Smith+Nephew
Global Director, Pipeline Marketing (NPWT)
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Life. Unlimited.
At Smith+Nephew we design and manufacture technology that takes the limits off living.
About the Role
This is a rare opportunity to help define the future of wound care innovation on a global scale. As Global Director, NPWT Pipeline Marketing, you will sit at the intersection of customer insight, innovation strategy, and product development, helping shape the next generation of Negative Pressure Wound Therapy solutions.
Working closely with healthcare professionals, commercial teams, marketing leaders, and R&D, you will uncover unmet needs, identify emerging opportunities, and translate complex market and customer insight into strategic direction. Your work will directly influence how future innovations are prioritised and developed, ensuring our pipeline remains focused on delivering meaningful value for customers, clinicians, and patients around the world.
This role is ideal for someone who is naturally curious, highly collaborative, and motivated by solving complex challenges through deep customer understanding rather than purely commercial objectives.
What will you be doing?
In this highly visible global role, you will become the voice of the customer within the innovation process. You'll develop strong relationships with leading healthcare professionals and key opinion leaders across international markets, creating a deep understanding of clinical needs, treatment challenges, and future opportunities.
You will lead customer insight activities and translate diverse viewpoints, market dynamics, and clinical feedback into clear strategic recommendations. Partnering closely with R&D and cross-functional stakeholders, you'll help define future product concepts, target product profiles, and innovation roadmaps that support long-term business growth.
As opportunities move through the development process, you will act as a trusted advisor who brings people together, challenges thinking when required, and ensures customer needs remain at the heart of investment and product development decisions.
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What will you need to be successful?
Success in this role comes from combining deep customer curiosity with strategic thinking and the ability to influence innovation across a complex global organisation. You'll be comfortable navigating ambiguity, drawing conclusions from multiple sources of information, and building credibility with both healthcare professionals and senior internal stakeholders.
We recognise that exceptional candidates may come from a variety of backgrounds. You may have developed your expertise within upstream marketing, customer insight, market research, product strategy, innovation, product management, or commercial roles where customer needs directly informed product development and investment decisions.
Key requirements include:
- Significant experience within the medical device industry, ideally gained in areas such as upstream marketing, customer insight, product strategy, innovation management, product management, market development, or adjacent functions.
- Proven ability to engage healthcare professionals, surgeons, clinicians, and key opinion leaders to uncover meaningful customer insights and translate those insights into product development opportunities, strategic recommendations, and business cases.
- Experience working closely with innovation, product development, or R&D teams, helping to shape future products by translating customer, market, and clinical needs into clear requirements and priorities.
- Strong commercial and analytical judgement with the ability to interpret complex information, identify patterns and opportunities, and convert insight into compelling recommendations that influence decision-making.
- Exceptional stakeholder management and influencing skills, with the confidence to collaborate with and constructively challenge senior leaders whilst building alignment across marketing, commercial, R&D, and operational functions.
- Experience operating within global or multinational organisations would be advantageous, particularly where customer insight, innovation, and product development are closely connected.
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About Us
You. Unlimited. We believe in creating the greatest good for society. Our strongest investments are in our people and the patients we serve.
Inclusion and Belonging
Committed to Welcoming, Celebrating, and Thriving on Inclusion and Belonging. Learn more about our Employee Inclusion Groups on our website (www.smith-nephew.com)
Your Future
- Generous annual bonus and pension schemes
- Save As You Earn share options
- Car allowance
Work/Life Balance
- Flexible Vacation and Time Off
- Paid Holidays
- Paid Volunteering Hours
Your Wellbeing
- Private Health and Dental plans
- Healthcare Cash Plans
- Income Protection
- Life Assurance
Flexibility
Hybrid Working Model (For most professional roles)
Training
Hands-On, Team-Customised, Mentorship
Extra Perks
- Discounts on Gyms and fitness clubs
- Salary Sacrifice Bicycle and Car Schemes
- Many other Employee discounts
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