Associate Director, Experience Insights & Design

Associate Director, Experience Insights & Design – £76,000 - £88,000 – Permanent

Join us and be part of a mission-driven, independent publisher. You’ll work with a diverse group of people who share a passion for empowering researchers, educators, and institutions to shape the future.

About Sage:

Sage is an independent, global academic publisher, founded in 1965 by 24-year-old Sara Miller McCune. She believed that research and education play a critical role in creating a better world, and that belief continues to shape who we are today. What began as a one-person operation in a New York apartment has grown into a global organisation of over 2,000 colleagues across North America, EMEA, India and Asia Pacific.

We publish and share research that supports education, informs debate and helps people think more critically about the world around them. At a time when access to trusted knowledge matters more than ever, our work plays an important role in advancing understanding across society.

Our independence allows us to take a long-term view. We invest in ideas, people and partnerships that support our mission of building bridges to knowledge, connecting people, ideas and evidence so learning and research can thrive.

Our culture is shaped by our values, from how we collaborate to how we support each other, so people can make a meaningful contribution and see the impact of their work.

About our Team:

You’ll join a global Internal Communications function that plays a critical role in how Sage communicates, listens and adapts through change.

We are transforming the function to become more strategic, insight-led and connected across the organisation. A key part of that is building a stronger experience insights capability, helping Sage bring together colleague feedback, communication signals and employee experience data into a clearer view of what people are hearing, feeling and experiencing. This role will play a central part in setting up that capability and shaping the frameworks, standards and ways of working that support better decisions and a clearer colleague experience.

As AI changes how colleagues find information and complete everyday work, we are also thinking differently about how knowledge, systems and workflows are structured so they are easier to navigate, maintain and improve over time.

As a team, we support each other, share learning openly and stay curious about what colleagues need. We are adaptable, thoughtful and practical, balancing high standards with a collaborative, human way of working.

Could you be our new Associate Director, Experience Insights & Design? Are you?

• Experienced in shaping employee experience across matrixed, global organisations, with a background in employee experience, insight, or internal communications at a strategic level.

• Skilled in employee listening, using qualitative and quantitative approaches to build a clear, balanced view of colleague experience.

• Confident in translating complexity into clear, concrete guidance that enables confident, timely decision-making.

• Able to create and embed frameworks, standards or approaches that improve consistency, clarity and quality across teams.

• Experienced in content or information design, with a focus on structure, usability and helping colleagues find and retrieve what they need.

• Curious about how AI and automation can improve colleague experience, including how information, workflows and everyday systems can be structured to reduce friction and support better decision-making.

• Confident partnering with senior leaders, offering thoughtful guidance, meaningful questioning and perspective.

• Experienced in setting direction across teams or functions, helping others work with transparency and shared purpose.

• A people-centred leader who builds confidence, capability and belonging within high-performing teams.

Your new role:

The Associate Director, Experience Insights & Design sets the enterprise strategic direction for how Sage listens to colleagues, interprets experience signals and turns insight into clearer decisions. You will build the frameworks, methodologies and information standards that help leaders understand what matters most, prioritise with confidence and create a more consistent colleague experience. Operating at global scale, you will shape how insight, information and communication systems support openness, reliability and inclusive decision-making.

You will:

• Build the enterprise listening approach, bringing together input from multiple sources into a clear, coherent view of the employee experience.

• Turn complex or ambiguous findings into practical recommendations that support prioritisation and decision‑making.

• Spot patterns across the employee lifecycle and highlight opportunities for improvement.

• Define and embed standards for how colleague-facing information is structured, governed, searched and reused, so it is easier to find, trust and maintain across channels and emerging AI-enabled tools.

• Partner with Digital Workplace, Technology and People & Culture to improve how information, workflows and internal communication processes are accessed, connected and maintained.

• Guide the Channels Manager to build channel architecture and practices that support clarity, usability and trust.

• Use insight to identify where colleague journeys, channels and touchpoints can be made clearer, more connected and easier to navigate.

• Act as a trusted advisor, offering clear advice, constructive challenge and perspective.

• Set clear expectations, standards and direction for the Channels team, supporting capability and practice maturity.

Overview of Benefits:

• 25 days annual leave (plus bank holidays) with 2 additional floating personal days.

• Hybrid working up to 2 days per week in office and a home working allowance.

• Life assurance, income protection, and travel insurance.

• Private medical cover and access to the company doctor.

• Tuition scheme and support for pursuing professional qualifications, including access to Sage books and journals.

• Variety of snacks and beverages available in the office.

• Healthy lifestyle reimbursement and anniversary trips.

• Access to Company loans (season ticket loan, rental deposit loan, cycle loan).

We’re a Disability Confident Employer (Level 1). If you’d like to apply under this scheme, please let us know in your application.

We’re committed to making our recruitment process accessible and inclusive. If you’d like to request reasonable adjustments, please email [email protected]. Please note we only accept applications via email if an adjustment has been agreed.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

At Sage, we are committed to building a diverse and inclusive team and to sustaining a culture that celebrates diversity, encourages authenticity, and builds a deep sense of belonging. We encourage applications from all members of society irrespective of age, disability, sex or gender identity, sexual orientation, colour, race, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion, or belief as crafting value through diversity is what makes us strong.