Regional Head of CX

About The Role:

You will drive the delivery of a strategic transformation for DS Smith, seeking to build an even more customer-centric business and to help the company continually achieve greater customer satisfaction and in turn increased efficiency and profitability, in line with the global CX strategy and standards, and reviewing against regional strategy and priorities.

You will play a key and hands-on role in outlining and achieving how customers perceive the company while driving higher customer satisfaction, net promoter score (NPS) , customer retention, new business growth and profitable turnovers.

With the overall objective of making DS Smith both the easiest and preferred company to do business with for our customers, you will have the unique opportunity to drive an extensive regional change program across the organisation (cross-functions - all levels), embedding new processes, tools and technologies, establish best practice to be scaled, and ensuring the right capabilities are in place to deliver this best-in-class experience. 

This role will require strong stakeholder management to help influence the coordinated and consistent changes that will deliver the right CX activities that are fit for the future across all markets

Responsibilities:

Customer Experience

- Champion the Customer Experience vision and transformation across D S Smith X Region and our move to a more customer-centric organisation

- Alignthe customer experience transformation program deployment roadmap and implementation approach to regional strategy and priorities.

- Work with regional and local management teams to use CX as strategic tool in achieving business objectives

- Work closely with local markets to support integrating CX initiatives on their agenda by aligning to their capabilities, priorities and strategy.

- Ensure consistent and seamless customer experience across all stages of our customers’ journeys across different markets based on DS Smith experience standards

- Initiate and track CX innovation pilots in markets, and rollout global scalable CX innovations

- Track, monitor and follow-up market CX performanceand activity.

- You play an active role in defining global CX standards, definitions, mgmt systems, tools and reporting cycles.

- Do regular best practice assessment in markets to identifyCX initiatives for potential global scaling.

Customer Journey

- Identify required CX improvements or potential innovations opportunities to customer journeys that would unlock business opportunity.

- Develop CX improvement/innovation solutions with global frameworks and in line with the CX vision.

- Responsible to manage the local variation to the global Customer journey required in markets.

- Input and support VoC measurement systems to identify pains, gains, “moments of truth” and opportunities for “moments of magic”

The ROI of CX

- Accountable for CX performance and returns at regional level
- In collaboration with CX Insights Analyst lead data-driven and customer centric decision-making in regional and local management teams.

- Prioritise projects and work streams based on ROI and value to customers, evaluate ROI during project closure and create business cases.

- Regular measurement and reporting on KPIs and targets to measure performance effectively including customer satisfaction

Enablement and systems

- Together with CX Enablement, the Customer Data Analyst and IT map existing tools, systems and capabilities within the region and understand development opportunities to equip customer facing employees better, driving a higher CX performance.
- Work with CX Enablement and HR to identify and develop improved customer experience capabilities across our people

- Identify opportunities in the region to embed new or progress digital solutions throughout the customer journey with the ambition to become the easiest company to do business with and deliver differentiating customer moments of magic.

Change management

- Work across business functions and all layers of the organisation to create awareness for end-to-end customer experience innovation and build customer experience champions across the business to spark the change

- Rigorous project management, aligning work and leading collaboration across functions and regions.

- Map stakeholders and create and deliver on a targeted communication strategy, supported and aligned to the global CX approach.

- Be hands-on in stakeholder management and engagement, using your strong influential skills

- Work closely with the regional CX programme delivery lead to coordinate cross-functional / cross-regional teams to deliver and embed a complex change management programme, supported by the global Change Mananer.

- Embed cultural and behavioural change in (HR) mgmt. systems and develop the customer capabilities of people across our organisation.

Qualities and Attributes:

Strategic thinking and foresight

Excellent interpersonal communication skills. Values co-operation and enjoys working in teams with other talented people but is also capable of working independently. Ability to work with all levels internal and external partners. 

Highest levels of customer focus – always has a customer-centric approach

Ability to understand business objectives and align CX accordingly

Working backwards from the end-user experience to shape the services, processes and technology required

Data-driven mindset and an aptitude for technology – plus how to combine digital with people for hybrid/virtual experiences

Networker, with strong stakeholder management skills

A resilient and persuasive change agent with brilliant influencing and communication skills and strong personal impact and integrity

Creative, innovative and long term visioning a must

Entrepreneurial – belief in one’s ability to take on new and difficult challenges and takes risks

An analytical, independent international people leader

Dynamic, energetic and proactive, with an open, authentic and to the point personality

The highest standards in terms of ambition, performance, integrity and ethics

A person with high levels of resilience a holistic and positive attitude that embodies the desire to manage, develop and work in an ambitious organization

Ability to think both high-level strategy and roadmaps, as well as diving into the (data) details of customer experiences and how we deliver them

Hands-on approach to initiate and manage pilot and implementations in markets, and map requirements from the field in terms of enablement.

Qualifications and Experience:

It is not required for the ideal candidate to have experience from the Packaging industry but B2B manufacturing is preferred. 

bachelor's or master's degree in business/commercial/data background

5+ years of CX, Customer Service and/or sales experience, 2 years’ experience at management level.

Proven ability to drive customer facing optimization projects

Proven experience in a modern automated, data driven and agile organisation

Proven ability to intelligently operate and navigate in a multinational matrixed corporation

Experience and demonstratedresults impacting business performance

Proven track-record in change management