Growth Intelligence Director

Location: London
Career Level: B1
Division: Global Insights & Strategy
Reporting to: VP Insights and Strategy

Bring Joy. Create Connections. Make Memories.

At Merlin Entertainments, we create unforgettable experiences for millions of guests worldwide. Behind every magical moment is data, insight and intelligence powering decisions that drive growth, innovation and guest engagement.

We are now seeking a Growth Intelligence Director to lead Merlin’s global analytics and AI strategy, delivering actionable insights that fuel revenue growth, operational efficiency and customer delight across our diverse attraction portfolio.

The Role

This senior role sits at the intersection of business, data, and technology, shaping Merlin’s growth intelligence strategy across Gateway attractions, Resort Theme Parks and LEGOLAND Parks.

You will act as a strategic partner to the Growth function leadership and Merlin Technology team, translating complex data into actionable insights and leading enterprise-wide AI, ML, and advanced analytics initiatives. You will also lead, mentor and develop a high-performing team of Data Scientists, driving impactful insights, predictive models, and commercial outcomes.

This is a highly visible role requiring a blend of strategic thinking, hands-on analytical expertise, and strong communication skills to influence stakeholders and translate intelligence into measurable business growth.

Key Accountabilities

Strategic Business Partnership

• Act as a trusted advisor to Growth leadership, enabling data-driven decision-making to optimise revenue and support business growth.

• Provide strategic, data-informed recommendations that influence annual and long-term business planning.

• Partner with global and regional teams to ensure analytics initiatives are aligned with business objectives and adapted to local markets.

Analytics, Modelling & Data-Led Insights

• Lead advanced analytics projects for personalisation, pricing, demand forecasting and customer engagement.

• Drive large-scale experimentation across digital, CRM, and marketing channels, testing prices, promotions and creative approaches.

• Integrate multiple internal and external datasets to develop a robust understanding of customer behaviour and business performance.

• Oversee analytics platforms and ensure operational efficiency, scalability and data integrity.

• Promote data literacy and make actionable insight accessible across the organisation.

• Champion AI, ML and predictive analytics innovations to drive business impact.

AI-Tooling at Scale

• Lead the deployment of AI tools to address analytics, knowledge management, marketing content and creative workflows.

• Drive enterprise-wide adoption, embed best practices, and measure the impact on productivity and business outcomes.

• Supercharge internal teams’ capabilities through training and enablement programmes.

Collaboration & Leadership

• Serve as liaison across Growth, Merlin Technology and other global functions, fostering a culture of insight-driven decision-making.

• Lead data initiatives and global Insights projects, ensuring outputs are accurate, contextually relevant, and commercially impactful.

• Act as subject matter expert on select analytics topics, advising executives and supporting strategic innovation.

• Coach, mentor and develop a high-performing Data Science team to deliver insights, models and business value.

About You

You are a highly experienced, commercially minded data and analytics leader with proven expertise in leveraging insights to drive global business growth.

You’ll bring:

• Advanced degree in business, marketing, data analytics or related field preferred.

• 10+ years’ experience in analytics, data science or business intelligence, with 5+ years in leadership roles.

• Proven track record delivering enterprise-wide analytics transformations within global, customer-focused organisations.

• Hands-on experience with analytics tools and languages (SQL, Python, R, Tableau, Power BI).

• Strategic thinker able to translate complex data into actionable business recommendations.

• Strong influencing skills and ability to guide executive-level decision-making.

• Experience embedding AI, ML and predictive analytics into business processes.

• Experience leading teams in fast-paced, matrixed environments, with focus on collaboration, coaching, and delivery.

Leadership at Merlin

Our leaders are:

• Soulfully Curious – open-minded, inquisitive and eager to learn.

• Results Focused – accountable, decisive and focused on outcomes.

• Extraordinary Teammates – collaborative, respectful and enterprise minded.

• Developers of People – committed to coaching, growth and nurturing talent.

Why Join Merlin?

This is a rare opportunity to shape the future of data, analytics and AI across a global entertainment portfolio. You will influence strategic decisions, deliver measurable business impact, and build a high-performing analytics function that drives long-term growth and innovation.