Will someone need to be trained to be the CRM administrator?

Sarah is right, a lot depends on the skills the CRM administrator brings to the position. But, whether there is a need for training also depends a lot on the CRM product itself and the environment in which it is being implemented. For example, salesforce.com, most often implemented in medium to large organizations, would require a well trained administrator. Other CRM solutions designed for small businesses may not require an administrator at all. Whether an administrator is required and what level of training they require is often a function of the level of complexity in the environment (how many and what kind of reports are required, levels of management, hosted vs. on premise), the variations in the requirements of the user community (sales, marketing, support, management, etc.), and the complexity (or simplicity) of the CRM product itself.

The answer is almost always yes, the caveat is... how will the administrator do it? Code? A sophisticated and difficult proprietary toolkit? or intuitive changes through the UI/User Interface... Find out how the CRM application is actually administered and then you can determine what training is needed.

It really depends on the CRM software you use. If your CRM provider includes proper training, support and software maintenance going forward, then your "CRM administrator" will be little more than a contact person between your company and the CRM provider that you have an on-going relationship with.