Join NEXT at our Head Office in Enderby, Leicestershire, and take a pivotal role in shaping the future of global retail.
As Head of Data Science will transform NEXT’s vast customer data into measurable commercial value by building the systems that bridge the gap between raw data and live commercial assets. You will lead the evolution of how millions of customers discover products across 80+ international websites, moving beyond traditional insights into the realm of AI—where data doesn't just inform decisions, it executes them.
Working at the intersection of machine learning, optimisation and large-scale systems, you will lead the transition from traditional search into AI-powered and agent-assisted discovery, delivering measurable improvements in conversion, engagement and customer satisfaction.
Lead the AI Strategy by owning the science and architecture behind product discovery, including search relevance, ranking, and recommendation systems.
Develop Workflows: Oversee the transition from static projects to autonomous systems that link product metadata and imagery to trigger real-time digital marketing assets.
Deliver measurable commercial improvements via conversion rates, revenue per visit, and discovery efficiency through continuous algorithm optimization.
Build and manage robust AI capabilities that perform across multiple languages and varied product catalogues for over 3 million daily customers.
Guide a high-performing team, fostering a culture of excellence in applied machine learning and agile experimentation.
Establish best practices for model monitoring and responsible AI, ensuring our customer-facing systems are reliable and transparent.
Expertise in building and scaling machine learning systems in production, specifically within search, ranking, or recommendation engines.
The ability to translate the concept of "Agentic Shopping" into practical architectures that connect product data to the customer path-to-purchase.
Comfort navigating emerging areas like LLM-powered systems and agent-based discovery to turn new capabilities into scalable retail solutions.
Strong project management skills to guide complex, interconnected AI agents through development within cost and time parameters.
Confidence acting as an organizational leader on how data is collected, stored, and utilized to drive the business forward.
You know Next, but did you know we’re a FTSE-100 retail company employing over 44,000 people across the Next group. We’re the UK’s 2nd largest fashion retailer and for Kidswear we’re the market leader. At the last count we have over 450 stores, plus the Next Online and it’s now possible to buy on-line from over 80 countries around the world! So we’ve gone global!
