This report presents the design foundations for the envisioned enablers that will be implemented as part of the Smart Network Management framework that is targeted in Hexa-X-II project. This initial design work has been performed based on the analysis of 6G drivers and KPIs/KVIs, elaboration on the functional objectives regarding Management and Orchestration (M&O) established in Hexa-X-II Description of Action (DoA), study of background information elements that have been identified in the State of the Art (SoTA) and the 1st end-to-end Hexa-X-II system blueprint.The Hexa-X-II Smart Network Management enablers aim to build a programmable cloud-native M&O framework for the future 6G networks, that will be including mechanisms that define a 6G enabled trustworthy environment, orchestration mechanisms for managing the deployment of 6G services over heterogeneous resources across the IoT-to-edge-to-cloud continuum, sustainable AI/ML-based network control solutions with optimal energy efficiency as well as zero-touch M&O mechanisms for closed loop automation, guaranteeing compliance with relevant 6GKVI/ KPIs while reducing OPEX.The current version of the Smart Network Management enablers presented in this document will be considered into the next (2nd) design iteration of the end-to-end Hexa-X-II system design in a bottom-up approach. The current enablers will be later analysed in order to be compliant with the 6G end-to-end architecture objectives. Further end-to-end requirements will be taken into account to provide an updated and complete design of the enablers expected in the project by June 2024.