Head of Mobile

ABOUT US 🚀

Hostelworld Group, the global hostel-focussed online booking platform, inspires adventurous minds to meet the world and come back with life-changing stories to tell. Our customers are not your average tourists, they crave cultural connection and unique experiences that we make possible by providing an unbeatable selection of hostels in unmissable locations – all in the palm of their hand.

It is the social nature and community feel of hostels and their environment, that enable travellers to embrace journeys of discovery, adventure and meaning. We have more than 13 million reviews across 17,800 hostels in more than 179 countries, making the brand the leading online hub for social travel. The website operates in 19 different languages and our mobile app in 13 languages.

Founded in 1999 and headquartered in Dublin, Hostelworld has a growing, high-calibre team of 230 people within Technology, Product, Global Markets, HR, Finance & Legal and Marketing Teams across our Dublin, London, Porto, Shanghai and Sydney offices. Hostelworld is listed on the London Stock Exchange and Dublin Euronext. You can read more about our story here.

LOCATION🌍

This role is based in Porto, Portugal, with the majority of the direct reports of the role being Portugal-based. We offer hybrid working but have a shared office space in Porto city centre where you can spend time with colleagues in-person, as necessary. 

WHO YOU'LL WORK WITH 👨🏽‍🤝‍👨🏼

The Mobile/Social team owns the iOS and Android apps and Hostelworld’s unique social network. We design and deliver seamless, high‑performing mobile experiences that inspire travellers to book, connect and share their journeys. Our team is responsible for the full mobile product lifecycle—from strategy and design to experimentation, analytics and continuous optimisation. We build features that enable travellers to discover destinations, join local events, and connect with like‑minded adventurers in real time. Leveraging data insights, personalisation and emerging technologies like GenAI, we craft experiences that feel intuitive and social by design. We partner closely with Growth, Marketing, and Data Science to drive engagement, retention and revenue through innovative mobile solutions. Our mission is to make Hostelworld the go‑to platform for social travel, putting community and connection at the heart of every trip. 

WHAT YOU'LL DO 👩‍💻

In a nutshell, you will own the end‑to‑end mobile product strategy and execution— leading a team that is focussed on accelerating growth, elevating our in‑trip social experience, and shipping reliable, high‑performing apps that travellers love.

Domain Ownership

• Define and own the Mobile/Social product vision, strategy and roadmap, aligned to company OKRs; prioritise for customer impact and commercial outcomes.
• Own the P&L levers for Mobile/Social (acquisition, activation, engagement, retention, monetisation) and partner with Finance to forecast, scenario‑plan and track ROI.
• Champion in‑trip social experiences (community, discovery, messaging, activities) that build network effects and meaningful connections between travellers.
• Elevate app quality and performance: crash‑free sessions, app start time, ANR rate, bundle size, offline resilience, accessibility and privacy by design.
• Partner with Data/AI to apply GenAI and on‑device ML (e.g., intelligent trip planning, content personalisation, relevance/ranking, safety/moderation, multilingual support).
• Ensure instrumentation, analytics and telemetry are first‑class: event taxonomy, self‑serve dashboards, causal inference and cohort analysis to inform decisions.
• Collaborate with Lifecycle/CRM on push, in‑app messaging and notifications - contextual, timely and respectful of user preferences and local regulations.
• Own the Mobile surface of our brand: work with Design/Research on design systems, usability, and inclusive experiences for a global audience.
• Partner with Growth Marketing on ASO (App Store/Play optimisation), ratings/reviews strategy and creative experimentation.
• Communicate clearly and often—from PRDs and decision memos to ELT‑ready updates; simplify complexity and create alignment across stakeholders.

People Management & Leadership 

• Lead a high‑performing Mobile/Social team—set clear goals, establish operating rituals, coach managers/ICs, and hire for excellence and diversity of thought.
• Encourage a collaborative, innovative, data-driven culture focused on continuous improvement and achieving goals. 
• Effectively execute any people manager