National Donor and Clinical Operations Organisation (Bristol)

Sourcing a Digital Systems and Engagement Platforms Manager to Restore Momentum Across a Mission-Critical Digital Estate

The Challenge

Our client was a national organisation responsible for donor engagement, booking systems, operational ordering platforms, and clinical data flows used daily by hospitals and clinical teams across the UK. They were mid-way through a digital modernisation programme and needed a Digital Systems and Engagement Platforms Manager to own the roadmap and drive it forward. The digital estate included a core CRM supporting the donor lifecycle, high-volume public booking and self-service portals, operational ordering systems, and multiple integrations across communications, authentication, and internal tooling. None of it could afford to stand still.

After several months of advertising, the organisation had not been able to hire. Most applicants required work permits. The small number of UK-based candidates with the right combination of CRM configuration, SQL capability, and integration experience were moving quickly and being snapped up elsewhere. Critical upgrades, portal improvements, and integration fixes were being delayed. Teams lacked a single technical owner to drive decisions and maintain continuity across the estate.

They needed a partner who could reach a niche talent pool that sat at the intersection of CRM ownership, data handling, integration management, and user-centred digital thinking, and do it faster than the previous campaigns had managed.

The Solution

Xist4 ran a focused search starting with a structured review of why the previous campaigns had failed and what needed to change before more effort went into the same channels.

• Analysed UK talent availability, salary alignment, and comparable roles across healthtech, clinical informatics, and membership-based organisations, identifying where the previous approach had been too broad and too dependent on active applicants.
• Worked with the Head of Digital Services to refine the core requirements around CRM and donor-facing systems ownership, SQL and data extraction capability, integration management, and a product-led improvement mindset, separating the genuine needs from the nice-to-haves that were narrowing the pool.
• Focused outreach on candidates working in healthtech, clinical workflow platforms, booking and engagement systems, regulated data environments, and charities managing large CRM estates.
• Assessed candidates on CRM configuration depth, SQL proficiency, integration troubleshooting, release planning, and the ability to work across operational and digital teams without losing momentum.

The Result

Within five weeks, Xist4 delivered a shortlist of UK-based candidates with verified hands-on experience supporting mission-critical, public-facing digital systems.

The appointed candidate brought strong CRM administration experience, solid SQL capability, practical API and middleware integration skills, and a background supporting booking and engagement platforms in high-volume environments. In their first months they stabilised key integrations, improved data quality, implemented structured upgrade processes, and reduced support backlogs that had been building throughout the vacancy period. The organisation regained continuity across its donor and operational platforms and had a clear owner driving the digital roadmap forward for the first time in months.