We began by taking hotel bookings online over 20 years ago and we've been shaping the travel industry ever since. Today, we're building a platform that connects all parts of the trip – from accommodation to transport, flights, tickets, tours and much more!

From our hubs in Manchester, London, Amsterdam our Trips Business Unit helps people get where they want to go, anywhere in the world. Whether customers want the freedom of a car, the convenience of a flight, the ease of a taxi or the economy of public transport, we make it all possible.

Our team is passionate about helping people travel. They see challenges as opportunities. And they’re always ready for change.

The Trips Data team at Booking.com looks after data for everything but the stay at Booking.com, enabling teams across the organisation to understand and manage our business performance and improve the experience of our customers through the data we manage and serve. This includes data platforms, data governance, data quality, data warehousing, data enablement, enrichment and machine learning functionality.

Role Description:

The Head of Data Governance is a senior thought-leader and team leader, responsible for the strategy and implementation of Data Governance and data quality across a broad area of the company.

Working with business and technology collaborators to define and implement a Data Governance strategy that is clear, crisp and right sized for business objectives and compliance obligations

Key to success in this role is the ability to translate an expert level of Data Governance and Quality knowledge into communications and actions that make sense to Partners and deliver tangible benefits for the business.

This role demands skills as an evangelist, a partner and a people leader - at a time where transformation and modernisation of our data ecosystem is an Org level priority.

This role can be based in either London or Manchester. We work in a flexible, hybrid way, but you should live within a commutable distance to be present in your base office two days per week. Occasional travel will be required to London / Manchester, and also to Amsterdam.

Key Job Responsibilities and Duties:

• Partnering with Central Tech Data Governance to support policy definition and lead the implementation of related Standards and guidelines at Business Unit level for Trips
• Bring clarity and engagement to the roll out of Data Ownership and Stewardship across the Trips business and technical teams as we modernise our Data
• Partner with the Data Architect in creating and championing design principles that embed both DG and DQ in design, early and throughout the data lifecycle
• Collaborating with Risk and Compliance to understand Data Governance Risk position and appetite, to communicate, lead and measure mitigation activities
• Build, own and maintain data asset cataloging and metadata, covering data lineage, classification and definitions documentation
• Make it clear and accessible for consumers
• Define quality requirements for data domains and data assets, based on standards for all data quality dimensions, to ensure design of high-quality data solutions
• Collaborate with Business Data Stewards to design new strategies, solutions and rules for data quality validation, to ensure data accuracy and reliability
• Collaborate with Data Engineering Managers to develop strategies and standards for monitoring, failure detection, and data availability to ensure data timeliness and completeness
• Lead proactive and reactive resolution of data governance and compliance issues and incidents
• Ensure alignment between data governance methodology, Data Privacy procedures and requirements and the IT Information Security strategy.
• Lead and line manage members of the Governance and Quality teams, including people managers

Role Qualifications and Requirements:

• Experience led understanding of downstream impact of Data Governance process and policy, experience in shaping these to balance compliance and pace
• Knowledge of industry Data Governance tooling, ideally including assessment, rollout and management experience
• Strong knowledge of Data Ownership and Stewardship structure, definition and onboarding
• Expert knowledge of implementing and leading Data Governance Risk and issue assessment and strategy
• Strong knowledge of data governance & protection frameworks, eg GDPR, DMA etc
• Expert knowledge of data quality requirement definition and implementation methodologies and tools
• Expert knowledge of Data Management requirements based on best practices, e.g. DAMA-DMBOK
• Working knowledge of Enterprise Architecture, e.g. TOGAF
• Working knowledge of database querying languages or scripting tools, e.g. SQL, VBA, Pandas, R
• Experience in leading teams, including managing managers.

Benefits & Perks:

Booking.com’s Total Rewards Philosophy is not only about compensation but also about benefits. Our Total Rewards are aimed to make it easier for you to experience all that life has to offer—all the messy, beautiful, and joyful bits—on your terms. So you can focus on what really matters. We offer competitive compensation as well as thoughtful, valuable, and even fun benefits which include:

• Health, life, and disability insurance*
• Annual paid time off and generous paid leave scheme including: parent, grandparent, bereavement, and care leave
• Hybrid working including flexible working arrangements, and up to 20 days per year working from abroad (home country)
• Industry leading product discounts for yourself, friends, and family, including automatic Genius Level 3 status and quarterly Booking.com wallet credit
• Free access to online learning platforms, development and mentorship programs, and a complimentary Headspace membership
• On-site meals, coffee, and snacks, including healthy and vegan options, daily*

*Please note that while our philosophy is the same in every location, benefits may differ by office/country. More details on the benefits and perks offered by the company can be found here.

#ThinkInclusion: Wellbeing & Inclusion at Booking.com:

Directly linked to our mission to make it easier for everyone to experience the world, Inclusion, Diversity, Belonging, Wellbeing and Volunteering (IDBWV) have been a core part of our company culture since day one. This ongoing journey starts with our very own employees, who represent over 140 nationalities and a wide range of ethnic and social backgrounds, genders and sexual orientations.

Take it from our Chief People Officer, Paulo Pisano: “At Booking.com, the diversity of our people doesn’t just create a unique workplace, it also creates a better and more inclusive travel experience for everyone. Inclusion is at the heart of everything we do. It’s a place where you can make your mark and have a real impact in travel and tech.”

Our DBWV overview can be found here.

Application Process:

Learn more here about what to expect in our interview process: Your Journey