Manager, CX Design

ROLE OVERVIEW

The Manager of CX Design establishes and leads a dedicated innovation function that turns business opportunities, behavioral insights, and emerging technology into measurable business improvements. Reporting to the Senior Manager, Sales Excellence, this role owns the end-to-end innovation lifecycle—from opportunity identification and prioritization through solution design, pilot execution, validation, and enterprise-scale implementation. The position connects strategy, frontline experience, analytics, and execution; builds a continuous pipeline of high-value initiatives; accelerates responsible AI and automation adoption; and ensures transformation efforts improve customer, employee, and financial outcomes while delivering sustainable return on investment.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Innovation Strategy & Opportunity Pipeline

• Establish and manage a disciplined innovation pipeline aligned with enterprise and CSC strategic priorities.
• Source opportunities through performance data, customer and employee feedback, journey analysis, operational observations, process friction, and emerging technology.
• Create a consistent intake and prioritization framework that evaluates potential value, strategic alignment, feasibility, effort, risk, and readiness for adoption.
• Translate ambiguous business challenges into clear problem statements, hypotheses, solution concepts, and recommended next steps.
• Partner with the Senior Manager, Sales Excellence and business leaders to sequence initiatives, secure sponsorship, and maintain focus on the highest-value opportunities.

Pilot Design, Experimentation & Validation

• Design pilots and experiments with clearly defined scope, target population, baseline, success criteria, timelines, owners, controls, risks, and decision points.
• Coordinate solution development and pilot execution across business, analytics, technology, operations, and frontline teams.
• Apply rapid test-and-learn methods to validate assumptions, gather evidence, and make timely scale, revise, or stop decisions.
• Maintain pilot governance and documentation, including charters, project plans, findings, recommendations, and lessons learned.
• Ensure pilots account for customer impact, employee experience, privacy, information security, legal, compliance, and operational sustainability requirements.

Behavioral Insights & Performance Improvement

• Observe and analyze customer and employee behaviors, workflows, and decision points to identify root causes, barriers, and improvement opportunities.
• Map customer and employee journeys and translate behavioral insights into practical interventions, including workflow changes, prompts, tools, communications, scripts, coaching, and reinforcement.
• Partner with Analytics and Data Operations to establish baselines, define leading and lagging indicators, and evaluate causal impact wherever practical.
• Measure improvements across customer, employee, operational, and financial KPIs and convert findings into clear business recommendations.
• Build feedback loops that support continuous learning and refinement after implementation.

AI, Automation & Technology Enablement

• Identify and prioritize AI, automation, and digital use cases that reduce effort, improve quality, increase productivity, personalize experiences, or accelerate revenue growth.
• Partner with Technology, Data Operations, Information Security, Legal, and business leaders to evaluate feasibility, controls, integration requirements, and implementation readiness.
• Define responsible-use expectations, human oversight, process controls, training, and measurement plans for new capabilities.
• Monitor adoption, usage, performance, and user feedback; address barriers and refine solutions to improve realized value.
• Maintain awareness of relevant emerging capabilities and translate them into practical, business-focused opportunities.

Scaling, Change Adoption & Value Realization

• Develop enterprise-ready scale plans that include operating processes, ownership, standard work, training, communications, support, governance, and KPI measurement.
• Build implementation roadmaps that clarify dependencies, resource needs, decision rights, risks, and transition responsibilities.
• Partner with Sales Enablement/CX, Customer Service, Sales, Data Operations, Technology, Finance, HR, Marketing, Digital, Retail, and other functions to execute sustainable change.
• Track adoption, benefits realization, and ROI after launch, escalating gaps and coordinating corrective action when results do not meet expectations.
• Create reusable playbooks, templates, and standards that increase the speed, quality, and consistency of future innovation efforts.
• Recommend retirement or redesign of low-value pilots, duplicative tools, and legacy processes when evidence supports change.

