Head of Engineering, Group

Sawday's; Bristol; Hybrid; GBP 65,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading travel brand in Bristol is seeking a Head of Engineering to lead the technology strategy and oversee a technical team. This role involves enhancing the digital experience and ensuring compliance with ethical standards. The ideal candidate has extensive full-stack development experience, strong team leadership skills, and a commitment to sustainability. This position offers a salary range of £65-75k, flexible work arrangements, and various employee benefits.

Benefits

26 days holiday plus bank holidays

Company pension scheme

Employee discounts on travel

Volunteering day per year

Work from home flexibility

Qualifications

• Significant hands-on experience in full-stack development.
• Strong ability to build and develop technical teams.
• Proven background in managing technology and systems.

Responsibilities

• Set technology strategy and direction across the organization.
• Assess and improve the existing technical ecosystem.
• Ensure high standards of digital user experience.

Skills

Full-stack development experience

Building technical teams

Technical project management

Experience with high-volume systems

Excellent communication

Change management understanding

10+ years in technology

6+ years in software management

Tools

JS frameworks (Vue)

LAMP stacks

AWS infrastructure

Job description

A bit about us.

The Sawdays group is a pioneering family of travel brands united by a deep passion for extraordinary places to stay. Places that stir the soul connect people to nature and community and turn every trip into something truly memorable.

• Sawdays offers self‑catering places B&B’s hotels and pubs all personally inspected.
• Canopy & Stars takes you off the beaten path with treehouses, cabins, yurts and other magical escapes.
• Paws & Stay finds unforgettable adventures for people and their dogs.
• Crown & Canopy is our expert consultancy helping owners turn wild ideas and empty fields into extraordinary places.

We’re proud to be 52% employee‑owned with the rest held by a Charitable Trust and our founding family. We are a certified B Corp and among the highest scoring travel B Corps in the world. We’re also recognised for being in the top 5% in the world for caring for employees.

Sustainability and ethics are at the heart of what we do. Every employee, every team, every decision contributes to our mission to demonstrate that tourism can be done better and that it has a positive role to play in society and in protecting the environment.

This role involves working across all brands.

Your role

We’re looking for someone who will be a key part of our Leadership Team with responsibility for all aspects of technology within the organisation. This includes setting strategy and direction, building and developing our technical team, maintaining external supplier relationships and enabling the company to gain competitive advantage through the appropriate implementation of technology. You’ll bring curiosity, enthusiasm and a willingness to get stuck in.

Job Title

Head of Engineering

Reports to

Managing Director

Responsible for

• The Platform Team (7 people)

Works with

• Leadership Team
• Heads of Marketing and other teams
• External partners and service providers

Main tasks and responsibilities

• Understand the company’s long‑term technology strategy and business objectives focusing on migration out of legacy systems and into a unified sustainable technology platform for all of our brands
• Assess and audit our existing technical ecosystem and enable the team to deliver recommended improvements and simplifications
• Ensure a high standard of digital user experience across brands
• Hold responsibility for technical innovation, system administration, legal and standards compliance, maintenance and operational security and reliability
• Uphold working practices and processes (currently Agile) to optimise the teams’ production and support of mission‑critical software
• Inspire a high‑performing team fostering a culture of trust, excellence and respectful collaboration
• Communicate complex technical concepts to non‑technical stakeholders at all levels of the company, including our board of directors
• Work both collaboratively and independently, taking initiative and making informed data‑driven commercial decisions
• Develop and maintain effective relationships with external technology service providers and partners
• Oversee IT provision for the organisation working closely with an external partner to ensure appropriate governance is in place
• Act as the company’s Data Protection Officer and ensure compliance with GDPR
• Set and review annual budgets with Head of Finance and our Managing Director
• Provide updates, insights and recommendations to the company management and board
• Lead by example where appropriate with opportunities for hands‑on configuration and coding, peer review and setting of standards
• Sustainability & Ethics Guardianship: We are leaders in sustainable and ethical travel and every team in our business plays a vital role in achieving our impact goals. Our Impact Report outlines our five‑year strategy and annual objectives which form the foundation of our company‑wide this role you’ll be responsible for considering these goals with every decision we make as a business whilst supporting initiatives which contribute to the success of our shared mission.

Necessary skills and experience

• Significant hands‑on full‑stack development experience (JS frameworks e.g. Vue, full LAMP stacks, AWS infrastructure)
• Experience of building and developing technical teams
• Experience of technical project management
• Hands‑on experience with high‑volume mission‑critical systems
• Excellent communication at all levels with the ability to work through ambiguity and to collaborate with business stakeholders
• A solid understanding of change management and experience of transformation
• At least 10 years working in technology and systems
• At least 6 years of direct management of software and technology strategy

Preferable skills and experience

• A travel or booking / e‑commerce related background

Salary and benefits

• An annual salary from £65‑75k depending on experience
• 26 days holiday per year plus bank holidays
• Flexi time and hybrid working (3 days in the office per week, within commuting distance of Bristol)
• Company pension scheme with enhanced employer contributions at 4% and an optional salary‑sacrifice scheme
• An employee‑owned company: after your introductory period you will be eligible to a share of any dividends
• A colourful upcycled recycled open‑plan office on Bristol’s buzzing harbourside
• DEIBA Team: a team focused on diversity & inclusion efforts for our employees and customers
• £290 per year towards staying in one of our special places
• 20% employee discount and 10% family & friends discount on UK‑based Canopy & Stars breaks, 15% discount on EU‑based breaks
• 15% employee discount and 8% family & friends discount on Paws & Stay breaks in the UK
• Enhanced maternity and paternity pay
• A volunteering day per year
• 15 wellbeing hours per year
• A Climate Journey Day policy which gives you the opportunity to earn up to two paid days per year to travel to and from a holiday destination using low‑carbon transport
• Social and wellbeing events held throughout the year

Closing Date and Applications

• Closing date is 19th September 2025
• Please submit applications through the Jobs page on our website

Our Behaviours and Values

How we work is just as important as the success we achieve at Sawdays. During your time with us you will be expected to treasure protect and embody our behaviours and values every day.

We celebrate quirkiness and difference

• We dance to the beat of our own drum
• We encourage curiosity and creativity
• We champion individuality and the special

We follow head and heart

• We are solidly commercial while flexible and human
• We are empathetic, generous and supportive
• We make ethical holistic long‑term decisions

We do important things brilliantly

• We use business as a force for social, environmental and economic good
• We are committed to our craft and deliver with ambition and purpose
• We relish our role in sustaining a happy healthy world

We bring positive energy

• We foster a genuine spirit of togetherness and family
• We take pleasure in empowering and delighting others
• We are driven to learn, grow, connect and contribute

Finally

We place a strong emphasis on ethics, people and the environment and it is important to us that you understand, strongly identify with and are able to develop the company ethos.

We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer and an inclusive company where diverse backgrounds and perspectives are valued and where everyone can bring their full authentic selves to work.

As a Disability Confident Employer we offer a guaranteed interview to any disabled candidate who meets all the necessary skills listed above and is a commuting distance from the office.

If you need any further assistance with your application or require the application form in a different format, please email Charlotte or call 0.