About UsOur vision is to be the world's leading social travel platform. We are on a mission to help travellers find their people and create unforgettable moments together. Connections matter as much as destinations, and we are building a global ecosystem to enable them. Since the launch of our social network in the hostelling category in 2022, Hostelworld has experienced transformational growth. We have successfully welcomed over 2.6 million social members to our platform, proving the strong demand for connection in travel. This vibrant community is not just booking trips; they are actively engaging, co‐creating, and becoming our most powerful brand advocates. The platform is rich with user‐generated content, including a rapidly growing volume of customer testimonials and authentic travel stories that provide powerful social proof. The growth in engagement is remarkable: the number of messages sent between travellers has grown significantly faster than the number of trips booked by social members, demonstrating the deep social utility of our platform. This momentum is reflected in our robust financial health, underscored by a strong balance sheet powered by an asset‐light, cash‐generative business model. We are not just another Online Travel Agent (OTA); we have created a new category of travel altogether:Social Travel. Our singular focus on helping travellers find people to hang out with is the foundation of our strategy. It has allowed us to build a powerful and defensible market position, which attracts highly valuable customers and shifts more of our business onto our mobile‐native apps. While our app and social features create a sticky user experience, our true competitive moat stems from the incredibly rich, proprietary data set generated by our social network.At Our Capital Markets Day in April 2025, we unveiled our ambitious strategy to build on our success and realise our vision over the next three years. This strategy is organised around five key themes:Strengthening the Core OTA Platform: We will continue to enhance our core booking engine, ensuring a seamless and efficient experience for our customers and hostel partners, further solidifying our position as the leading platform for hostel discovery and booking.Building 'Pre‐Booking' Social Features: We are developing innovative features like 'Travel Plans', designed to engage users much earlier in their travel journey. These features will accelerate the creation of social profiles and drive app downloads, fuelling our social flywheel before a single bed is booked.Leveraging AI for an Enhanced Social Experience: We will embed AI into our pre‐ and post‐booking features to deliver unparalleled personalisation and value. This includes AI‐powered recommendations for people to meet, places to go, and things to do, making our social network an indispensable travel companion.Expanding our Addressable Market: We will expand our reach and product portfolio through targeted partnerships and M&A. This will allow us to cater to a broader segment of the youth travel market and integrate new, complementary services into our social travel ecosystem.Building New Revenue Streams: Our social network is more than an engagement tool; it is a new platform for monetisation. We will develop new revenue streams directly from our social features, creating value for our users and our business in ways that traditional OTAs cannot.Our CultureAt Hostelworld, our culture is a direct reflection of our customers: adventurous, curious, and social. We have a shared love of travel that fuels our work and connects us on a deeper level. It's a fast‐paced environment that blends the agility and "scrappy" resourcefulness of a start‐up with the experience and ambition of a global, publicly listed company. We are a team of pragmatic optimists who are data‐obsessed and results‐driven. We value a 'test and learn' mindset, encouraging experimentation and empowering our teams to take calculated risks. We believe in doing the right thing—for our customers, our partners, and each other. We foster a supportive and collaborative atmosphere where diverse perspectives are celebrated, and where every team member has the opportunity to make a significant impact on our journey. We embrace the journey, not just the destination, and we seek leaders who will thrive in a dynamic environment and inspire their teams to do the same.LOCATIONThis role is based in Portugal. We have an office hub in Porto available for those who prefer a hybrid model where you can spend time with colleagues in‐person. You will need to be able to commute to our office hub as required from time to time.Who You'll Work WithHead of Security and Corporate IT leads the strategic direction and operational management of Hostelworld's internal IT estate and security posture. This role ensures the resilience, compliance, and continuous improvement of all IT systems, both internal and customer‐facing. The Head works closely with senior stakeholders to translate business needs into secure, scalable solutions, and is accountable for audit readiness and regulatory compliance.Strategic ResponsibilitiesWHAT YOU'LL DODefine and drive the long‐term IT and security strategy, aligning technology investments with business objectives and continuously improving employees experience of Corporate IT, harnessing the latest developments in AI.Build and maintain high‐level relationships with the board, software vendors, and security auditors to ensure robust governance and oversight.Lead the ISO‐27001 certification programme, ensuring timely and successful accreditation.Champion a culture of innovation, efficiency, and accountability within the IT and security teams.Operational ResponsibilitiesOversee the delivery of Corporate IT services to support a 24/7, fully remote global workforce, ensuring high availability and performance.Collaborate with Legal, Finance, and Technology teams to define, implement, and continuously improve security controls and policies.Manage IT budgets, resource allocation, and cost efficiency in partnership with Finance.Support and lead audit inspections and reporting, including PCI and other regulatory audits.Recruit, mentor, and retain a high‐performing team, fostering a supportive and rewarding environment aligned with company values.Lead business continuity planning and ensure robust disaster recovery capabilities.Regularly report progress, KPI, and OKR, driving the achievement of team objectives.Work closely with 18+ internal software development teams to ensure security in our product and development processes.What We're Looking ForExtensive experience in both enterprise IT management and security (8+ years), with a proven track record of delivering robust solutions to complex challenges.Expertise in state‐of‐the‐art security solutions, facilities IT, end‐user computing, networks, communications infrastructure, and cloud‐based services.Strong leadership, motivational, and people skills, with the ability to build a culture of collaboration and openness.Excellent organisational and time‐management skills, thriving in dynamic, fast‐paced environments.Results‐driven, with a natural sense of ownership and urgency in delivering key projects.Ability to influence and improve the security practices of 18+ internal software development teams.Change and project leadership – ability to envision, get buy‐in and then execute initiatives that improve our IT or security posture.An interest AI technology and the changes that will enable in both IT and Security.Ability to present sensitive security matters to Hostelworld's Leadership Team and Board.What We OfferCompetitive salary & benefitsEnhanced annual leave plus 3 Wellbeing Days per yearPaid family leave (maternity, paternity, surrogacy & adoption)Agile working (plus a Working from Abroad Policy!)Support for your ongoing growth & developmentInclusive people policies (sickness, menopause, compassionate and fertility leave)A chance to give back to your local community with 5 paid volunteering daysOUR BEHAVIOURSGrow others ― We fundamentally believe that investing in growing others benefits everyone, whether it's helping them develop hard or soft skills. We want learning and growing to be part of our DNA to help make us a better team, together.Master it ― We are obsessed with our area of expertise and enjoy developing our skills. We rarely take things at face value; we investigate, interrogate, and always look for 'the why,' and wherever possible, we use data to find the best solution.Collaborate ― We are in it together, for the tough stuff and the celebrations too. To achieve the best results, we need expertise from all areas of the organisation, and we wholeheartedly welcome diverse thinking.Adapt ― We work fluidly, adapting to new information and the evolving environment while staying committed to our goals. Innovation and experimentation fuel our projects and we're never afraid to pivot.Deliver ― Our focus is always on the end result; we value outcomes over activity. We collaborate to deliver work at speed without dropping any of our other behaviours.We believe in talented and diverse teams that reflect the diversity of our customers and the communities in which we operate. Everyone brings different perspectives and experiences. We lay out the above requirements to guide applicants to the experiences that we believe will allow you to be successful in the role. If you don't meet them all, please consider applying if you think you can still perform the role as described.