Innovation Growth Lead

This role is a 12 month fixed term contract. We’re Pentland Brands: a global family business behind some of the world’s most iconic active and lifestyle brands. We bring integrity, energy and ambition to our work, setting high standards and striving to deliver great outcomes without ego. Shape the work behind some of the world’s most loved sport, outdoor and lifestyle brands. At Pentland Brands, every role helps move our brands forward. Whether you’re supporting our people, improving our systems, growing our commercial performance, strengthening operations or shaping better ways of working, your impact reaches across a portfolio of iconic brands used by consumers around the world.

We’re looking for a commercially minded innovation leader to take ownership of how breakthrough propositions move from MVP and beta launch into the wider business. This role combines hands‑on line management of our NPI Solutions team with a sharper, more deliberate focus on paving the way for innovation across functions – building belief, building demand, and ensuring that what we incubate gets pulled into brand ranges, commercial plans and seasonal calendars at pace. You will lead the day‑to‑day of a small, high‑performing cross‑functional team delivering against the innovation pipeline. Strategic direction for the portfolio will be set in partnership with the VP, Product Transformation, freeing you to focus on people leadership, project delivery, and – critically – storytelling that turns innovation outputs into commercial momentum across the business.

What you’ll be doing:

• Pave the way for innovation across the business.
• Build a network of champions across brand, merchandising, design, sourcing, marketing and commercial – functions that are in the know, excited about what’s coming, and actively pulling innovation into their plans.
• Lead the storytelling that takes MVPs, POCs and beta‑launched propositions and translates them into a clear, compelling case for scale; ensure the original consumer insight stays the North Star throughout.
• Force the transition of validated MVPs and DTC‑launched innovations into wholesale, retail and brand ranges – removing the friction that typically stalls handover and making integration the path of least resistance.
• Create the forums, rhythms and assets (showcases, demo days, briefing decks, internal narratives) that keep functions engaged with the innovation pipeline long before launch.

Lead the NPI Solutions team:

• Own day‑to‑day line management of the NPI Solutions team – coaching, development, performance, capacity and ways of working.
• Support the team in their decision‑making on live projects, partnering with the VP, Product Transformation on strategic direction and escalations.
• Identify, onboard and lead agile squads to work cross‑functionally, engaging and motivating people around clear opportunities.
• Embody a vibrant, experimental team culture; champion test‑and‑learn, build collective learning through failure, and challenge functional assumptions when required.

Shape a commercially feasible pipeline:

• Shadow NPI projects in flight, assembling cost‑engineering sprint teams pre‑launch so a commercially feasible, scalable version is ready for the seasonal calendar.
• Partner with the team to run lean consumer test sprints that validate cost‑engineered solutions and ensure performance at scale.
• Own innovation solution specifications – insights, IP, scalable use cases – and co‑lead handover into merchandising and in‑line design for range integration.

Build a system designed for long‑term growth:

• Develop simple, repeatable processes for transitioning NPI and Flywheel innovations to scale; pilot and embed them, accounting for brand‑specific nuance.
• Establish trusted, senior‑level relationships with the C‑Suite, SVPs, Brand Leadership Teams and cross‑functional leaders to secure buy‑in and unlock investment.
• Set up ways of working that foster proactivity, autonomy, experimentation and entrepreneurship across the wider business.

What you’ll bring:

• Proven experience leading innovation, product development or NPI teams – ideally in consumer goods, footwear, apparel or adjacent categories.
• Track record of moving propositions from MVP / beta / DTC pilot into mainstream commercial ranges.
• Experience managing or coaching teams, with a passion for building capability and culture.
• Skilled at influencing across technical, creative and commercial stakeholders up to executive level.
• Expertise in developing repeatable processes and frameworks that support innovation at pace.
• Demonstrated ability to integrate consumer insight and testing into decision‑making.

Perks & Benefits:

We offer a competitive salary, discretionary bonus, hybrid working, flexible start and finish times, generous holiday allowance, product discounts, sample sales, enhanced family‑friendly policies, healthcare support, gym and fitness discounts, cycle to work scheme and electric car scheme. You can find full details of our benefits and perks on our UK Benefits page.