Lead Data Scientist

Who we are 🌍We’re IAG Loyalty - one organisation with two ambitious, growing divisions across Loyalty and Holidays. Each has its own goals, strategy and team, but together we’re united by a shared vision to create a more rewarding world of travel and experiences.

Our Loyalty division is home to Avios, the global loyalty currency, enabling millions of members to collect and spend rewards across travel, retail and financial services.

Our Holidays division, including British Airways Holidays and Iberia Vacaciones, brings together trusted brands, connecting customers to thousands of destinations worldwide through seamless, end-to-end travel experiences,We’re on an exciting journey of growth and transformation – we’re going places.

The opportunity "Every Data Science team builds models. Ours is measured by the commercial value those models create."We're looking for a commercially minded Data Science Lead to join our Data Products Leadership Team and help shape the future of Data Science across IAG Loyalty.

This is an opportunity to lead a talented team whilst remaining hands-on, solving some of our biggest customer, marketing and commercial challenges using Machine Learning and advanced analytics. Working across multiple product value streams, you'll partner with Product Owners, Engineers, Analysts and business leaders to identify where Data Science can create the greatest value, turning opportunities into production-ready solutions that improve customer engagement, profitability and the way millions of members earn and spend Avios.

Success in this role isn't measured by the number of models you build. It's measured by the business outcomes you create. You'll shape the Data Science roadmap, prioritise the highest-value opportunities and ensure every solution delivers measurable commercial impact. If you enjoy solving complex business problems, influencing strategy and developing high-performing teams, this is an opportunity to make a real difference across one of the world's leading loyalty businesses.

What you'll be doing 🚀As the Data Science Lead, you'll combine technical leadership with commercial thinking, leading a team of Data Scientists whilst remaining hands-on in the design and delivery of production-ready Machine Learning solutions. Spending around half of your time on technical delivery, you'll coach your team, set technical standards and ensure Data Science is focused on solving the business problems that matter most.

Working closely with Product Owners, Analysts, Engineers and stakeholders across Commercial, Marketing, Customer, Finance and Digital, you'll translate complex business challenges into high-value Data Science use cases. You'll build and prioritise a commercially driven backlog, balancing customer value, strategic priorities and technical complexity to ensure the team focuses on opportunities that deliver the greatest impact.

Whether improving personalisation, recommendation systems, marketing effectiveness, pricing or customer lifetime value, you'll ensure every solution has clear success measures and demonstrable commercial outcomes. Alongside delivery, you'll champion experimentation, continuous learning and responsible AI, raising the technical bar across the Data Science community and helping shape the future direction of Data Science at IAG Loyalty.

You'll also play a key role as a member of the Data Products Leadership Team, influencing the direction of the function, developing future capability and ensuring Data Science continues to be recognised as a strategic driver of business growth.

What we need from you We're looking for someone who combines technical excellence with strong commercial judgement and a passion for developing people.

You've successfully delivered Data Science solutions that created measurable commercial value, whether through increased revenue, customer engagement, profitability or operational efficiency.

You naturally think about business outcomes first, using Data Science to solve customer and commercial challenges rather than simply building models.

You're comfortable working with ambiguity and can translate complex business questions into…