Cross-functional Leadership & Communication

• Lead cross-functional initiative teams and influence stakeholders without direct authority.
• Facilitate discovery sessions, design workshops, pilot reviews, and executive decision forums that move work from concept to execution.
• Communicate progress, risks, decisions, results, and recommendations through concise business cases, roadmaps, dashboards, and executive-ready presentations.
• Build strong partnerships with frontline associates and leaders to ensure solutions address real business needs and are practical to adopt.
• Foster a culture of experimentation, disciplined learning, accountability, and continuous improvement.

Business Impact & Success Measures

• Reduce cycle time from opportunity identification to pilot decision and implementation, enabling faster execution of strategic priorities.
• Maintain a healthy, prioritized innovation pipeline with clear ownership, stage gates, and expected value.
• Accelerate responsible adoption and measurable business value from AI, automation, and digital capabilities.
• Increase ROI and benefits realization across transformation initiatives.
• Deliver data-validated improvements in customer experience, employee experience, productivity, revenue, cost, quality, and other financial KPIs.

Additional Responsibilities

• Perform other duties and special projects as assigned.

Qualifications

MINIMUM Requirements & Special ATTRIBUTES:

• Bachelor's degree in business, innovation, operations, analytics, behavioral science, industrial engineering, information systems, or a related field; an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience will be considered. Advanced degree or relevant certification preferred.
• 5+ years of progressive experience in innovation, transformation, product or program management, process improvement, operations excellence, analytics, consulting, or a related discipline.
• Demonstrated success designing, launching, evaluating, and scaling pilots or new capabilities that produced measurable business results.
• Strong analytical and financial acumen, including experience defining KPIs, building business cases, quantifying benefits, and evaluating ROI.
• Working knowledge of experimentation, process mapping, root-cause analysis, journey mapping, change management, and benefits realization practices.
• Practical experience evaluating or implementing AI, automation, CRM, workflow, analytics, or other digital technologies.
• Strong project and portfolio management skills, with the ability to manage multiple complex, cross-functional initiatives.
• Excellent facilitation, written communication, presentation, and executive storytelling skills.
• Demonstrated ability to influence without direct authority, build stakeholder alignment, and translate ambiguity into structured action.
• Experience in a contact center, retail, e-commerce, customer experience, or other high-volume operating environment preferred.
• Personal experience with musical instruments, the music industry, or a related field preferred, with a passion for serving musicians and creators.

Why Guitar Center? Here's just some of the rewards:

For our employees who are musicians we offer the unique opportunity of gig leave--take time off to share your music with the world and return to your job after your tour! Guitar Center offers robust benefits and perks, including Medical, Dental, Vision, 401K plus company match, mental health support, paid sick/holiday/vacation time, employee discount program, and tuition reimbursement options.

About Music & Arts

Music & Arts embodies the world of creativity and music by encouraging our teammates to find their own individual sound. We strive to create lifelong musicians and make a difference in the world by enabling musicians and non-musicians alike to experience the almost indescribable happiness that comes from playing an instrument. We believe in putting our customers first, engaging with respect and integrity and fulfilling our mission with passion.

The first Music & Arts was located in a small house in Bethesda, MD and run by founder Benjamin O'Brien. When Music & Arts opened its doors in 1952, we offered printed music, music lessons, dance lessons, and art supplies. Ben decided shortly after opening his business that he wanted to focus on music to better serve his customers -- a decision that remains intact to this day.

Since the 1990's, Music & Arts has expanded nationwide through organic growth and a series of acquisitions and mergers with other music dealers. In 2005, Music & Arts joined forces with American Music to become the largest band and orchestra instrument retailer in the United States. Based in Frederick, MD, Music & Arts is now part of the Guitar Center enterprise and comprises 225+ retail stores, 200+ educational representatives, and 250+ affiliate locations.

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Send your resume and cover letter today along with salary expectations!

Music & Arts is an Equal Opportunity Employer and provides fair and equal employment opportunity to all employees and applicants regardless of race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status or any other protected status prohibited under Federal, State, or local laws. All employment decisions are based on valid job‐ related requirements.

If you are a qualified individual with a disability or a disabled veteran and are unable or limited in your ability to use or access our website, you may request a reasonable accommodation to express interest in a specific opening. You can request reasonable accommodation by calling 1‐818-735-8800 ext. 2862 or by sending an email to recruiting@guitarcenter.com.