Talent Acquisition Manager | Championing People, Culture & Growth at Travel Chapter

Employment Type: Permanent (with the possibility of a 12 month FTC)

Location: Hybrid (Minimum 2 days/week in Bideford HQ)

Hours: Full-time, Monday to Friday (9am–5.30pm)

We’re Travel Chapter, the holiday home people, and we’re on a mission to make every UK break unforgettable. From Cornwall cottages to coastal escapes in the Scottish Highlands, our platform connects thousands of travellers with the perfect place to stay.

As a certified B Corp, we’re proud to meet the highest standards of social and environmental impact. That means doing business the right way for our people, our communities, and the planet. Now, we’re looking for a Head of Software Engineering to shape the future of our tech and lead a growing team of high performing engineers.

What you’ll be doing

As Head of Software Engineering, you’ll lead a team of six (and growing), including Engineers and Technical Leads. You’ll set the direction, raise the bar, and champion software engineering excellence across the business.

You’ll be responsible for:

• Defining and executing the software engineering strategy aligned with business goals
• Driving best practices and principles for effective and efficient software delivery
• Leading and mentoring Principal Engineers, Technical Leads, and ICs
• Partnering with Product, UX, and Delivery teams to ship meaningful, scalable products
• Advocating for secure, stable, and scalable systems built for real-world traffic
• Championing a high-performance culture with space for growth, autonomy, and learning
• Driving innovation through AI tooling, automation, and emerging tech
• Maintaining documentation and cross-functional clarity with Platform Engineering
• Championing agile practices

What we’re looking for

Tech & Architecture

• Deep knowledge of distributed systems, microservices, and cloud-native architectures
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines, containerisation (Docker, Kubernetes), and AWS
• Background in high-traffic platforms ideally e-commerce or bookings
• Familiarity with payment systems, PCI compliance, and search/recommendation tooling

Industry Context

• Bonus if you’ve worked in travel tech, PMS, or with seasonal products

Leadership & Culture

• Experience leading senior software engineers and building software engineering teams
• Strong belief in collaboration, mentoring, and autonomy
• Skilled at balancing speed with long-term platform stability

Delivery Mindset

• Expertise in Agile, Lean, and Lean ways of working
• Excellent communicator across technical and non-technical audiences

What’s in it for you?

• 25 days' holiday + bank holidays + your birthday off
• £500 holiday discount to spend on your own getaway
• Volunteer day to give back to a cause you care about
• Family and friends discount scheme
• Hybrid working with time to collaborate in our vibrant Bideford HQ (beach walks included)
• Life assurance for peace of mind
• Community groups like the Parenting Circle, Events Team, and Sports Club
• Wellbeing & interest clubs from sustainability to nutrition and pet-lovers
• Fun social calendar including legendary Christmas parties and surprise perks
• And, of course, the opportunity to work for a proud B Corp, where impact matters just as much as output

We’re proudly rooted in the South West, but our ambitions reach far and wide. We’re growing, we’re investing in our people, and we’re building tech that makes booking brilliant holidays easier, faster, and more human. If you want to work somewhere friendly and fair, where people back each other and believe in what they do this could be the place for you.

Diversity and inclusion matter to us. If you need adjustments to the application or interview process, just let us know, we’re happy to help.