Lead Principal Architect - Commercial

Using technology, innovation, and working collaboratively  across our teams, we’re looking to create the leading customer experience within budget hospitality to support our continued growth in the UK and beyond.   Your hunger for excellence and creativity will shape the future of our customer experience.

To drive this, we are looking for a new Lead Principal Architect for our Commercial Systems, who has the hunger and passion for how technology can support our customers and colleagues, to help design and develop the platforms that drive revenue and improve customer experience.

You’ll be able to  communicate effectively at all levels up to C suite, as well as being confident in processing, analysing, and  challenging the ‘status quo’.  You will manage the design, end to end of the ecommerce architecture and implementation of projects, ensuring they meet high standards of functionality and aesthetics, but equally have the pragmatism to adapt to ever changing commercial demands.

Salary:                  From £100,000pa up to £110,000pa

Location :              Houghton Regis, Bedfordshire (LU5 5XE) and a hybrid way of working with a minimum of 3 days a week in the office.

Contract Type:     Permanent

Why you’ll love it here:

• Bonus: Up to 30% company performance related bonus
• Car or Car Allowance
• Healthcare: Individual BUPA healthcare
• Discounts: Up to 60% discount on Premier Inn stays and 25% discount on our Restaurant brands
• Company Share save Scheme: Share in Whitbread’s continued success.

Check out all our benefits here: https://www.whitbreadcareers.com/about-us/benefits/

What you’ll Do:

• You’ll support all sales channels, including Digital eCommerce Websites, Mobile Apps, Contact Centre, Distribution and Front Desk by driving the Commercial technology roadmap based on our business strategy.
• You’ll develop  and agreeing the Target Architecture and maintaining the Portfolio Analysis covering the current fit of our technology stack.
• Manage the design, end to end of the ecommerce architecture and implementation of projects, ensuring they meet high standards of functionality and aesthetic.

What we need:

• Experience of building and operating modern digital platforms, including the development of Portfolio Analysis, Target Architectures, and multi-year roadmaps
• Experience of working up to Board level, in terms of capturing requirements, and acting as their key technology partner in their area of expertise.
• Experience of Business Process Re-engineering and modelling
• Experience of website, mobile apps architecture.
• Great communication skills and able to adapt communication style based on your audience.
• Strong analysis and design skills across multiple business areas, platforms and technologies
  Understanding the whole context.
• Strong understanding of enterprise architecture, portfolio analysis and roadmap development
• Strong understanding of Architectural Frameworks, such as TOGAF, Open Group
• Understanding of the principles of modular design, also known as “composable design ”, to help develop high performing, flexible architectures capable of adapting to business change.

Be part of the dynamic Information Technology/Architecture Team

Whitbread are the owners of Premier Inn, and some of the UK’s most loved restaurants. Our Technology team builds products and services that are used by around 40,000 employees and our guests. Everything from an eCommerce website that handles £2 billion in transactions per year, applications that are scalable across our 1,200 hotel and restaurants, devices that enable our teams and guests to have a seamless experience, all whilst keeping data secure.#LI-MM1