What is the running user on the data wizard?
📋 Summary of the Problem
When you create or schedule an Import job in the Data Wizard, you need to understand who the "running user" is and why it matters. The running user determines which Salesforce data the import can access and what permissions are applied during the import process. If the running user's permissions change or they become inactive, your imports can fail even though nothing changed in the job configuration.
💡 The Solution
The running user (also called the "owner") of an Import job is the Salesforce user who last created or configured the job. This user's permissions and data access control what the import can see and modify. The integration does not elevate permissions or bypass sharing rules, it uses exactly what the running user can access.
How the Running User is Set
When you create a new Import job, the running user will automatically be you, the current logged-in Salesforce user. This means:
- The import runs with your Salesforce permissions
- The import can only access data you have permission to see
- Any records created will use your access level
- Fields you can't see will come in blank, even if they have data in Mailchimp
Manual vs. Scheduled Imports
There's an important difference:
- Manual imports always run as whoever clicks the import button (session-based)
- Scheduled imports always run as the last user who saved or scheduled the job, even if that user becomes inactive
Importing Data for Another User
If you need to import data with different permissions, you have two options:
- Login to Salesforce as that user and configure the Import job while logged in as them
- Have that user create and configure their own Import job
Changing the Running User
To change the running user for an existing Import job, you need to reschedule or re-save the job while logged in as the new user. The most recent user to save or schedule the job becomes the new running user. Note that changing it in one job does not update other jobs, each job stores its own running user.
Required Permissions
Running users should have:
- At least the Mailchimp for Salesforce standard permission set
- Read access to all source fields
- Read/write access to all target fields
- API access (required in all orgs, including Professional Edition)
Learn more about Mailchimp for Salesforce User Security.
Common Issues to Watch For
Be aware of these potential problems:
- Inactive running user: If the running user is deactivated, all scheduled imports fail
- Permission changes: If the running user loses access to objects or fields, imports will start failing
- Profile changes: Updates to the user's profile or permission sets can break working imports
- Restricted profiles: Low-permission users (like Experience Cloud users) almost always cause import failures
