About the Organization
The Salvation Army is an international movement and an evangelical part of the universal Christian Church. Its mission is to meet human needs without discrimination. National Headquarters (NHQ) supports the work of The Salvation Army across the United States and internationally by providing leadership, resources, and strategic support to territorial and local operations.
ABOUT SAWSO
The Salvation Army (TSA) operates in 134 countries around the globe serving vulnerable communities. The Salvation Army World Service Office (SAWSO) plays a key role in this global effort, serving as the U.S.-based office for supporting high-impact international assistance tailored to meet local needs in communities around the world. Guided by our mission to meet human needs without discrimination, we work alongside local partners to provide food, shelter, healthcare, education, and emergency relief to individuals and families facing poverty, displacement, and crisis.
JOB SUMMARY
The Zoho Creator & Business Systems Intern supports SAWSO’s operational effectiveness by improving and extending our Zoho Creator applications used across a variety of functions. Working closely with the Director of Operations and cross functional stakeholders, the intern will analyze current forms, reports, views, and processes; design and test improvements; build or refine workflows and notifications (including basic Deluge scripting where helpful); strengthen data quality and access controls; and pilot analytics and dashboards that turn operational data into actionable insight. The role blends research, process mapping, and hands on low code development to ensure SAWSO’s
internal systems are accurate, efficient, and aligned with our mission to meet human needs without discrimination.
Key Responsibilities
Development:
- Design and implement multi-level approval processes (workflow) for legal document reviews and internship requests with criteria, escalation, and auto actions on approval/rejection; add SLAs and reminder emails.
- Review MEAL form and views and develop alternative or enhanced features for data presentation.
- Review other existing forms, reports, notifications, workflows, etc. for accuracy and efficiency. Recommend improvements and enhancements to current systems and structure.
- Simplify pages/views; add contextual help text and micro-tutorials; host two 30-minute “office hours” sessions to collect feedback and close training gaps.
- Create push notifications in the Tasks Done application and recommend improvements and enhancements for use.
- Identify ways that Creator is being underutilized for current needs.
- Where necessary or helpful for development, build code for app workflows, notifications, or form/report designs.
- Work with an existing task force to develop a dynamic module or application for collecting, maintaining, tracking, and updating funding for cross-departmental use.
- Audit usage of existing views and pages and make recommendations for deletion or modification to ensure the application is fit for purpose and to reduce duplication. Audit will involve seeking input from staff about their experience using Creator.
- Use Sandbox/Environments to develop, test, and package changes; maintain a simple version log and rollback plan.
- Establish lightweight standards (naming, required fields, validation rules, deduping routines, and lookup integrity) and run a quarterly data hygiene sweep.
- Pilot Zoho Analytics Advanced Analytics connector for Creator (or Zoho Flow/Zapier where appropriate), define a handful of executive dashboards, and schedule email summaries.
- Where useful, call Zoho/third-party APIs from Deluge for cross-app updates (e.g., CRM/Books/Desk) using Connections and invoke URL with appropriate logging.
- Desk Research and Learning:
- Learn the various ways in which Zoho is used at SAWSO for business operations and data management.
- Become proficient with Zoho Creator through online tutorials, help guides, developer forums, etc. Learn the basics of Deluge scripting and use in development tasks.
- Research potential uses of business analytics within Creator and/or use of Zoho Analytics to integrate with Creator. Test and implement viable solutions.
- When necessary, correspond with Zoho technical support to troubleshoot issues or assist with development tasks.
- Seek to understand other software applications used at SAWSO and investigate potential points of integration.
- Build a small library of reusable Deluge functions (notifications, date math, audit utilities) to speed future changes.
- Creator mobile usage review for staff who travel; optimize key forms for mobile, add offline fields if applicable.
- Document a deployment checklist (sandbox → stage → production) aligned to Creator Environments.
- Complete Zoho Creator Certification (Business User or Associate Developer) learning path; compile a 1-page “what we should adopt next” memo.
- Review best practices for testing/debugging Creator apps (script debugger, workflow simulations, cross-device testing).
MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT
- Computer and Printer
- Photocopy Machine
- Scanner
- Microsoft Office365
IDEAL CANDIDATE PROFILE
- Mission-aligned student (or recent grad) who’s curious about process improvement and comfortable toggling between research, stakeholder conversations, and hands-on low-code build.
- Demonstrates structured thinking (can map a workflow), an eye for data quality, and basic scripting comfort.
- Communicates well in writing and creates clean, reusable artifacts: test cases, user guides, and dashboard notes.
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES
Knowledge
- Basics of low-code application design (forms, relations/lookups, validation, and versioning).
- Workflow automation concepts (triggers, approvals, scheduled jobs) and notification patterns.
- Role-based access control (RBAC), user permissions, and data-sharing principles.
- Testing/sandbox practices, audit trails, and change management for apps.
- Fundamentals of analytics and dashboards; familiarity with integrating Creator data with Zoho Analytics.
Skills
- Build/modify Creator forms, views, and reports with validations and lookups; create approval workflows and notifications.
- Write simple Deluge snippets to support workflow logic and integrations (e.g., emails, field updates, fetch/filter, invoke URL).
- Use sandbox/environments for safe testing and package changes for release.
- Configure RBAC and permissions (form/report/record/field level).
- Prepare quality assurance test cases, conduct UAT, and document changes.
Abilities
- Translate business needs into low-code solutions, balance speed with governance and data quality.
- Communicate clearly with non-technical users; create short “how-to” guides and run micro-trainings.
- Maintain high standards of confidentiality and data ethics in a humanitarian context.
- Excellent research, analytical, and writing skills.
- Ability to manage multiple tasks and prioritize deadlines.
- Ability to organize and present information clearly.
- Ability to work independently with minimal supervision.
- Cultural humility and sensitivity toward diverse populations.
- Ability to maintain confidentiality and professionalism.
- Proficiency in English and Microsoft Office365.
Qualifications
Required
Education & Experience
- Current junior/senior undergraduate or graduate student (or recent graduate within 12 months) in Information Systems, Computer Science, Data Analytics, Business/Operations, or related field.
- Coursework/projects in any of the following: database concepts, low code/no code platforms, scripting (e.g., JavaScript or Python), data visualization, requirements gathering, or QA/testing.
- Preferred: exposure to Zoho Creator or similar platforms (e.g., Microsoft Power Apps, Airtable, AppSheet), data modeling/SQL basics, or building dashboards in tools like Zoho Analytics, Power BI, or Tableau.
- Experience working with stakeholders to map processes and translate identified needs into forms, reports, or automated workflows is a plus.
Licenses and Certifications (nice to have, not required)
- Zoho Creator Certification (Business User or Associate Developer). These are official Zoho Creator certifications that validate Creator fundamentals and Deluge basics. [zoho.com]
- Practice/third party options (useful but not official): Udemy Creator Associate practice or external testing (e.g., ExpertRating). [udemy.com], [expertrating.com]
BENEFITS:
Ability to Commute:
- Alexandria, VA 22314 (Required)
Work Location: In person
