Head of Software Product (UK)

Location: Glasgow, UK (3 days per week in the office)

Are you an experienced digital product leader who loves creating brilliant online experiences and making technology work better for customers and businesses? Someone who knows how to set clear priorities, bring teams together and turn great ideas into measurable results? If you thrive in a fast-paced, scaling environment, we'd love to hear from you.

As our Head of Software Product, you'll lead the strategy, roadmap and performance of Macs Adventure's digital products, from our customer-facing website and app to the data products and back-office systems that support our business. You'll make sure we're investing in the right improvements to deliver better customer experiences and stronger commercial results.

Reporting to our Director of Technology & Digital, you'll lead and develop our product team, working closely with colleagues across Macs and our external development partners to turn our digital product strategy into reality as we grow towards becoming the world's leading active travel company.

About Macs Adventure

We’re a scaling adventure tour operator on a mission to be the leading global brand in self-guided, active travel.

Welcoming over 40,000 customers on walking and cycling trips to destinations around the world, we employ over 140 people across the UK, US and Germany who share our purpose to create #macsmoments by leading, advocating & enabling self-guided, active travel as a positive force for people and planet.

Our Culture

We’re an ambitious, forward-thinking business with a bold vision for the future, and our culture reflects these ambitions. We’re an action-oriented, fast-paced organisation and we like to have fun along the way. We’re looking for people who can grow with Macs and grow with us on our journey to become the world’s leading active travel company. It’s not the easy route and we’re looking for people who enjoy challenges, love learning, want to make an impact and align with our core values:

• Love the journey: A Macs trip is all about the journey, not the destination. We are all believers in Macs’ unique brand of self-guided, active travel and shout about it. As more travellers convert to the Macs Way, we accept our business will grow and change. We welcome new connections, and embrace to new opportunities. Carpe diem!

• Take a different path: We’re not different for different’s sake; but we won’t succeed if we’re just the same as everyone else. We devise creative solutions to problems, find new ways of doing things, and trust colleagues who are doing so too. We are brave and feel empowered to take the initiative. We ask ourselves: is what I’m doing authentically Macs?

• Tread thoughtfully: We are considerate, empathetic and try to put ourselves in our customers’, suppliers’ and each other’s shoes. We support local, and find ways of having less negative impact on the planet. We find ways of having positive impact on people and communities. We are fair, and we do the right thing.

• Go the extra mile: We know that creating a perfect #MacsMoment involves going that bit further. We imagine the best feedback we can get and set out to earn it. We take ownership and accountability – it’s yours, not someone else’s, problem. We step up and help our team mates when they need us.

What you’ll do;

Our digital products play a vital role in how customers discover, book and experience their Macs adventures, as well as how our teams work behind the scenes. From our website and app to our data products and internal systems, we want to make sure we're investing in the right things, solving the right problems and continuously improving how our platforms perform.

As Head of Software Product, you'll bring together customer needs, business priorities and technical possibilities to shape what we deliver and why. You'll lead our product team, work closely with colleagues across Macs and our external development partners, and make sure we turn great ideas into improvements that deliver measurable results.

Here's where you'll make an impact:

• Own our product strategy and roadmap – setting a clear product vision and prioritised roadmap across our website, app, data products and back-office systems. You'll turn our wider business strategy into product priorities, making sure investment decisions balance customer value, commercial impact and technical feasibility.

• Lead product delivery from start to finish – overseeing the full product lifecycle, from understanding problems and exploring solutions through to launch, ongoing improvements and retirement. You'll balance competing priorities, manage dependencies and resources, and ensure we deliver against agreed plans and budgets.

• Improve the performance of our digital platforms – driving continuous improvements across our website, app, data and internal systems to make them more reliable, scalable and effective. You'll use customer insight, data and experimentation to identify opportunities, working closely with Engineering to manage technical constraints, architecture and technical debt.

• Deliver measurable customer and commercial results – using product improvements to increase online conversion, improve customer experience and retention, and support revenue growth. You'll build clear business cases for product investment and use data and customer feedback to measure the impact of what we deliver.

• Lead and develop our product team – building a high-performing team of product specialists, developing their skills and raising standards across product discovery, prioritisation and delivery. You'll create a culture of ownership, accountability and continuous improvement.

• Work across the business and with our development partners – collaborating with Engineering, Design, Data, Marketing, Operations, Customer Service and Commercial teams to deliver shared priorities. You'll manage relationships with external development partners and suppliers, ensuring delivery meets business needs, whilst keeping senior stakeholders informed of progress, priorities and risks.

• Bring clarity to priorities, resources and delivery – establishing clear ways of prioritising work and managing product investment across the portfolio. You'll oversee product backlogs, sprint planning and reviews, whilst proactively managing budgets, resources, risks and dependencies to keep delivery on track.

What you’ll bring;

• Experienced product leader – 8–10+ years in product management, including experience leading and scaling product teams.

• Proven product strategy experience – a track record of owning end-to-end product strategy and roadmaps across customer-facing, data and back-office products.

• Strong product lifecycle management – experience across product vision, roadmapping, prioritisation, delivery and managing dependencies and resources.

• Experience working with external partners – comfortable managing a mix of in-house teams and external development partners or agencies.

• Strong technical collaboration – experience partnering with engineering teams in agile development environments.

• Experienced people leader – a track record of leading and developing multidisciplinary teams, including Product Managers, Product Owners and Business Analysts.

• Strong commercial awareness – able to connect product investment decisions to measurable business outcomes.

• Data-driven approach – confident using data, analytics and experimentation to inform product decisions.

• Excellent stakeholder management – able to influence senior leaders, build strong relationships and align priorities across the business.

Not essential, it would be a bonus if you have;

• Experience in ecommerce, travel or consumer digital platforms

The knowledge and skills we’ve listed represent “the perfect candidate”. No one’s perfect and we know the ‘confidence gap’ can stop brilliant people applying. If you love the sound of this opportunity please apply, we’d love to hear from you.

You could belong here;

To deliver adventures for more than 40,000 customers we need to build a company that’s reflective of their diversity. We’re building an inclusive workplace that promotes and values difference, where everyone, from any background, can do their best work and be proud to belong.

What we’ll offer

As well as your salary;

• ANNUAL LEAVE: We want you to be able to take holidays that matter to you, so 8 public holidays are included in your annual leave allowance of 33 days, which increases to 35 days after 5 years’ service.

• BIRTHDAY BOOSTER: An extra day off on your birthday!

• PENSION: We offer a contributory pension scheme.

• DISCOUNTS: Enjoy generous discounts on Macs Adventure trips — you'll get to experience the same self-guided adventures we create for our customers, at a price that makes it easy to say yes. It's a perk built around what we love doing most: getting outside and exploring!

• TRAVEL INSURANCE: We provide you and your spouse/partner/children with annual worldwide travel insurance.

• FLEXIBLE WORKING: A flexible work culture - you’ll be able to work from home as well as coming into our hub office in Glasgow 3 days per week to collaborate with colleagues.

• GETTING TOGETHER: Regular team, management and leadership meetings and retreats.

• CULTURE: An innovative, fast growth, international and solution focused culture, where we work hard to embed our values across the business.

• L&D: We support your self-guided learning journey to make the most of your strengths.

• WELLBEING. We'll support you in looking after your health and wellbeing so you can do your best work.

• TRAVEL: Occasional international travel may be required.

• IMPACT: The opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives and the planet.