Data Science Lead

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.

• You only want to focus on your to‑do list; we're a small, high‑performing team and we help each other to succeed.
• You value perfection over fast iteration and progress; IAG Loyalty moves fast, we learn and iterate as we go, and our environment isn't right for everyone.
• You're looking to build models without understanding the commercial outcome; this is an end‑to‑end leadership role where you'll shape strategy, prioritise opportunities and measure the value your team delivers.
• You're looking to create but not build; you'll need to be comfortable owning your space from identifying opportunities through to delivery, measurement and continuous optimisation.

The Blend This role will work as part of our Loyalty Division and is based in our London office. We call our approach to hybrid working The Blend - it's about giving you the flexibility to choose where you do your best work, while staying connected with your team and the wider business. This means you'll be required to spend at least two days per week in the office, with the rest of the time working from home.

Although this role sits within our Loyalty Division, you'll collaborate with colleagues across both Loyalty and Holidays, using data and AI to help create more rewarding travel experiences for millions of customers. You may also be required to work from one of our other office or partner locations, depending on business needs and your priorities.

Our vision is to create a more rewarding world of travel and experiences. Delivering that requires diverse thinking and inclusive leadership. We are committed to building a workplace where people feel they belong and are valued for their perspective. Inclusion drives better decisions, stronger performance and more innovative outcomes.

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…