Head of Architecture

Who We Are 🩵 We’re the people behind global loyalty currency, Avios, and home to two ambitious, growing businesses across Loyalty and Holidays. Each business has its own goals, strategy and team, but collectively we share a purpose to  create the world’s most rewarding experiences for our customers through loyalty programmes, new products and holidays  We’re on a truly exciting journey of growth and transformation – we’re going places This is where you come in.  The opportunity ✨ As the Head of Architecture, you will have the opportunity to shape the technology strategy that powers the next stage of our growth. You will define and lead the strategic architecture for our Loyalty, Holidays and Retail businesses, ensuring alignment with the objectives of those businesses, the strategic roadmaps of the broader IAG operating companies, and our technology vision. Your leadership will be instrumental in ensuring we pursue the right technology direction for our business and gaining the support of our c-suite to unlock the necessary investment. This role is based out of 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 will be required to spend at least two days per week in the office, with the rest of the time working from home. You may also be required to work from one of our other office or partner locations, based on your role and 'to do' list. What You’ll Get Up To 🌠 As the Head of Architecture, you will play a central role in shaping the next phase of our technology strategy and supporting the wider business vision. You will define and lead the strategic technology roadmaps across our Loyalty, Holidays, and Retail businesses, ensuring they are aligned with our long-term objectives. This includes establishing and maintaining architectural principles, reference architectures, and decision-making frameworks that support robust and future-ready technology choices. As both an internal leader and external representative, you will promote IAGL’s architectural vision across industry forums, building the organisation’s reputation and influence. You will work closely with product, engineering, and business teams to ensure technology decisions are in step with strategic goals, while also collaborating with IAG OpCo architecture teams to align on key initiatives and shared roadmaps. Externally, you’ll develop strategic partnerships with software vendors, industry bodies, and research organisations to ensure our architecture remains at the forefront of industry best practice. Your ability to create clear, compelling architectural roadmaps—and gain C-suite alignment around them—will be key to unlocking investment and delivering long-term business value. Through strong cross-functional collaboration and leadership, you will help drive efficiency, innovation, and strategic impact across the organisation. What We Need From You 💡 We are aiming high, and we accept that it is unlikely that any one person will meet every aspect of the brief. Who you are is equally as important as what you have done or where you have worked. So even if you don't tick every box, or your experience is from a unique or varied background, we'd still love to hear from you An experienced technology leader with a passion for technology, and driving value from its use A proven track record of leading an Architecture function, in a multi-business group or complex enterprise environment, ideally through a period of transformation or significant growth. Experience of leading an Architecture function in an environment where high rates of change are the norm, and where change is managed by autonomous teams operating a DevSecOps model. Results-driven, unafraid to challenge the status quo and able to hold people accountable for delivering their commitments. Experience in implementing and iterating comprehensive strategies that align with business goals and empower us to make data-driven decisions. Able define and clearly articulate the team's mission and promote strong agile ways of working. Ability to gain trust, influence, and steer a wide range of stakeholders, including our c-suite to gain buy in for strategic roadmaps Highly resilient character, able to demonstrate drive and ambition to reach the required goals. Naturally able to move at a fast pace, but with the empathy and storytelling ability to take others on a journey with you. An understanding of the loyalty, travel, or aviation sector is advantageous but not critical. Equity, Diversity and Inclusion at IAG Loyalty Our vision, 'to create the world's most rewarding experiences,' applies not only to our customers but for our colleagues too. It's about taking belonging seriously, actively fostering a culture where everyone feels welcomed and valued by embracing diverse identities, personal histories, and perspectives. This commitment makes IAG Loyalty a rewarding place to work and enhances our ability to solve complex problems, drive innovation, and better serve our customers and communities. Please let us know if we can make any reasonable adjustments to support your interview process with us.