Senior Manager, Digital Employee Experience

Life Unlimited. At Smith+Nephew, we design and manufacture technology that takes the limits off living.

Join our dynamic team and embark on an exciting journey of innovation and growth as we seek a hard-working and dedicated individual for role of Senior Manager, Digital Employee Experience (DEX) to join our Global IT team. You will own the end-to-end DEX lifecycle — designing, deploying, and evolving experience management frameworks powered by data analytics, machine learning, and automation. This is a strategic and demanding role at the intersection of technology, behaviour, and business impact, requiring someone who can translate data into decisions and decisions into sustained digital transformation.

What will you be doing?

1. Strategic Leadership and Experience Design

• Define and execute the enterprise DEX strategy and roadmap, ensuring it aligns with evolving business goals and workplace trends.
• Lead end-to-end DEX program execution — from concept, implementation, adoption, and measurement to ongoing enhancement.
• Translate complex requirements, telemetry data, and user feedback into actionable strategies and measurable KPIs.
• Drive user-centric digital design for diverse, global teams, ensuring scalability, inclusivity, and measurable value realization.

2. Advanced Analytics, ML, and Automation

• Leverage machine learning, statistical modelling, and predictive analytics to forecast experience degradation, automate root-cause analysis, and proactively improve system health.
• Design and operationalize ML-based predictive models to detect early warning signals in endpoint and application performance data.
• Utilize AI/ML-driven automation frameworks to reduce manual intervention, optimize workflows, and deliver self-healing digital experiences.
• Develop data pipelines, dashboards, and analytics frameworks that transform experience telemetry into strategic decision-making tools.

3. Optimization of DEX Platforms and Device Ecosystems

• Oversee Aternity, Nexthink, or equivalent DEX functional tools to monitor, analyse, and optimize digital experiences across endpoints and applications.
• Lead the design and evolution of device management strategies — covering lifecycle, OS health, patch compliance, and modernization initiatives.
• Collaborate with endpoint management teams (Intune, SCCM, JAMF, etc.) to ensure seamless synergy between stability, user experience, and cost efficiency.
• Standardize and scale reusable patterns, baselines, and playbooks to improve consistency in experience measurement and remediation.

4. Innovation and Emerging Technologies

• Explore and integrate AI, ML, and automation technologies to drive continuous improvement in experience delivery and data analysis speed.
• Rapidly prototype new ideas, combining traditional analytics with AI-assisted modelling to accelerate insight generation.
• Foster a culture of experimentation within the DEX function, encouraging the team to challenge existing models and embrace innovation.

5. Vendor and Partner Management

• Lead strategic relationships with service and product vendors, ensuring alignment of tool capabilities with organizational experience objectives.
• Drive co-innovation with partners on product evolution, feature roadmaps, and performance optimization.
• Evaluate and manage contracts and SLAs using an experience-centric, value-based approach, ensuring measurable business outcomes.

6. Product Thinking and Service Evolution

• Manage DEX as a continuously evolving service, driving iterative improvements through structured feedback loops and performance analytics.
• Balance business priorities with user needs through data-backed decision-making.
• Establish experience baselines, success metrics, and continuous improvement mechanisms across digital touchpoints.

7. People Leadership and Team Development

• Lead and mentor a cross-functional team of DEX engineers, data analysts, and experience strategists.
• Foster a growth-oriented, collaborative culture focused on innovation and measurable outcomes.
• Provide direction while empowering teams to operate with autonomy, creativity, and accountability.
• Build future leadership capacity within the DEX function through coaching and skill development programs.

What will you need to be successful?

• Education: Bachelor's degree in a Computer Science or related field, or an equivalent combination of training and experience.
• Licenses/ Certifications:
• Microsoft Azure certifications - Azure Data Fundamentals, Azure Data Engineer Associate etc. will be an advantage
• One or more professional qualifications related to Information Security and Risk Management, will be an advantage e.g. CISA, CISSP, CCSP, CCSK or similar.
• Operating Mode: Work from office – 5 days in a week. Flexible working in UK and US shift, basis business requirement.
• Experience:
• 15+ years of overall experience in IT services, digital transformation, or end-user experience domains.
• 3–5 years of direct, hands-on DEX leadership experience — covering program initiation, platform implementation, adoption, and continuous service evolution.
• Proven expertise in DEX functional tools (Aternity, Nexthink, or similar) with strong analytical and operational knowledge.
• Proficiency in data analytics and machine learning (Python, R, Power BI, Tableau, or equivalent).
• Demonstrated success in building predictive and automation-driven experience management frameworks.
• Strong understanding of device management ecosystems (Intune, SCCM, JAMF, etc.).
• Experience in vendor and partner management for both service and product ecosystems.
• Excellent communication, stakeholder alignment, and business translation skills.
• Exposure to AI/ML-powered automation and self-healing digital operations.
• Good To Have: Knowledge of ITIL, Agile, or other modern service delivery frameworks.
• Experience managing globally distributed teams and implementing DEX governance frameworks.
• Mindset & Approach - Strategic yet execution-focused — equally comfortable shaping vision and diving into operational detail.
• Data-obsessed and analytical, with a drive to quantify experience and automate insights.
• Innovative and future-oriented, with a strong understanding of how ML, AI, and automation can redefine employee experience.
• Collaborative and people-driven, fostering strong alignment across IT, business, and engineering teams.
• Outcome-focused, ensuring measurable improvement in productivity, satisfaction, and technology ROI.

You. Unlimited.

We believe in crafting the greatest good for society. Our strongest investments are in our people and the patients we serve.

Inclusion + Belonging - Committed to Welcoming, Celebrating and Thriving. Learn more about our Employee Inclusion Groups on our website

Other reasons why you will love it here

• Your Future: Major Medical coverage + Policy exclusions and insurance non-medical limit. Educational Assistance.
• Work/Life Balance: Flexible Personal/Vacation Time Off, Privilege Leave, Floater Leave.
• Your Wellbeing: Parents / Parents in Law's Insurance, Employee Assistance Program, Parental Leave.
• Flexibility: Hybrid Work Model (For most professional roles)
• Training: Hands-On, Team-Customized, Mentorship
• Extra Perks: Free Cab Transport facility for all employees, One Time Meal provided to all employees as per shift. Night Shift Allowances.

#YS1

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