Data Science Lead

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.

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: 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 well‑defined, high‑value Data Science opportunities. You know how to prioritise work based on customer impact, commercial value and strategic importance, ensuring your team focuses on what matters most. You’ve successfully led, coached or mentored Data Scientists, creating an environment where people can learn, experiment and perform at their best. You’re an experienced hands‑on Data Scientist with strong Python and SQL skills and a track record of delivering production‑ready Machine Learning solutions. You have experience across customer, marketing or commercial Data Science, including recommendation systems, experimentation, pricing, propensity modelling, uplift modelling or similar use cases. You’re confident communicating complex technical concepts to both technical and non‑technical audiences, helping stakeholders understand both the solution and the commercial value it delivers. You enjoy working collaboratively with Product Owners, Engineers, Analysts and business stakeholders to solve meaningful problems. Experience with cloud‑based Machine Learning platforms, MLOps, LLMs or Agentic AI is advantageous, although we’re more interested in your ability to learn quickly and apply new technologies to solve business problems.

We might not be right for you if: 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.

Diversity and Inclusion: 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 actively encourage applications from people with different experiences and backgrounds, and are committed to ensuring our recruitment process is fair, inclusive and accessible.