likely spend time designing integrations between impact measurement tools and Salesforce, while also troubleshooting data quality issues that affect reporting on clean energy investments' social and environmental outcomes.

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🎯 Who Acumen Is Looking For

  • Bilingual professional fluent in both English and Spanish, with experience managing distributed teams across Latin America (given the Bogotá office location and global operations)
  • Salesforce architect with proven experience building integrated data systems, data governance frameworks, and reporting solutions for impact measurement
  • Technical leader who excels at team enablement and training, specifically in building data operations capacity across distributed teams
  • Mission-aligned professional passionate about using data systems to track social and environmental impact in clean energy and poverty alleviation

📝 Tips for Applying to Acumen

1

Explicitly mention your bilingual Spanish/English proficiency in your resume summary and highlight any experience working with Latin American teams

2

Quantify your Salesforce architecture experience with specific metrics (e.g., 'built integrated system serving X users across Y countries' or 'improved data quality by Z%')

3

Demonstrate understanding of impact measurement by mentioning how you've previously tracked social or environmental metrics in data systems

4

Research Acumen's specific portfolio companies in clean energy and reference how better data systems could enhance their impact tracking

5

Address both the technical leadership AND team enablement aspects—show examples of building/training data operations teams alongside your architecture work

✉️ What to Emphasize in Your Cover Letter

['Your experience with Salesforce architecture specifically for impact measurement or social sector organizations', 'Examples of building and training distributed data operations teams, particularly in Latin American contexts', 'How your bilingual skills and cultural understanding would support collaboration between global and Bogotá-based teams', "Your passion for Acumen's specific mission of clean energy for low-income communities and how data systems enable that work"]

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🔍 Research Before Applying

To stand out, make sure you've researched:

  • → Acumen's specific clean energy portfolio companies and their impact metrics (available in their annual reports)
  • → Acumen Academy's leadership programs and how data systems might support their entrepreneur training initiatives
  • → The structure of Acumen Capital Partners and their $166M in assets under management
  • → Jacqueline Novogratz's concept of 'moral imagination' and how it applies to data systems work

💬 Prepare for These Interview Topics

Based on this role, you may be asked about:

1 How would you design a Salesforce data governance framework to track both financial returns and social impact metrics across Acumen's clean energy portfolio?
2 Describe your approach to building and training a bilingual data operations team in Bogotá while ensuring alignment with global standards
3 What integrations would you prioritize between Salesforce and other systems to enhance impact reporting for Acumen's $166M portfolio?
4 How have you previously balanced technical architecture decisions with user adoption challenges in distributed teams?
5 What metrics would you propose to measure the success of Acumen's data systems in supporting their mission of poverty alleviation through clean energy?
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⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid

  • Focusing only on technical Salesforce skills without addressing the team building/training requirements for the Bogotá operations team
  • Treating this as a generic Salesforce role rather than one specifically for impact measurement in clean energy investments
  • Failing to acknowledge the bilingual requirement or experience working with Latin American teams and time zones

📅 Application Timeline

This position is open until filled. However, we recommend applying as soon as possible as roles at mission-driven organizations tend to fill quickly.

Typical hiring timeline:

1

Application Review

1-2 weeks

2

Initial Screening

Phone call or written assessment

3

Interviews

1-2 rounds, usually virtual

✓

Offer

Congratulations!

Ready to Apply?

Good luck with your application to Acumen!

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